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3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
mysterious
medium-paced
I loved the "I'll only talk to a woman" attitude that Verity Billington takes after husband Bert is murdered. It makes the hiring of an all-women detective firm (and an odd couple firm at that) organically part of the plot rather than figuring out some way to shoehorn it into the story. There's also the tie between Emma Holmes (yes, that last name) and the police department even beyond Emma's police captain husband. And the rummaging around into the history of English music hall shows, the trips to visit older/retired stars, etc.? Fun.
The cozy procedural genre is definitely a genre worth exploring and purchasing for my collection. It's perfect for readers ready for something less twee than real cozies.
eARC provided by publisher via Edelweiss.
The cozy procedural genre is definitely a genre worth exploring and purchasing for my collection. It's perfect for readers ready for something less twee than real cozies.
eARC provided by publisher via Edelweiss.
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
David Frost said "Love is staying up all night with a sick child - or a healthy adult.". A book that keeps reading till 3 am is an excellent book.
Maybe I'm a bit biased as I think I could read Elly Griffiths' shopping list and rate is as "gripping, highly entertaining, 5*". In this is case it's the right way to define this book as I read it turning pages maniacally and couldn't stop till I read the last word.
It's a complex story, full of twists and turns, a puzzle where there's one main suspect who's also an unreliable witness. Plenty of red herrings and a solution that came as a surprise.
I was happy to read about Emma investigating again and her relationship with WDPC Meg is interesting as it's based on common experience and bypass and social difference.
There's a lot going on in the life of the characters, fleshed out as usual, and there's plenty of references to the "The Feminine Mystique" and the beginning of the feminism movement. It's something so revolutionary that one of the male characters is considering it a possible motive for killing.
There's a quite bleak description of the entertainment in first part of the XX century: plenty of power plays and no metoo to prevent abuse.
A highly entertaining, gripping and well written story, highly recommended.
Many thanks to Quercus and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
Maybe I'm a bit biased as I think I could read Elly Griffiths' shopping list and rate is as "gripping, highly entertaining, 5*". In this is case it's the right way to define this book as I read it turning pages maniacally and couldn't stop till I read the last word.
It's a complex story, full of twists and turns, a puzzle where there's one main suspect who's also an unreliable witness. Plenty of red herrings and a solution that came as a surprise.
I was happy to read about Emma investigating again and her relationship with WDPC Meg is interesting as it's based on common experience and bypass and social difference.
There's a lot going on in the life of the characters, fleshed out as usual, and there's plenty of references to the "The Feminine Mystique" and the beginning of the feminism movement. It's something so revolutionary that one of the male characters is considering it a possible motive for killing.
There's a quite bleak description of the entertainment in first part of the XX century: plenty of power plays and no metoo to prevent abuse.
A highly entertaining, gripping and well written story, highly recommended.
Many thanks to Quercus and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
The Midnight Hour - Elly Griffiths
Bert Billington theatre impresario has been found dead in his chair. No- one suspects foul play until the post mortem reveals he has been poisoned. He is not liked and his wife, ‘the one and only’ Verity Malone is under suspicion. She employs private detectives Emma Holmes and Sam Collins to investigate the murder. They are in competition with the police, but Emma’s husband is the Superintendent and soon they are working alongside each other as bodies pile up and they have to find the killer.
I really loved this one, I liked the female characters being front and centre, with Max Mephisto and Edgar Stephens taking supporting roles this time around. Emma and Meg particularly I liked and their camaraderie shone through, they were strong characters, putting the men in their place and often!
Set in 1965, I was amazed at all the things women weren’t ‘allowed’ to do such as driving police cars, having to get their husbands permission to hire a car and giving up work when they married! This is in my parents lifetime and I was a bit flabbergasted by this.
With the darker side of show business, actors, costumes, and Dracula in Whitby, this was a good one with danger lurking just out of sight, misdirection so brilliantly done I was glued to this one and wow! The reveal….LOVED it!
✩✩✩✩
Thanks to Netgalley for the copy of this book
Bert Billington theatre impresario has been found dead in his chair. No- one suspects foul play until the post mortem reveals he has been poisoned. He is not liked and his wife, ‘the one and only’ Verity Malone is under suspicion. She employs private detectives Emma Holmes and Sam Collins to investigate the murder. They are in competition with the police, but Emma’s husband is the Superintendent and soon they are working alongside each other as bodies pile up and they have to find the killer.
I really loved this one, I liked the female characters being front and centre, with Max Mephisto and Edgar Stephens taking supporting roles this time around. Emma and Meg particularly I liked and their camaraderie shone through, they were strong characters, putting the men in their place and often!
Set in 1965, I was amazed at all the things women weren’t ‘allowed’ to do such as driving police cars, having to get their husbands permission to hire a car and giving up work when they married! This is in my parents lifetime and I was a bit flabbergasted by this.
With the darker side of show business, actors, costumes, and Dracula in Whitby, this was a good one with danger lurking just out of sight, misdirection so brilliantly done I was glued to this one and wow! The reveal….LOVED it!
✩✩✩✩
Thanks to Netgalley for the copy of this book
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced