There’s a new dame in town! Meet Madame Koska—a fabulous haute couture designer and the owner of a new atelier in 1920’s London who has a knack at solving crimes that simply baffle the police. When a priceless brooch disappears from a museum in Russia, Madame Koska is suddenly drawn into the mystery. But who is Madame Koska? And what does the missing jewel have to do with her? Find out in her … with her? Find out in her first adventure!
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Great fun and a good mystery! Mme Koska flawlessly mimics the Russian accent but doesn’t really speak a word of it. But she is a gifted designer of haute couture with a real knack for handling customers and choosing the perfect seamstresses. She has come up with a design scheme for the 1920s with a classic Russian twist and is aided by a friend who has this young woman whose beading skills are incredible. But don’t forget about intrigue, others with spurious identities, thefts, and interesting law enforcement personnel. I absolutely loved it!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from BHC Press via NetGalley. Thank you
This is a very whimsical story, and that’s part of its charm. It is, I think, also its limit.
The setting is very intriguing: London haute couture environment paired with the Russian émigré community. It’s unusual, and even if I don’t know much about either, I had the impression both subjects were well-researched, which is always a good sensation.
The characters are nice and diverse. Endearing, most of them. There was a lighthearted feeling to the entire story, but the tone became more participated when entering the matter of the flee of the White Russians from the Revolution.
These historical bits are maybe a little didascalic, but I still liked to read about it. The way so many people flee from their country. How they took refuge across the border (mostly in Turkey and China) and the harsh treatment they receive there. How everyone considered them strangers and belonging to the lowest strata of society. How some of them still managed to create a new life, often by accepting that their country was lost forever to them.
I even think that a little more focus on the refugee’s experience would have made it even more involving, but it was still interesting to read.
Madame Koska is a relatable character and fun to read. But I wonder whether she’s a bit too much over the top. The author clearly makes an extra effort to make her mysterious and intriguing, but honestly, I didn’t find that to work too well. At least for me. Maybe it was because the mystery about Madame Koska was really quite inconsequential to the story.
And about the story…
I know I’m saying this of about every mystery I’ve read recently, and maybe it’s more about me than them. I wonder if I’m becoming too much of a demanding reader, but I had quite a few issues with the mystery.
First, I was always unsure what the mystery was about. I mean, I knew that it was supposed to be about the disappearance of the Imperial Brooch, but I couldn’t decide what the point was. Why would Madame Koska investigate? What was so crucial about the brooch for any of the involved characters? The reason was so vague that it often disappeared from the story and Madame Koska’s action felt to be disconnected.
The conclusion was extremely unsatisfying. When the culprit is a character that never appeared in the story, I always feel like I’m cheated. And no, the fact that people ‘talk’ about that person in the story doesn’t count for me.
The shortcomings of the mystery aside, it was a nice, quick read, with a reasonably accurate historical setting which was unusual. I still enjoyed it.
Thoroughly enjoyable cozy mystery set in 1920s London, in the atelier of aspiring haute couture designer Madame Koska, who may or may not be Russian royalty – or even Russian.
A priceless Czarist brooch has disappeared from a Russian museum and is rumored to have resurfaced in London. To prevent her first collection from being derailed by suspicions that the missing brooch is contained within or connected to her fashion house, Madam Koska takes the investigation into her own hands.
This book transports you to another time and place. The atelier felt real, with sparkling chandeliers, elegant beadwork, and diligent seamstresses. The Russian Christmas dinner – celebrated in exile – felt joyful, resilient, and tinged with sadness. The characters are engaging; the descriptions of dressmaking are detailed and divine; and there are more than enough suspects to go around. In a city of endless reinvention, in the shifting times after the war and the revolution, no one is exactly what they seem.
The resolution to the plot seemed contrived, and some of the characters’ decisions are implausible. (Suspicious of someone? Move them into your spare bedroom!) But this was an enjoyable short read, and one that lingered in my mind. There is more here than just a cozy mystery and beautiful descriptions of beautiful clothes. The author shows the different ways in which people who have lost all and suffered much reinvent themselves, sometimes better, sometimes worse. There are lessons here about what to carry with you, and what to leave behind.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.