Miranda Emmerson’s debut novel starts out as a mystery. When Iolanthe Green, a young American actress, goes missing, Anna Treadway, her dresser, sets out to find her. Anna’s investigations take her into the jazz clubs and rooming houses and police stations of 1960s London. She is helped in her quest by Aloysius, a young man from the Caribbean with a love of English literature.

The book works best as an exploration of the immigrant experience. Almost everyone Anna encounters has come to London from somewhere else, outsiders reinventing themselves in the face of racial or sexual prejudice to the point where it starts to feel a little too neat. These scenes of life in the capital are well researched and well crafted, but the plot loses some of its momentum once the characters leave London behind.

• Miss Treadway and the Field of Stars by Miranda Emmerson is published by 4th Estate (£12.99). To order a copy for £11.40 go to bookshop.theguardian.com or call 0330 333 6846. Free UK p&p over £10, online orders only. Phone orders min p&p of £1.99