Reviewed by Lisa McCombs for Readers' Favorite

Henrietta, eldest of eight children, often feels the burden of trying to keep her family afloat after the death of her father. While her mother takes in mending and her younger sister does the same, most of the living expenses fall on Henrietta’s shoulders. Henrietta does not complain, though, as her assortment of jobs gets her out of the small home filled with children and misery. Her employers are kind folk and always willing to do what they can to help Hen, but times are difficult and the economy suffers.

So, when her friend, Polly, announces that Hen really needs to apply for an usherette position at the Promenade, Henrietta is forced to lay aside good judgement in lieu of the extra money she can earn working at a job of which she knew her mother would not approve. All goes well until Mama Leone, the proprietor of the Promenade, is found dead, putting everyone under suspicion and the careful eye of detective inspector Clive Howard. With Howard on the case, Henrietta is alarmed when she realizes that this is much bigger than one dead woman. As the body count grows, so do Hen’s feelings for Clive Howard.

Reminiscent of clandestine affairs with a Philip Marlowe vibe, A Girl Like You: A Henrietta And Inspector Howard novel by Michelle Cox, will transport the reader into that golden era of gumshoe romance. Cox’s use of literary detail brings scenes into full focus as the reader anxiously races through the pages of this deliciously written cloak and dagger affair. A delightful story.