She's a mistress of disguise with the acumen of Miss Marple, the resourcefulness of Enola Holmes and a helper who always gets into trouble. It's Maud West, the first real lady detective who ever lived

Get ready to meet the greatest London detective of the early twentieth-century and, above all, get ready for surprises: she's a woman, with an unbeatable instinct and a weakness for risky investigations.

She was running her own private agency for over thirty years in a world completely dominated by men. And there's a lot to say about her, including her very modern choice to advertise with storytelling, i.e., by writing fictionalised versions of her cases, which she then published for a fee in the press.

• Maud’s stories, like those of Enola Holmes, focus on a woman’s resourcefulness, the drive for emancipation and independence, and following one’s passions and dreams.

• Thrilling stories, full of suspense and fun, with a touch of reflection on the society around us and also with a pinch of romance. 

A MATRYOSHKA OF MYSTERIES

London, October 1920. Maud West and her young assistant Max Finch have just solved an intricate investigation and are preparing to celebrate with a nice lunch when the phone rings. It’s a wealthy lady who hires Maud to investigate her husband’s suspected cheating. It sounds like easy money, but what starts out as a trivial case of marital infidelity turns out to be something far more intricate and elusive. A series of mysteries, hidden one in the other like a matryoshka, will lead to murder, blackmail and a plot against the Queen to take possession of a military patent. A plot behind which could be hidden the most heinous of all criminal organisations, that of the Hundred Masks...

A CATHEDRAL OF COBWEBS

Liverpool, 1920. With his new cap, Finch invites Maggie to the cinema. But romantic gestures are not her thing... better to dive into Maud West's new assignment. The request comes from Lucy Colburn, the right-hand woman of the Prime Minister, which means: it's hot stuff. Leaving Maggie on guard at Albion House, Maud and Finch must take the overnight train to Liverpool, intercept a passenger who's disembarked from the SS Triton, and recover a mysterious briefcase before someone else does. The only detail is that this someone else is much more dangerous than they are and is willing to do anything, absolutely anything, to succeed.