Harry’s boss transfers her down to the bank basement after she rebukes his advances. Determined not to let him win she embraces her new job. What could be more interesting then answering mail addressed to Sherlock Holmes. One case catches her eye and soon the game is afoot.
I thought this was a nice story. I liked Harry and Oliver working together. It’s fast paced and kept my attention to the end. I really hope this is the start of a new series.
Thanks to Rachel’s Random Resources for the early copy.

I enjoyed this cosy crime book, the first in a new series Baker Street Mysteries. Set mainly in London in 1932 and starring aristocrat Harriet ‘Harry’ White who has been working as a PA in a building society in Baker Street London. However, after an altercation with her boss she is sent to the depths of the building to work on clearing a mountain of unopened post addressed to Mr Sherlock Holmes!

Briefly, replying with a standard letter ‘Mr Holmes has retired from detective work and now lives in Sussex, keeping bees’ this is a boring job until Harry pick up a letter that grabs her interest as the writer lives not far from her family home. The young woman’s sister went to London to take up a position as a maid but her correspondence with her family stopped abruptly and they are worried about her. With a nom de plume Harry becomes a sleuth a la Sherlock Holmes.

Harry is a great character, strong and resourceful and whilst born with a silver spoon in her mouth she is determined to lead her own life and earn her own money. I loved her partner in crime, solicitor Oliver, clearly a budding romance. A fairly quick and easy read with a nice writing style and some good twists and turns. Very entertaining.

Harriet White is demoted from her job at a building society, for not falling for her bosses advances.

She is sent to the post room to respond to letters sent to Sherlock Holmes as the building society is based at 221B Baker Street, and sacks of letters are waiting a response.

Harriet (Harry) diligently responds to everyone, and then she comes across a letter which is sent from very near the family estate, her grandfather being a Baron.

This is an enjoyable, easy reading, cosy ripping yarn! A couple of the scenarios didn't make sense, but it's a new series so hopefully the writing will be a little 'tighter' next time.

Recommended

I found #themissingmaid by @hollyh_author to be a delightful read. Harry is terrific character - smart, engaging, daring and, fun! A few twists we don't expect, and Harry can even hold her own in a fistfight with a somewhat hardened female grifter. Loved the set up of the Bank having Sherlock Holmes' address and please read the author's note for more explanation. What a great way to spin a story. I hope Harry has more adventures in her future. Highly recommend.

P.S. Thanks to #netgalley for the ARC.

"The Missing Maid" is a mystery set in 1932 in England. No one is murdered. It started off fine, with a well-born gal working as a secretary at a bank deciding to solve a case sent to Sherlock Holmes (because the bank is located at the fictional address). She posed as Holmes' secretary when dealing with the missing girl's family. She asked questions and followed up on leads, though mostly she seemed to stumble upon the needed information. She realistically made mistakes along the way, including not being very convincing in a disguise. Things started to become less and less realistic, though. The missing maid showed back up, but she's accused of theft. Again. Harry's determined to prove the maid's innocent.

At least one modern phrase was used. When questioning the girl, the maid never mentioned that the girl who took her in looked exactly like her yet Harry immediately assumed she was the look-alike girl. Harry put on trousers for the first time and hid her hair, and suddenly she had everyone convinced she's a man. The author implied she stunk and people moved downwind to avoid it, but they'd want to move upwind, and why is there a wind in an enclosed space? When in disguise, she walked off with a beer mug from a bar, and no one objected or found it odd that she was carrying it around in the streets. She could throw corrugated iron sheeting some distance yet couldn't figure out how to deal with her captive without help. Yet Oliver (who was helping her) could not only do it alone but came up with a way to pass the evidence on to the police. She's the one who insisted on doing a citizen's arrest, yet she hadn't thought all that through? And then she decided to type up her adventures like a Sherlock Holmes story while on bank time. Huh. Not to mention, the true thief's actions made no sense as that person never benefited from it.

There was no sex or bad language.

Excellent read.

I much appreciate that the main character has a day job and is not perfectly skilled at everything she sets her mind too (as I've seen in other historical cozies with characters of aristocratic / wealthy birth).

Harriet White, known to everyone as Harry (even her mother calls her that, in front of men she tries to set her daughter up with as potential husband material) is Sherlock Holmes's secretary. Her employer's offices (a bank) include the address of 221 Baker Street and for that reason receives many letters requesting the help of the great detective. Harry's job is to write a polite note to the sender.

