In 1898, opportunities were few and far between for young women wanting to live independent lives, as Harriet Morrow is determined to do in Rob Osler's vivid historical mystery The Case of the Missing Maid. This insightful series opener explores women's suffrage, underground LGBTQ culture, and Chicago on the cusp of the 20th century.
Four years after her parents' deaths, 21-year-old Harriet supports herself and her 16-year-old brother, Aubrey. In search of higher pay and work less "mind-numbingly boring" than bookkeeping, Harriet becomes the first woman operative for Chicago's Prescott Detective Agency. Even though she was personally hired by the firm's owner, Theodore Prescott, she isn't welcomed by the secretaries, who are all women, nor by the agents, who are all men. Her first assignment seems like busy work: Prescott's next-door neighbor, an older widow named Pearl Bartlett, claims that her maid, Agnes Wozniak, has gone missing. Pearl has a reputation for unreliability, but Harriet believes Agnes has been abducted. Harriet deploys her sleuthing skills to uncover Agnes's whereabouts, even as the atmosphere at the agency becomes more hostile.
The Case of the Missing Maid moves cleverly through myriad neighborhoods, clandestine drag events, and hidden gay bars. Harriet's life is a tower of secrets. She grapples with her fear of being further ostracized, even fired, if she's exposed as a lesbian. She must also frequently mask her intelligence so she won't be resented by others. Moreover, Osler (The Devil's Chew Toy) illustrates how controlling families, human trafficking, and corrupt cops are not just 21st-century concerns in this stellar novel. --Oline H. Cogdill, freelance reviewer