A Midwinter Murder by Verity Bright

Lady Eleanor Swift Mystery #20

352 pages

Publisher: Bookouture

Release Date: December 4, 2024

 

Blurb

Homemade baubles, reindeer-shaped cookies and snowy walks across the rolling moors… but Lady Swift’s festive plans are ruined when a body turns up!

Winter 1924. When Lady Eleanor Swift unexpectedly finds herself a guest of the reclusive Duke of Auldwyke, she’s determined to enjoy Christmas with all the trimmings at his sprawling manor house. And that includes kisses under the mistletoe and cozying up by the fire with her fiancé, dashing detective Hugh Seldon.

Instead, the season of goodwill turns frosty as she finds the Duke’s studious secretary, Mr Porritt, dead in the storeroom. Clasped in his chilly hand is a golden pendant in the shape of a rose. The Duke denies ever having seen the necklace before. But Eleanor can see the lies in his eyes… Did it belong to his mysteriously absent wife?

Hugh and Eleanor must ditch relaxing with hot cocoa in favour of interviewing the Duke’s holiday guests. Every suspect has a secret they’d kill to keep: the socialite with the false name, the Sir with a questionable inheritance and the husband hiding a crack in his marriage.

As the blizzard outside rages, Auldwyke Hall becomes cut off. Trapped by the snow, Eleanor and Hugh must skate around the increasingly secretive Duke to unwrap the identity of the killer. But does the answer to the secretary’s murder lie with a ghost of Christmas past? And when an attempt is made on the Duke’s life too, they realise the killer is closer than they think…

 

Review

May I present a delightful new instalment in the Lady Eleanor Swift series.

Despite her attempts to refuse the invitation, Lady Eleanor finds herself, accompanied by her full staff, dog, and cat, travelling to Auldwyke Hall to celebrate Christmas with a Duke she has never met and several other guests she’s never seen before either. Eleanor’s fiancé, Chief Inspector Hugh Seldon, will be joining them a day later. But what Eleanor had hoped would be a romantic and festive seasonal celebration turns dark within minutes after her arrival at the Hall when she discovers the body of the Duke’s secretary who has obviously been strangled.

What follows is an investigation conducted by Eleanor and Hugh with the help of a local constable during which it soon becomes clear that most of the guests have something to hide. At the same time, Eleanor and Hugh try to find time for romantic encounters as well and Eleanor’s staff try to create the perfect Christmas atmosphere in the gamekeeper’s cottage. As tends to be the case in the Lady Eleanor Swift mysteries, it’s all a bit mad-cap but very entertaining and a captivating read.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book even if there were few clues on the page to help the reader identify the culprit. The story was a wonderful contrast between the mysterious and gloomy atmosphere in Auldwycke Hall and the wonderful Christmas mood created in the gamekeeper’s cottage by Eleanor’s loyal staff. And, as to be expected from a Christmas mystery, the ending is as merry and happy as can be.

Liar’s Island by T. Orr Munro

CSI Ally Dymond #3

400 pages

Publisher: HQ

Release Date: November 21, 2024

 

Blurb

When the body of Kieran Deveney is found on Liars Island, it sends shockwaves through the tiny, close-knit population. The rugged coastline has a history of smuggling and shipwreck, but there has never been a murder – until now.

With the hunt for the killer underway, two locals confess to the crime. Each claims they acted alone, and neither can be convicted while the other stands by their story. Which of them is telling the truth?

CSI Ally Dymond arrives to uncover the evidence that could crack the case. What she finds is a community awash with secrets. As a storm closes in, and with the identity of the murderer still in doubt, no one can leave the island. But it’s not the treacherous weather that Ally fears, it’s the people she’s trapped with…

 

Review

Kieran Deveney is the co-owner of a sports centre on Liar’s Island. His father is on the board of trustees for the island and more or less determines what happens there. When Kieran’s body is discovered on the island the question is who killed him. The island only has a tiny population and when two of them individually confess to having murdered Kieran singlehandedly, the police are facing a stand-off as far as their investigation is concerned.

