Book Description:
Kitty Underhay is awarding first place… to murder.
Spring, 1935. Newlywed Kitty Underhay has been enlisted by her old nemesis Mrs Craven to help organise the Miss Dartmouth Jubilee pageant at the Dolphin Hotel. Being bossed around by her arch enemy is not quite what Kitty had in mind for the start of her married life, but she’s excited to launch the glamorous show. Sparkling smiles are quickly replaced by audible gasps however, when one of the girls goes missing during the interval…
When pretty Peggy Blaine is discovered dead, Kitty can’t help but notice that none of the other contestants seem particularly shocked. Can jealousy over a sash and a diamante tiara be a motive for murder?
But when she discovers the threatening notes the young women have received, Kitty enlists her husband Matt to figure out who’s scaring the competitors. However, before Matt can speak to them, another entrant turns up dead after an apparently accidental overdose. Taking part in a beauty pageant seems to have turned into a fatal occupation!
The daring duo are sure that someone close to the girls is responsible. But can they sort the harmless face powders from the fatal poisons before it’s too late? Or will Kitty and Matt find they are next to be crowned… with death?
An utter joy! Fans of Agatha Christie, T E Kinsey and Lee Strauss will fall head over heels for this utterly compelling and totally charming historical cozy mystery!
BLOG TOUR REVIEW
Review for 'Murder At The Beauty Pageant' by Helena Dixon.
Read and reviewed via NetGalley for Helena Dixon, Bookouture publishers and Bookouture anonymous
Publication date 2nd May 2023
This is the seventh book I have read by this author. It is also the eleventh book in the 'Miss Underhay' series but can be read as a standalone. I have previously read 'Murder On The Dance Floor', 'Murder At The Wedding', 'Murder In First Class', 'Murder At Elm House', 'Murder At The Country Club' and 'Murder At The Charity Ball' which I would highly recommend.
I was originally drawn to this book by its gorgeous eye catching cover and its intriguing synopsis and title. The synopsis stated that this book is 'An utter joy! Fans of Agatha Christie, T E Kinsey and Lee Strauss will fall head over heels for this utterly compelling and totally charming historical cozy mystery!.' I am a huge fan of Agatha Christie so am looking forward to seeing if this lives up to this statement. I am also a huge fan of Helena and if this is as good as 'Murder On The Dance Floor', 'Murder At The Wedding', 'Murder In First Class', 'Murder At The Country Club', 'Murder At Elm House' and 'Murder At The Charity' it is sure to be a good read. I must admit I was also biased due to the publisher being Bookouture. I have yet to read a book published by Bookouture that I haven't enjoyed. Hopefully this won't be the first... Watch this space! (Written before I started reading the book).
This novel consists of a prologue and 25 chapters. The chapters are short to medium in length so easy to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!
This book is based in Devon, UK 🇬🇧 . I always enjoy when books are set in the UK as I'm from Wales and have sometimes visited areas mentioned in the book. This makes it easier to picture where the scenes are set at times. I have in fact visited Devon on many occasions including this year so am looking forward to possibly recognising name places.
This book is written in third person perspective and the main protagonists are Kitty Bryant (Underhay) and Captain Matthew Bryant. I enjoy books written in third person with several protagonists as it let's you see the bigger picture of what's going on and you get to know more characters.
Yet another fantastic murder mystery by the very talented Helena Dixon!!! Congratulations 🎊 🎉 🎈
This book was very well written and I do believe some research went into it as everything linked correctly in with the era it was set in. It is a real bug bear for me when I read a historical novel and the author hasn't done their research and gets basic information mixed up so well done Helena!! It was very well written and I found the synopsis and the cover fitted the storyline perfectly, The descriptions were great and it really felt as if I was in the story.
