This book was the April selection for the Christie Capers. For those of you aren't familiar with Jeanne Dams, she writes the wonderful Dorothy Martin series, contemporary mysteries set in England and featuring an 60-something American ex-pat and her retired policeman husband.
This series is historical, set in South Bend, Indiana around 1900, and it portrays very vividly the life of a servant at that time. Hilda Johansson works as a maid in the Studebaker mansion for the fictionalized real-life Studebaker family of automobile fame. She, along with her two sisters, has been in America for several years, toiling in the homes of the very wealthy with the goal of bringing the rest of their family over from Sweden. Hilda has a gentleman friend, Patrick, an Irish Catholic fireman, an equally hard-working immigrant who is obviously head-over-heels in love with her.
When Hilda discovers a body in the hedge behind the Studebaker house she is, naturally shocked, even more so when it is discovered that the victim is the newly returned missionary sister of the the judge next door. Despite her minimal free time (as we know from Downton Abbey, servants had little opportunity for personal lives back in those days), Hilda feels compelled to investigate the crime, especially after someone else is murdered. Hilda is relentless in her pursuit of justice and takes quite a few chances that, quite frankly, seem a little over-the-top considering the era and her station in life. She does, however, remain appropriately modest and moral throughout!
While I like the Dorothy Martin series better, Hilda is an enjoyable character to get to know. She is headstrong and impulsive, yet respectful and socially correct in all ways. There are, I think, 6 books in this series and the last I heard ms. dams was looking for a new publisher. Hopefully, she'll find one and continue on with the adventures of Hilda Johansson. If you have read and enjoyed any of Rhys Bowen's Molly Murphy mysteries, you will definite enjoy this series as well.
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