CSI Ally Dymond and a junior colleague are sent to Liar’s Island to uncover evidence that will prove or disprove either of the confessions. Before they can return to the mainland with what little potential evidence they have found, a storm descends on the island, and they find themselves stranded in close proximity to a murderer.

The story is told in the first person from Ally Dymond’s perspective. However, interspersed throughout the story are CSI reports for each of the island’s inhabitants as well as passages printed in cursive that describe relevant details about those inhabitants’ pasts. I’m not sure how I felt about those cursive parts. On the one hand, they allowed the reader to join the dots and be part of the solving of the puzzle. On the other hand, those sections weren’t the result of the on-the-page investigation so it created the weird situation where the reader knows more than Ally Dymond did. One thing they made perfectly clear though, is that everybody on the island had a motive for killing Kieran.

Liar’s Island is an atmospheric story with the placenames creating the atmosphere. For example, Kieran Deveney is found in a bay known as Devil’s Cauldron on Liar’s Island. This is also a rather slow-moving story and a relatively large section of it deals with Ally Dymond’s private life. This book is very well written and easy to read but it also felt a bit flat. Despite the atmosphere, the location, the murders, and the storm there wasn’t any real tension or urgency in the story.

This is the third book in the Ally Dymond series by this author. I didn’t read the previous two books, and I don’t think it is necessary to have done so in order to enjoy this title. Having said that, if you think this series sounds like something you might enjoy, I advise you to start with book one (Breakneck Point). I may be wrong, but I think Liar’s Island contains at least one spoiler for the previous stories.

Overall I enjoyed Liar’s Island and I’d call it a well-plotted and easy-to-read mystery that for me personally could have done with a little more tension and a little less personal backstory.

October Reads

October was a solid reading month. I didn't have any star reads and my lowest score was 3 stars. See below for my thoughts on the books I read. The first two come with links to longer reviews on this blog because I was lucky enough to get ARCs through Netgalley.

What was your October like? Did you read any books you'd like to recommend? Please share in the comment section because I'm always on the lookout for new gems.

MISS BEETON’S MURDER AGENCY (Miss Beeton #1) by Josie Lloyd (4-*)

A fast-paced, thrilling mystery, and captivating crime-caper with a few too many wtf moments for me to rate if five stars. If you like your cosy mystery with a large dose of mayhem, a host of larger-than-life characters, a cute little doggo, as well as plenty of action, and you don’t mind suspending disbelief once or twice, you’re going to love Miss Beeton’s Murder Agency.

Longer review: https://helenasheat.blogspot.com/2024/10/miss-beetons-murder-agency-by-josie.html

 

EVERONE THIS CHRISTMAS HAS A SECRET (Ernest Cunningham #3) by Benjamin Stevenson (4.5*)

I found this book all but impossible to put down. Ernest’s chatty narration pulled me along and had my swiping through the pages as fast as I could. The cast of characters was fascinating and the possible motifs for murder kept me guessing until Ernest reveals all in the rather spectacular denouement. Did I pick up on all the clues? No! Did I figure out whodunit? Also, no! But did I thoroughly enjoy myself while reading this book? Absolutely!

If you’re looking for a captivating, well-plotted and faultlessly executed mystery this Christmas, you are probably looking for Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret.

Longer review: https://helenasheat.blogspot.com/2024/10/everyone-this-christmas-has-secret-by.html

 

ONE OF US IS DEAD (Roy Grace #21) by Peter James (3*)

Rufus Rorke was supposed to have died two years ago but is recognised, alive and well by a man he used to be friends with. At the same time the police, led by Detective Superintendent Roy Grace are investigating a number of suspicious deaths. It isn’t long before the police's attention is focussed on Rufus. But how do you catch a man who has successfully lived undercover for years?

This is a well-written story with a fascinating plot. I was disappointed that it wasn’t a real mystery or thriller, though. This is not a whodunnit but a ‘how-do-we-catch-him’ sorta story and I kept on waiting for a twist in the tale that never happened.

