It is 1967. After a long 18 months without a job, Hazel has been offered a position as tea lady to the Dockworkers Union by a childhood friend, Rex Shepperton. But the wharves are a dangerous place with crime, power struggles between unions and corruption. Hazel soon finds that her powers of observation and her tendency to ask unwelcome questions have landed her in serious trouble. The theft of a cargo of several thousand gold coins, at least two murders and the framing of her friend turn out to be linked.
Meanwhile, her friend and lodger Betty has been lured into an artistic community with Communist affiliations, feminist ideals and leisurely drug-taking and it takes a while for her eyes to be opened to this new group of ‘friends’. Irene also has problems of her own, with her boss’s brothel premises being targeted by thugs of the Maltese mafia because she has tried to set up a rival establishment in their patch.
These three firm friends come together to meet and support each other, with Betty saving Hazel’s life, the Tea Ladies Guild organising a fundraising auction for a local orphanage and giving encouragement and words of advice to young Pixie Karp, granddaughter of the owner and founder of the company where Hazel used to work.
The historical background and setting in The Deadly Dispute are well researched, and the characters continue to be quirky, engaging and individual personalities.
A great addition to the ‘Tea Ladies Mystery’ series.
Reviewed by Lynne Babbage
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