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The Adventures of Maud West, Lady Detective by Susannah Stapleton
Many thanks to both NetGalley and to Pan Macmillan for letting me see an advance reader’s copy of this excellent and amusing biography.
When I was first sent this book to review, I could not open it. The publisher very quickly rectified this and sent me another version. However, it was still difficult to read due to layout problems, and so the publisher persevered and sent me another. I am so glad that they did this, because I really enjoyed this read.
At first, I thought it read like a novel and I did wonder where it was going. But once I remembered that it was a biography (I’d forgotten as some time had lapsed between my original request and receiving a readable version), all was well again.
Susannah Stapleton has carried out a most thorough investigation into this lady’s life with dogged determination. I would have given a 5th star had it not occasionally gone off on a tangent, but I appreciate that there are readers who appreciate this extra colour.
It’s a long read, but very interesting and informative. I also liked the excerpts written by the subject herself.