 

MY BROTHER’S HUSBAND (My Brother’s Husband #1) by Gengoroh Tagame (4*)

I’m copying the original blurb here since I can’t put it better myself:

Yaichi is a work-at-home suburban dad in contemporary Tokyo; formerly married to Natsuki, father to their young daughter, Kana. Their lives suddenly change with the arrival at their doorstep of a hulking, affable Canadian named Mike Flanagan, who declares himself the widower of Yaichi's estranged gay twin, Ryoji. Mike is on a quest to explore Ryoji's past, and the family reluctantly but dutifully takes him in. What follows is an unprecedented and heartbreaking look at the state of a largely still-closeted Japanese gay culture: how it's been affected by the West, and how the next generation can change the preconceptions about it and prejudices against it.

I’m not sure how much I like reading Mangas but even turning the pages from back to front didn’t diminish how much I enjoyed this touching story.

 

AUTUMN CHILLS by Agatha Christie (4.5*)

A collection of 12 short stories featuring Hercule Poirot (4 stories), Miss Marple (2 stories), Harley Quin (2 stories), Parker Pyne (1 story), Tommy & Tuppence (1 story). Two of the stories were stand-alone and one of them (While the Light Lasts) wasn’t actually a mystery. While I enjoyed some stories more than others, all of them were a delight to read.

 

YOU ARE HERE by David Nicholls (4+)

Michael and Marnie have both retreated from the world after their marriages failed. Now they both find themselves on a coast to coast walk and with every passing kilometre they find themselves coming out of their self-imposed shells and getting closer to each other. A well-written and intriguing read about second chances taking them.

 

DEATH OF A BOOKSELLER by Alice Slater (3.5*)

A story about obsession that makes for an obsessive read despite the fact that I’m not sure how much I actually liked the main characters or the story itself. The book makes the reader wonder about the popularity of true crime books, podcasts, and television shows. How healthy is that fascination and how does that public interest affect those who have to live with the consequences of murder? The book’s ending was a bit too ambiguous for my liking too. Just as the title is a little misleading.

Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret by Benjamin Stevenson

 

Ernest Cunningham #3

208 pages

Publisher: Michael Joseph

Release Date: October 24, 2024

 

Blurb

My name is Ernest Cunningham.

I’m not a detective. I just happen to have a knack for what makes mysteries – and murderers – tick. I’d hoped, this Christmas, that any killers out there might be willing to take a break for the holidays.

I was wrong.

So here I am, backstage at the Christmas show of world-famous magician Rylan Blaze, whose benefactor has just been murdered. From the magician’s assistant to the hypnotist, my suspects are all professional tricksters. Masters in the art of misdirection.

My clues are even more of a mystery:

A suspect covered in blood, with no memory of how it got there.
A murder committed without setting foot inside the room where it happens.
And an advent calendar. Because, you know. It’s Christmas.

Solving the murder is the only gift I want this year. But can I catch a killer, and make it home for Christmas alive?

 

Review

Ernest Cunningham can’t stay away from murders, it would seem. After Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone and Everyone On This Train is A Suspect he is back for a third instalment when his ex-wife Erin asks for his help. Her partner has been murdered and she is found with blood on her hands without having any idea how it got there. And, as if one impossible murder isn’t enough, it isn’t long before magician Rylan Blaze is decapitated by a blade made of paper. With only a few days until it is Christmas, Ernest is, once again, up against it.

“I’m not a private investigator. I just happen to have a knack for understanding how mysteries tick, provided they follow the rules set out by the classics, of course.”

As was the case in the previous two books, the narrator in this story is Ernest Cunningham himself and he often addresses the reader directly. In fact, he plays a game with the reader, providing them with all the clues needed to solve the mystery without actually pointing them out. In other words, plays fair and according to the rules set by the writers of the Golden Age of Mystery.

“You’ll find no hidden clues or unreliable narrators here. My job is to relay to you everything you need to reach the same ‘lightbulb’ moment I did.”