One of the letters, and its follow-up, catch her eye, and Harry decides she will try to gather some information and see if she can help the sender.

I’ve been a fan of Holly Hepburn’s books for some years now, so when I heard she was branching out into my favourite genre, cozy crime, I was thrilled.

The Missing Maid exceeded my high expectations. I love the main character, Harriet (known as Harry). She’s determined and intelligent, but also reasonably sensible about staying safe. I love the historical setting. In fact I love the whole world Holly Hepburn has built, and everything and everyone in it. All the characters felt immediately real and I hope to get to know some of them better in future books.

I also loved the story, it kept me interested and engaged throughout. I enjoyed watching Harry try (and succeed) to solve the mystery, and balance it with her job and other obligations.

Overall, I absolutely loved this exciting and entertaining debut into cozy crime from a favourite author. I hope this is the start of a series and can’t wait to see what Harry gets up to next!

I was given a copy of this book, my opinions are my own.

K.Moss you are something else - what a story and a character. The relief when book two is mentioned in the acknowledgements, From the depths of the bank and literary history Hepburn brings to life an old friend through Harry, who leads the audience on another thrilling case, ones that we thought would never come round again. Read, Re-start and wait for the next instalment. The Missing Maid is nothing short of exemplary writing and fantastic narrative.

Very cute and cozy as promised. I did find it very predictable and was sad to see for a Sherlock inspired book, it didn’t have the grand reveal at the end but rather a violent chase that felt very out of place.

"...as Sherlock Holmes was fond of saying, when the impossible had been eliminated , whatever remained, however improbable, must be the truth."
I'm always a sucker for a 1920s-30s woman who was ahead of her time and wasn't afraid to be bold and independent in a time when woman weren't expected to do such things. If you're a sucker too, then Miss Harry White aka Sherlock Holmes secretary if you please, is not one to miss! Thank you @netgalley
and @theboldbookclub for the ARC.

An absolutely brilliant book! Once I started this book I couldn’t put it down! Such a good cozy mystery book! The characters in this book are amazing too, I just loved them all!!

I would highly recommend this book! I would like to thank NetGalley and Boldbooks for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book early!

Thanks to the Publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

I enjoyed reading this book.

Set in the 1930’s, we meet Harry who is an employee in a bank, but after a situation with her boss, she’s moved to a different position, to respond to letters, which are addressed to Sherlock Holmes.

There’s numerous letters asking for help to solve their mysteries. Harry does her best to reply to them, then she comes across one that interests her, and starts her look into the mystery of the maid. Where did she go and was she really rightly blamed for stealing? Will she and friend find the truth?

I recommend this book.

I am a big fan of Sherlock Holmes, so I was excited to see what this author would do in her debut book. The Missing Maid was a cozy, entertaining story about Ms. Harriet White. She takes up the self-made title of Holmes's assistant due to her real job having her reply to letters sent to the fictitious detective. I did appreciate how the author did not make the FMC someone who could replicate the abilities given to Holmes in the stories. Most of the plot seemed as if Harry stumbled upon the clues, and not a lot of brain power was needed to keep up with the story. It was a fine debut that could be built upon (which is what I assume the author will do with the many open storylines she left behind). Thanks for the ARC!

I would like to thank the author, the publisher and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of this book.
I enjoyed reading it, but mostly for the heroine, a smart and witty young woman, because the mystery itself was a bit simple and not really engaging. If the author will write a continuation I for sure will give it a chance.
Thank you again.

Thank you to @rachelsrandomresources for my copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Anything about the 30’s and Sherlock Holmes has to be worth a read and this was no exception. Harry works in a bank that is on Baker Street in London as a secretary to Mr Pemberton, she refuses his advances and finds herself in the post room as Sherlock Holmes’s secretary instead! Most people realise that he’s a fictional character but there is a sack full of unanswered letters that Harry now has the job of answering. Talk about mundane.

One of these letters catches her eye and she’s can’t resist starting her own investigation into the missing maid. It gets a bit hairy at times, and she wonders what she’s got herself into. But after visiting the family, she can’t stop thinking about the missing girl. I really enjoyed this one, and Harry is such a great character - knows what she wants, doesn’t suffer fools and once she’s got her teeth into something, there’s no letting go.

