This sequel to The Unpicking, which I have previously reviewed, begins quite differently. The focus in Chapter One is on Mabel who, at the end of The Unpicking had joined the police force, not as a fully-fledged police constable, of course - such a thing was still frowned upon in 1920 - but as a member of the constabulary, a ‘statement taker’ who can also be assigned other duties. A knowledge of The Unpicking is not necessary to enjoy this second novel as a standalone but the links and references are satisfying for those in the know.

At the opening of The Devil’s Draper, Mabel has been given some field work in the Ladies Waiting Room of Glasgow Railway Station. There has been a spate of thefts and she is there to protect women from would-be thieves. There appears to be a new gang at work who need to be stopped. Needless to say, she is unsuccessful, having just ‘taken a turn’ around the station to ease her ‘aching body’ when a lady is robbed of her luggage and her jewels. Superintendent Orr, who already has a very poor opinion of Mabel, is not impressed!

The chapters then alternate between three principal characters: Mabel, Beatrice, who runs an employment agency for women, and Johnnie, who is female but prefers to dress as a man, believing it makes her more obscure; as a member of a gang of female villains, she is rather adept at theft. The simple headings are helpful, making clear the character in focus and the passage of time.

There is more than one villain and the identity of one is revealed quite without warning.

Mabel lives with her adoptive mothers, Floss and Jo, and is searching for her real grandmother whilst also trying to do something for the greater good. Beatrice is alerted to some unpleasant activity at Arrol’s, an eminent department store which seems unable to keep its young female staff. Feeling a sense of responsibility to ‘her girls’, Beatrice wants to investigate since the police don’t seem interested in young women claiming sexual assault by reputable gentlemen. (Hmm, topical?) When Mabel is directed to the store to assist in apprehending the gang of serial shoplifters, Beatrice and Mabel meet.

Johnnie, meanwhile, is our third protagonist and a senior member of the St Thenue’s Avengers, the gang of female thieves making away with good pickings. She discovers one of their number, Ruby, has been murdered and when no one else is prepared to do anything, she wants to avenge the death: Ruby deserves a voice. When Evvy is also found dead, Johnnie is more determined than ever, even if it means working with the Police. In 1920’s Glasgow, where women are not held in high regard, the plot thickens as three paths collide and the women collude.

This is the UK post World War One, where there are too many young women whose place in society is not as easily defined as it had been twenty years earlier, and not enough young men to keep them in check. As in The Unpicking, Moore develops our awareness of the role of women in the early part of the twentieth century. Life for them was hard; even the law favoured men, given that it was a male-dominated justice system, determined to maintain the status quo. Modern women and suffragettes, however, do not readily accept the old order and do not readily acquiesce to the expectations of men especially when they know they are unfair. Our three heroines, while making a highly unlikely trio, are determined to do right by the women they know have been wronged by men and are determined to look after each other.

The characters are well defined although with a delicate hand. Each of our three main heroines has their own sense of integrity and others such as Floss, Jo and Grandmother are well suited to time and place. Winnie, who oversees the ladies’ public toilets, makes the role her own. Hector Arrol is as charming and sycophantic as he needs to be, when he needs to be, but is far from the pleasant chap he tries to appear: another man determined to abuse his power. His offspring reveal their various character traits with each appearance. Gilbert is a genuinely affable chap even if he cannot see what is right in front of him, while Arthur and Roderick are somewhat less appealing and their sister Eliza, understandably outranked by them all, has only a minor role to play. Superintendent Orr is the misogynist whose disdainful attitude to Mabel is shocking to the modern reader while Detective Inspector Lorrimer is somewhat more human and sympathetic to the cause. Meg, who leads the St Thenue’s Avengers, is cold-hearted and efficient. She becomes less likeable as the narrative proceeds and proceed it does, at a pace.

Our three heroines, while making a highly unlikely trio, are determined to do right by the women they know have been wronged by men and are determined to look after each other.

Mabel, Beatrice and Johnnie are kept busy at Arrol’s department store where it seems most of the misdeeds occur. Several abused young women and the two dead young women turn out to be different cases, both of which are solved quite suddenly at the end. There is more than one villain and the identity of one is revealed quite without warning. Grandmother features in a secondary thread and seeing her develop and grow in confidence is heartwarming.

Moore’s descriptions of the period are detailed: the Dadaist Art movement, the suppers, the dancing, the fashions, the wares on display in the grand shops contrast with the dark underbelly of Glasgow and its criminal world, all adding to the atmosphere and creating an authentic sense of time and place.

At the end, Beatrice suggests opening a detective agency, yielding, perhaps, another opportunity for Moore to make this a trilogy.


The Devil’s Draper is published by Fly On The Wall Press

More information here.