Title: Murder on the Dance Floor
Author: Helena Dixon
Publication Day: Oct 28th 2020
Description:
Kitty Underhay’s dance card is full… of death.
November 1933. Amateur sleuth-cum-dutiful granddaughter Kitty Underhay stifles a sigh of boredom as she attends the annual Hoteliers' Association Dinner and Dance on behalf of her grandmother, the proprietress of the Dolphin Hotel. She hopes the company of ex-army captain Matthew Bryant will enliven the otherwise dull evening. That is, until bullish and overbearing local councillor Harold Everton drops dead into his bowl of consommé.
While the local police are still scrambling for their whistles, Kitty and Matt waste no time leaping into action. Soon they find themselves caught up a dangerous search to uncover who amongst the distinguished guests used cyanide for seasoning?
When their digging throws light on a corruption scandal brewing in the local council involving Everton’s assistant Thomas King, they are sure they’ve cracked the case. But before he can be questioned further, King’s body is found in a smouldering car wreck. Meanwhile, the murderer has made a sinister plan to avoid detection or punishment, and it will lead Kitty and Matt into a dangerous dance with death…
A fast, fun and utterly unputdownable Golden Age cozy murder mystery, perfect for fans of Agatha Christie, T E Kinsey and Lee Strauss.
BLOG TOUR REVIEW
Review for 'Murder On The Dance Floor' by Helena Dixon.
Read and reviewed via NetGalley for Bookouture publishers and Bookouture anonymous
Publication date 28th October 2020
This is the first book that I have read by this author. It is also the fourth book in the 'A Miss Underhay Mystery' series. Although this book is the fourth in a series it can easily be read as a standalone and any references to events in previous books are explained in just the right amount of detail.
I was originally drawn to this book by its colourful cover and intriguing sounding blurb. 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 23 chapters. The chapters are medium in length so possible 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 one of the main protagonists is Kitty Underhay. 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.
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.
The storyline was very interesting and quite fast paced. There was the main storyline based on the murder of the Councillor Harold but you also had the side storyline of the search for Kitty's mother which is revealed closer to the end. I really enjoyed that it was 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 the person who turned out to be the murderer so a huge well done there Helena!!! I have read many a mystery and find that I am working out the killer 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!!!
I became 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. The only fault I did find is that sometimes the characters first names were used and at other times their surnames, as there are quite a few characters this did cause me some confusion at times. However, I am looking forward to meeting them all again in the next 'episode' of Miss Underhay's adventures which I'm sure will be just as exciting as this one!!
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, Murder Mystery and Crime among others.
I would recommend this book to the fans of the above as well as anyone looking for a nice easy mystery to read while curled up in front of the fire.
260 pages.
This book is £1.99 to purchase on kindle via Amazon or free on kindle unlimited which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!
Rated 4/5 (I enjoyed it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.
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@HelenaDixon @Bookouture @Bookworm1986 @bookworm86
Author Bio:
Nell Dixon was born and continues to live in the Black Country. Married to the same man for over thirty-five years she has three daughters, a cactus called Spike, a crazy cockapoo and a tank of tropical fish. She is allergic to adhesives, apples, tinsel and housework. Her addictions of choice are coffee and reality TV. She was winner of The Romance Prize in 2007 with her book Marrying Max, and winner of Love Story of the Year 2010 with her book, Animal Instincts. She also writes historical 1930's set cozy crime as Helena Dixon.
Author Social Media Links:
Website: http://www.nelldixon.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nell.dixon
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NellDixon
Buy Links: https://geni.us/B08BV2V69QSocial
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