Joby is free-spirited and impetuous. Her experiments have blown up small buildings, and she refuses to heed advice. She has a gentleman caller, Jack O’Shaunessy, a police constable. They both insist they are not interested in any more than friendship, but their relationship is obviously deeper than they’re willing to acknowledge.

Joby receives a commission from a lawyer. A client needs proof of her husband’s infidelity for a bill of divorcement. When Joby goes to call on Mrs. LeBruton, she recognizes signs of abuse. The woman claims she has dropped the idea of the divorce, but her long-time maid drafts Joby into proceeding with the investigation. Meanwhile, two men approach her to ask her father to try to locate jewelry stolen in two separate thefts.

While out for the evening with Joby, Jack is summoned to the scene of a murder. Joby tags along with him. A socialite has been murdered presumably by the same jewel thief who committed the earlier crimes. Joby begins a separate investigation even though Jack insists she leave the crime-solving to the police.

How long can Joby keep her father’s demise secret from everyone? Can Joby save the battered wife from her abusive husband? Is there more to the murder than merely a thief interrupting a robbery?

The mystery genre is rife with private investigators who are eking out a meager existence, but few of those PI’s are as optimistic as Joby. If Denver’s Molly Brown (The Unsinkable Molly Brown) had ever written a mystery, it might very well have the same tone as A Lady Never Trifles with Thieves. “I Ain’t Down Yet” could be Joby Sawyer’s theme song.

A light-hearted cozy mystery with an historical setting, this isn’t a story that takes itself too seriously. The central crime mysteries are solidly developed, but it’s the book’s spirit that is its major asset. Written in the first-person and narrated by Joby, this is an antidote to heavy, dark mysteries. Fortunately, the cover indicates that this is the first in a series because Joby, Jack, and Won Li are characters worth revisiting.

--Lesley Dunlap