No Life for a Lady Review

Enola Holmes vibes and I’m not mad about it.

Violet Hamilton’s mother, Lily, disappeared ten years ago and everyone seems to have given up trying to find her. Now a spinster at the ripe old age of 28, Violet takes it upon herself to:

1. Hire a detective
2. Fire the useless detective
3. Take up the hunt for her missing mother herself

There are some problems, however:

1. Misogyny
2. It’s 1896

In her search, she encounters various eccentric characters who expand her sheltered worldview, including a nice furniture salesman who also dabbles in detective work. Many of these scenarios are very funny and I really enjoyed my experience reading this book. I think there were instances where the prose dragged a bit, but overall I think the writing style was good.

There is not much more I can say about the plot without giving away important details, but I will say that Violet’s search has a satisfying ending and that she goes on some amusing side quests before the conclusion. This seems to be Hannah Dolby’s fiction debut and I will definitely be reading more of her work as it comes out.