Yet another hugely successful addition in this fantastic series by the very talented Helena!! In this book we start delving into the beginning of Kittie's married life to Matt and it feels like the start to an era. The plot includes Kitty helping to arrange a beauty pageant in order to raise funds for a children's party to celebrate the silver jubilee of King George V and Queen Mary. This book is fantastically timed to coincide with the coronation of Prince Charles coming up on the 6th making it even easier to picture the celebratory atmosphere. However, when threatening letters start to arrive, someone goes missing and a body is found the atmosphere changes for the worse. The storyline was very interesting and fast paced. Helena completely emerges the reader into the storyline. I absolutely loved that this murder mystery took place in such beautiful settings and as always Helens evocative writing skills brings the atmosphere, sights sounds and characters to life ensuring the reader is completely sucked into the storyline seeing and feeling everything the characters are. I really enjoy the fact that this series is set in the past and the storyline really suited that. It really is a nice cozy mystery that will keep you guessing throughout. At no point did I suspect who was doing what or why so a huge well done there Helena!!! I have read many a mystery and find that I am working out the killer/perp quicker every time and there's nothing worse than working out who did what when your need even half way through a book. Not only is this quite a suspense and action filled mystery but there was just the right amount of quirkiness, laughter and romance to give it a nice mix!!! A fun, addictive, unputdownable cozy crime mystery. This is a fantastic series and if you have never read any of Helena's previous books then you are definitely missing out. I, personally, would like to add that I think each storyline has got better and better which is a very rare thing for a series. I also loved the cliffhanger at the end!!
Although this is the twelfth book in the series I would have had absolutely no problems reading it without the others. Any details or events that have previously happened are mentioned in just the right amount of detail to let a new reader know what has happened and yet not too much to bore a previous reader.
I am really invested in the characters and really enjoyed Kitty and her fantastic and quirky personality!!! In fact all of the characters had their own individual personalities which worked really well with each other. They have all become like a family to me and I always hate saying goodbye to them at the end of the book. I am looking forward to meeting them all again in the next 'episode' of Mrs Bryant's adventures which I'm sure will be just as exciting as this one!! I absolutely adored that Kitty and Matt have finally got married which has been a long time coming and that this is their first mystery since. I am definitely looking forward to reading more about how they continue to settle in to married life!!! I also adore the fact that we get to see more of not only Bertie the dog more who made an explosive entrance in 'Murder In First Class' (so make sure you don't miss out on that amazing page turner!) but we also have another animal addition in the form of a gorgeous kitten called Rascal. I wasn't a fan of the new Inspector Lewis who has taken Inspector Grevilleve's place after his promotion to Chief Inspector and he certainly wasn't the biggest fan of Kitty and Matt being involved in the investigation!! Regardless of whether you love or hate the characters though they each play their parts perfectly and are all vital characters in an absolutely addictive series!!!
Well done Helen on yet another fantastic success and here's to the next addition to an addictive page turning series 🥂!!!
Overall a perfect mix of mystery, crime, romance, laughter and quirkiness which kept me turning the pages late at night!!
Genres covered in this novel include Historical, Cozy Mystery, Cozy Animal Mystery, Private Investigator Mystery, English Crime, Murder Mysteries, Police Procedural, Historical Thriller, Amateur Sleuth Mysteries, Cozy Craft & Hobbies Mysteries, Women Sleuths and Crime among others.
I would recommend this book to the fans of the above as well as fans of Agatha Christie, T.E. Kinsey and Lee Strauss and anyone looking for a nice easy mystery to read while curled up in front of the fire.
287 pages.
This book is just £2.99 to purchase on kindle, free on kindle unlimited and £7.99 in paperback (at time of review) via Amazon which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!
Rated 5 /5 (I LOVED it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.
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Author Bio:
Helena Dixon is the author of the best-selling Miss Underhay murder mystery series and
lives in Devon. Married to the same man for over thirty-five years she has three daughters, a
cactus called Spike, and a crazy cockapoo. She is allergic to adhesives, apples, tinsel and
housework. She was winner of The Romance Prize in 2007 and Love Story of the Year 2010
Social Media Links
Website : https://www.nelldixon.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/helenadixonuk/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NellDixon
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