Once a house maid but now a well-to-do married lady in every sense of the word, Hilda has to work at leaving her old ways behind and obeying the rules of the upper echelon, set by the wealthy. Being proper has its drawbacks: one is that she can’t use a servant’s entrance to talk to her old friends, but neither can she ask to see them at the front door. Not quite accepted in her status as a woman of means, some of wealthier ladies with old money have little respect for Hilda being nouveau riche and until recently, a maid. But when Hilda’s best friend’s husband is accused of murder, Hilda’s problems become trivial and she delves in to the investigation to prove his innocence. Author Jeanne M. Dams does an excellent job of setting the scene in the early twentieth century, with both the wealthy and working classes and their interaction. By now, these characters seem like old friends, if you been reading through the series, and the storyline in this installment does not disappoint. ( )