I'll admit that this series was entertaining enough for me to enjoy reading the first four volumes, in order, but one thing is consistent throughout the series: Hathaway needs a good copy editor/researcher to weed out gross anachronisms.The series takes place in the early 1920s, but the author uses many terms and descriptions that would have required a time machine. A few examples follow. In a couple of the books, characters say they are "gobsmacked," a term which according to the Oxford English Dictionary originated in the 1980s. In one, Posie refers to herself as "an airhead." OMG LOL gag me!! In another, someone is said to be arriving in an Avro jet trainer, which had it existed in 1920 would have certainly changed the course of the next world war. In this one, bomb sites from the Zeppelin raids are described as being hidden behind "chipboard," which hadn't been invented yet, although plywood had. In a previous one, Posie buys a "trouser suit" in a women's clothing store, which in 1920 would have been highly unlikely, as women wore trousers as sportswear or loungewear only, not streetwear. Even things like manners -- a person who invites her to a manor house weekend calls back to recommend that she bring something dressy. No one would have dared go to a manor house weekend without being prepared to dress for dinner, and Posey, with her aristocratic friends, would have known that. Other reviewers have pointed out other, similar issues. Now, the plots are entertaining, although at times they do seem heavily inspired by the original mysteries of the golden era -- sinister secret nightclubs and blizzard-stranded house parties come to mind -- but I find myself reading almost as much to spot the next blooper as to spot the next clue.
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