And, because we’re dealing with a Christmas mystery, the story has a seasonable flavour:

“…this whole thing’s best treated as an advent calendar. Twenty-four chapters hold twenty-four clues and various bits and bobs that help me with the case. Well, twenty-three clues and a killer.”

Readers with great self-control could treat this book like an Advent calendar and read one chapter each day starting December 1st. I like that idea, but I wouldn’t have been able to limit myself like that. There’s too much happening and the use of cliffhangers at the end of each chapter pushed me straight from one chapter into the next one. In fact, I found this book all but impossible to put down. Ernest’s chatty narration pulled me along and had me swiping through the pages as fast as I could. The cast of characters was fascinating and the possible motifs for murder kept me guessing until Ernest revealed all in the rather spectacular denouement. Did I pick up on all the clues? No! Did I figure out whodunit? Also, no! But did I thoroughly enjoy myself while reading this book? Absolutely!

If you’re looking for a captivating, well-plotted, at times laugh-out-loud funny, and faultlessly executed mystery this Christmas, you are probably looking for Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret.

Miss Beeton’s Murder Agency by Josie Lloyd

 

Miss Beeton Mysteries #1

384 pages

Publisher: HQ

Release Date: October 24, 2024

 

Blurb

Alice Beeton never meant to wind up single and childless on the wrong side of fifty. Like her distant relative Mrs Beeton – yes, that Mrs Beeton – she had hoped to have her own spic-and-span household by now. In reality, she lives in an immaculate but dingy basement flat in a rather shabby block in Kensington with Agatha, her fiercely intelligent, if rather over-territorial, corgi-Jack Russell cross.

Now Alice runs the Good Household Management Agency, providing discreet domestic staff to extravagant townhouses and sprawling country piles. So when Camille Messant calls in urgent need of a new housekeeper, Miss Beeton sends out new hire Enya. She’s rather forward but she does come with impeccable references and is fluent en français.

But in the early hours of New Year’s Day, Alice is rudely awakened with the news that Enya has been found dead. As the police struggle to drum up an adequate investigation and the wealthy family and their party guests close rank, Miss Beeton takes it upon herself to solve the crime…

 

Review

Alice Beeton is a distant relative of the Miss Beeton of Miss Beeton’s Book of Household Management fame. She runs the Good Household Management Agency providing domestic staff to the rich and famous. When she employs a new hire named Enya on the same day that she is asked to provide the Messant household with a housekeeper immediately, it seems too good to be true. When, only a few days later, Enya is found dead, Alice Beeton feels responsible. With the police investigation not going anywhere, Alice decides to do some investigating of her own. After all, she’s a huge fan of murder mysteries. How hard can it be to unmask a murderer?

Alice with more than a little help from her friends Jinx, Helly, Barney, Jacques, and Massoud, to name but a few, soon discovers that investigating a crime is much harder than it looks between the covers of a book. And much more fraught with danger too. Going undercover in the Messant household to replace Enya, Alice Beeton finds herself taking risks and not getting anywhere fast. But, as she reflects 49% into the book: “Being stuck in the middle was part of the process.”

There’s a lot going on in this book apart from the murder which is not surprising since this appears to be the first book in a planned series which means that several characters and back stories had to be established. If I’m honest, it was a bit (too) much for me at times. More than once, I found myself wondering ‘who are you again?’ about secondary characters and some plot developments were outrageous enough that I found myself rolling my eyes. At the same time, the writing is smooth, and the story was intriguing enough to keep me turning the pages.

There are recipes in this book, some going back to the original Mrs. Beeton and others more modern. These recipes are placed right behind the place where a dish is mentioned right in the middle of chapters, and I’d love to tell you more about them. Unfortunately, the formatting of the ARC the publisher provided me with meant that they were literally unreadable. That is a shame since most of the dishes mentioned in the story sounded very yummy and I wouldn’t have minded trying my hand at recreating one or two of them.