We meet some fab characters throughout, and I am hoping and praying for a sequel/series as this was just fab. I think we all need to know if her mother gets her way too!

The Missing Maid is a cozy mystery set in London, 1932. Harriet White has been tasked with answering letters to the fictitious Sherlock Holmes and feels compelled to search for a young woman from her own home village, who has gone missing in London. Harriet is a likeable character and this feels like the start of a very entertaining series - the game is most definitely afoot!
Thank you to Netgalley and Boldwood Books for the review copy.

It’s true that the bank that moved into Baker Street incorporating 221b did get letters addressed to Sherlock Holmes. Sadly it is unlikely that the secretaries assigned to write return letters ever got involved in solving cases. With that in mind this is a great idea for a book that steps into the shoes of the immortal detective.
Harriet (Harry) White has been demoted to the basement by her lecherous and rebuffed boss. It’s London, 1932 and there is no HR. She finds she has been condemned to a small cupboard of an office to write replies to the fans of Sherlock. Harry is concerned that many people are asking for help from the fictional detective. Intrigued by a case from near her family estate Harry gets personally involved while pretending to be Secretary to the eminent Holmes. There follows a very satisfying little story with the tropes of Holmes including violence, disguise and occasionally cake (I’m not sure about the last one but I’m all in)!
I like the way the pot gives the nod to the original too, I’m sure I didn’t spot all the references but it was fun trying. I loved this and look forward to this becoming a series; we can’t get enough of this cosy crime with added Sherlock.

tl;dr
A cozy mystery with some interesting historical content and a fun twist on the Sherlock Holmes mythos.

Thoughts
The Sherlock-verse is a wide one. Everyone in his life seems to also be a detective: his old friends, the Irregulars, siblings, descendants. And now it turns out his circle even extends into the "real" world where he's fictional. Which honestly? Works really well. The Missing Maid is a reasonably grounded story, with the MC regularly commenting on how Sherlock would have figured this out by now from some miniscule detail, but she's stuck here in the mortal realm navigating dead ends, hurdles, and her own real life. The mystery unfolds at an even pace, with plenty of historical details and events to give it weight. It's also a fairly cozy read, with very few action pieces, and hints of a budding romance that I found rather sweet. Harry is still new to the detective business, but she, and the series, show a lot of promise.

This cozy little mystery set in 1932 London follows Harriet (Harry) White, a young woman of means who works in a bank located at 221 Baker St, also the fictional address of Detective Sherlock Holmes. After refusing her boss's unwanted advances, Harry is relegated to the post room, where she is to respond to letters requesting assistance from Holmes. She is instructed to send form letter responses, but one sad case of a missing maid gets her attention. She takes on this woman's case under the guise of being Holmes' assistant.

I'd give this 3.5 stars. It was a cute quick read. It almost felt a little YA, but I think that's just the style of this sort of mystery. None of the twists and turns are really going to shock you but Harry was an interesting well-rounded character, and you feel so immersed in the grimy London streets and imposing wealthy estates that you don't need as much excitement from the plot. By the end, Harry does "solve" the mystery but I was not entirely satisfied. There were several questions left unanswered, and I am not sure if that was intentional (to allow for further exploration in additional books) or just a flaw in the story.

Overall, I think this is a great light-hearted escape but I wasn't blown away. This appears to be the first installment in a planned series, but I am not sure I would feel compelled to read any more. As much as I hate to say it, the element that would probably bring me back is the possibility of romance between Harry and Oliver, the family friend and lawyer who helps Harry with the case, and who doesn't seem to mind Harry's "improper" exploits in pursuit of the truth.

The Missing Maid was a Book Recommendation on Mystery Books Podcast Season 5, episode 3, which gave book recommendations for Sherlock Holmes fans.

In 1930s London, Harriet (or Harry) rebuffs her boss’s advances and is demoted to answering letters in the office basement. She works at 221 Baker Street, so you can imagine what kind of letters she’s answering. Of course she gets mixed up in a mystery. I liked the character of Harry. She’s practical and efficient and makes the best of a bad situation. She’s also from an affluent family, but wants to work and earn her own money. Once she’s involved in the mystery, she discovers that things aren’t quite as easy to work out as in the Sherlock Holmes stories. Looking forward to seeing where Harry’s sleuthing takes her next.

Episode aired on Mystery Books Podcast on March 4, 2024 and is available for download on podcast apps. Thanks to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for a review copy. All opinions are my own.