Overall, this was a fast-paced, thrilling mystery, and captivating crime-caper with a few too many wtf moments for me to rate if five stars. If you like your cosy mystery with a large dose of mayhem, a host of larger-than-life characters, a cute little doggo, as well as plenty of action, and you don’t mind suspending disbelief once or twice, you’re going to love Miss Beeton’s Murder Agency.

Murder by Candlelight by Faith Martin

The Val & Arbie Mysteries #1

336 pages

Publisher: HQ

Publishing date: January 4, 2024

Release Date Paperback: September 26, 2024

Netgalley

 

Blurb

As the sun rises over the Cotswolds village of Maybury-in-the-Marsh, at the Old Forge a cry of anguish goes up. Lady of the house Amy Phelps has been found dead – but with all the windows and doors to her room locked, how – and by who – was she killed?

Arbuthnot ‘Arbie’ Swift finds himself in the unlikely position of investigating. The author of The Gentleman’s Guide to Good Ghost Hunting – an excuse for Arbie to indulge his love of travel funded by the owners of country houses who hear the supernatural in every creak and echo – might be more used to dealing with the long dead, but as he’s currently staying at the Old Forge to investigate a suspected spectre, Amy’s murder falls to him too.

With old friend Val, he begins to dig into the old lady’s death, and soon uncovers a sorry tale of altered wills, secret love affairs and tragic losses. But when a second victim is killed, Arbie has to find the killer fast – and to do so will mean cracking the most ingeniously plotted murder…

Review

What an utterly delightful and clever mystery we have here. Allow me to set the scene.

The year is 1924 and we find ourselves in Maybury-in-the-Marsh in the middle of the Cotswolds. Mr. Arbuthnot (Arbi) Lancelot Swift is a young man of independent means who has been raised by his eccentric uncle and has recently acquired a minor form of celebrity after writing and publishing a book titled A Gentleman’s Guide to Ghost-Hunting. As far as Arbi is concerned, the book and its subject are mostly a joke, but he isn’t overly surprised when he’s approached by Miss Amy Phelps, a local spinster who asks him to inspect the Old Forge, her manor house. She has been plagued by mysterious noises and occurrences lately and wants to get to the bottom of what is going on.

Arbi, is less than enthusiastic about the prospect since he had other, far more relaxing plans for his days and nights.

‘Whilst it behoved one to help out one’s neighbours when called upon, of course, it was not something a chap actively encouraged.’

He is about to worm his way out of this invitation but finds his escape route blocked by Valentina Olivia Charlotte Coulton-James, the vicar’s daughter who is also a lifelong acquaintance of Arbi’s. Unsurprisingly, her curiosity is piqued as soon as she hears the words ‘ghostly goings on’ and next thing Arbi knows, she’s accepted an invitation to tea at the Old Forge for both of them.

At the Old Forge, Arbi and Valentina meet the other inhabitants of the big house. There is Jane Brockhurst, Miss Phelps’ housekeeper of about 30 years, Mrs. Cora Delaney, Miss Phelps friend, Reggie Bickersworth, another houseguest, Phyllis Thomas, Miss Phelp’s niece and Murray Phelps, her nephew.

While Arbi and Valentina’s initial night-time investigation reveals nothing, a later over-night vigil at the Old Forge ends with Miss Phelps found murdered in her bed. The question of who might have killed her is overshadowed by the mystery as to how it was done since her bedroom was locked…from the inside. Unable to resist temptation, Arbi and Valentina decide to investigate what happened while trying not to get in the way of, or send away by Inspector Bernard Gorringe.

I would love to get into the ins and outs of Arbi and Valentina’s journey to the solution. It’s filled with clues, red herrings, wonderful dialogue, and delicious sniping between our two amateur investigators. But no matter how much fun it would be to share those wonders with you, it would also thoroughly spoil the story, so I’ll reign myself in and stop my summary here.

What I can say is that Murder by Candelight is delightful book. From the very start of this story, I recognised how closely it matches mysteries written during the Golden Age of Mystery by authors such as Agatha Christie. The manor house setting combined with the locked room closed circle set-up took me right back to that era of amazing whodunnits. I smiled widely when Arbie says something similar while referring to ‘that Belgian chap with spats. You know, the one in the books. With his grey cells’. Having said that, Albie and Valentina reminded me of Tommy and Tuppence more than Hercule Poirot.

I do hope that Arbi and Valentina will follow in Tommy and Tuppence’s footsteps and involve themselves in further mysteries. They are wonderful together. I loved the way they snipe at each other, how much they exasperate each other, and how it is obvious to all except the persons in question that their feelings go much deeper than they are willing to acknowledge.

Apart from being an amazing and well-plotted mystery, Murder by Candlelight is also very well written, filled with fascinating characters and sparkling dialogue, and a very smooth and hard-to-put-down story. I liked that the point of view changed between players in this story, allowing me to get a better idea of who the participants were and of their motivations, although I can’t say it also helped me figure out the solution before it was presented.

Long review short: Murder by Candlelight is a delightful traditional locked room mystery. The (main) characters are fascinating, the police inspector not as foolish as we sometimes see, and the clues and red herrings kept me on my toes. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves Golden-Age-of-Mystery-style books.

Friends of Dorothy by Sandi Toksvig

320 pages

Publisher: Little Brown Group UK / Virago

Release Date: September 26, 2024

 

Blurb

After much searching, the happily married young couple, Amber and Stevie think they have found the perfect spot in Grimaldi Square. Despite the rundown pub across the way, the overgrown garden and a decidedly nosy neighbour, number 4 is the house of their dreams. Stevie, a woman who has never left anything to chance, has planned everything so nothing can spoil their happiness. But ... upstairs in their new home, seated on an old red sofa is the woman they bought the place from - eighty-year-old foul-mouthed, straight-talking, wise-cracking Dorothy - who has decided that she's not going anywhere. It turns out that Dorothy will be only the first in a line of life-changing surprises.

Friends of Dorothy is a touching, funny novel about a family that is not biological, but logical; a story close to Sandi Toksvig's heart.

 

Review

The last thing anybody moving into their new house expects to find is the former owner still in situ. But that’s exactly what happens to Stevie and Amber when they take possession of number 4 Grimaldi Square. Dorothy Franklin sits comfortably on a red sofa in one of the bedrooms with a suitcase by her side and she has no intention of leaving. Despite Stevie and Amber’s best efforts, there’s no getting through to Dorothy who appears to be staying for a reason she isn’t willing to disclose.

Life with Dorothy turns out to be anything but boring. From a demolished internal wall, via delicious meals, to heart-stopping rides through London, Dorothy keeps the two young women on their toes. She also introduces them to the neighbourhood and the pub across the road that has seen better times and is called The Price of Onions. Without being sure how it happens and while they’re busy trying to come up with a solution for Dorothy that doesn’t involve her living with them, Stevie and Amber find their new life taking shape and their circle of friends growing.

This is mostly a lighthearted, at times laugh-out-loud story. However, it isn’t without its deeper and darker moments. It is also a commentary on parenting, the housing market, the way society deals with our elderly, and LGBTQ+ issues, for starters. It is fair to say that while I found myself crying on numerous occasions while reading this book, most, but not all, of those tears were triggered by laughter. Overall though I would call this a feel-good read. While the book itself states that it isn’t a fairytale, the story does come with perfect happy endings for all the characters who deserve them.

I adored this book. It’s almost certainly going to be (one of) my favourite book(s) this year and goes straight to my ‘extra-special’ list. There is so much to love on these pages. Quirky and charming characters, lively dialogue, and not a boring moment, make this a memorable read. While the stories are different, the atmosphere of this book, the diversity of the characters, and the idea of logical rather than biological families reminded me of the Tales of the City books by Armistead Maupin. Considering how much I loved those tales the comparison is a compliment.

Finally, I’m pretty sure Sandi Toksvig referenced herself in her book when she wrote:

 “That lesbian on the telly – what shername – she has kids.”

And yes, this was one of many times when I laughed out loud.

Long review short: Friends of Dorothy is a delightful book! So much so that I want to live in Grimaldi Square, be part of that world, and become one of Dorothy’s friends.

A Front-Page Murder by Fiona Veitch Smith

 

Poppy Danby Investigates #1

288 Pages

Publisher: Bonnier Books UK | Embla Books

Publishing Date: September 24, 2024

Previously published as The Jazz Files

 

Blurb

London, 1920. Starry-eyed aspiring reporter Poppy Denby emerges from the steam of the Edinburgh-London train onto the platform at King's Cross with nothing but a trunk of old notebooks and a heart full of dreams. She swaps her quiet northern hometown for the Big Smoke to act as companion for her ailing (but ever-sharp) Aunt Dot, a pioneering Suffragette and former West End leading lady.

She may only be twenty-two, but Miss Denby knows what she wants and quickly lands a job at the Daily Globe. She expects she's going to have to pull up her stockings and work twice as hard as her male colleagues, but what she is not ready to deal with is murder.

It's only Poppy's first day on Fleet Street when one of the Globe's senior reporters falls to his death from the highest staircase - just moments after receiving a mysterious note. Poppy is tasked with finishing his article involving the mysterious death of a suffragette seven years earlier, about which some powerful people would prefer nothing to be said. Did old Bert Isaacs get too close to a scoop?

As Poppy investigates, she is thrown into a world of hard-drinking newspapermen, flappers and jazz clubs, and learns she must tread very carefully indeed. Luckily, she has her new-found friendship with the terribly dashing Globe photographer Daniel Rokeby who seems terribly eager to lend a helping hand...

But first of all, she's got a murder to solve and this might just make the front page.

 

Review

This book was previously published as The Jazz Files.

When Poppy Denby arrives in London to stay with and assist her wheelchair-bound Aunt Dot she meets a dashing young press photographer named Daniel Rokeby in the train station. The encounter makes Poppy wonder what it would be like to be a journalist. So when Aunt Dot and her companion Grace Wilson, who were pioneering suffragettes before the First World War, encourage Poppy to look for a ‘real’ job, Poppy applies to the Daily Globe newspaper. Rollo Robinson, the owner and editor of the paper where Daniel is also employed takes Poppy on as his assistant but what initially was meant to be a secretarial job to organise and clear the files in Rollo’s office soon turns into an investigation when the political editor falls to his death on Poppy’s first day.

Convinced that the fall was no accident and encouraged by Rollo, Poppy dives into an investigation that is connected to her aunt’s past as a suffragette and the events that put her in a wheelchair. It will also take Poppy into London’s theatrical scene, bring her face to face with a lord who detests the suffragette movement, and will see her travel to Paris. And that’s just for starters. Poppy’s opportunity to prove herself as a journalist is a danger-filled rollercoaster both for her and for the reader.

I struggled a bit with that synopsis. There is a lot happening in this story and I’m not sure I could summarize it all without either spoiling the story and/or confusing readers of this review. There are also many characters to keep track of, both fictional and taken from real life. For example, Charlie Chaplin and Marie Curie make a supporting appearance on these pages. So, it is very helpful that the book starts with a list of characters, indicating whether they’re real or fictional, and that at about 70% into the story Poppy and Rollo, her boss, create and discuss a timeline that summarizes all the events both past and present that have come to pass up until that point.

This book is more crime-caper than mystery since most of the villains in this story are obvious from the start. What’s more, Poppy was a bit too much ‘do first, think later’ kinda girl for my liking, but the story flew across the pages and there wasn’t a boring paragraph.

Long review short: while I did roll my eyes on quite a few occasions while reading A Front Page Murder, I had a hard time putting this book down. This story is pure entertainment for anybody who enjoys their mysteries with a generous helping of shenanigans. And while I think I prefer the Miss Clara Vale mysteries by this author, I’m pretty sure I’ll return to Poppy Denby’s adventures before too long.