Tag Archives: 1930s novels

#BookReview ‘Murder at the Country Club’ by Helena Dixon @NellDixon #cosymystery #crime

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Murder at the Country Club by Helena Dixon begins as hotelier and amateur detective Kitty Underhay has been invited to the luxurious Torbay Country Club with her fiance Captain Matthew Bryant. The afternoon is going beautifully until their host is found dead with an arrow in his back. Helena DixonNinth in the 1930s murdery mystery series featuring Miss Kitty Underhay, there are a lot of suspects for this crime. Possibly Sir William Winspear’s younger glamorous wife, or his put-upon sister, or his disgruntled younger brother, or the glamorous brother and sister dancers. Then there’s a second death. Someone is found dead in a swimming pool and the possibilities become even more entangled as questionable alibis and dodgy motivations are shaken.
Kitty and Matt are called in by Inspector Greville to help with the investigation. Why did the victim ask Matt for help. Who are the mysterious Russian brother and sister dancers. Does Lettice Winspear really love her much older, wealthy, husband. Was Sir William planning to change his will. And is Lettice having an affair. Is the most obvious suspect really the murderer, or the least obvious?
I have enjoyed all the Kitty Underhay books. They are entertaining, give opportunities for problem solving and are read quickly. Ongoing storylines make the next book seem enticing. As Kitty and Matt’s wedding approaches, decisions must be taken about the running of the Dolphin Hotel, where the newly-marrieds will live, and how Kitty’s grandmother can continue to help in the hotel’s management. The ever-present threat of criminal mastermind Esther Hammett means the next Kitty story, Murder on Board, promises a resolution to one of the longest-running threats in the series.

Here are my reviews of other books in the series:-
MURDER AT THE DOLPHIN HOTEL #1MISSUNDERHAY
MURDER AT ENDERLEY HALL #2MISSUNDERHAY
MURDER AT THE PLAYHOUSE #3MISSUNDERHAY
MURDER ON THE DANCE FLOOR #4MISSUNDERHAY
MURDER IN THE BELLTOWER #5MISSUNDERHAY
MURDER AT ELM HOUSE #6MISSUNDERHAY
MURDER AT THE WEDDING #7MISSUNDERHAY
MURDER IN FIRST CLASS #8MISSUNDERHAY
MURDER ON BOARD #10MISSUNDERHAY

And my reviews of the first in a new series by Helena Dixon:-
THE SECRET DETECTIVE AGENCY #1SECRETDETECTIVEAGENCY
THE SEASIDE MURDERS #2SECRETDETECTIVEAGENCY

If you like this, try:-
‘Death comes to Marlow’ by Robert Thorogood #2MARLOWMURDERCLUB 
‘A Cornish Recipe for Murder’ by Fiona Leitch #5NOSEYPARKER
‘Agatha Raisin and the Potted Gardener’ by MC Beaton #3AGATHARAISIN

And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
#BookReview MURDER AT THE COUNTRY CLUB by Helena Dixon @NellDixon https://wp.me/p2ZHJe-8K6 via @SandraDanby

COMING SOON… THE NEXT BOOK I REVIEW WILL BE:- Minette Walters

#BookReview ‘Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day’ by Winifred Watson #historical

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Why have I never heard of this book before? First published in 1938, Miss Pettigrew’s day starts when her employment agency sends her to the wrong address. What follows is twenty-four hours of epiphanies in which she learns about life, courtesy of a nightclub singer. Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson was a revelation and has quickly claimed its place as one of my favourite novels. Winifred WatsonMiss Pettigrew is a governess, not a very good one, and finds herself forced to take jobs as a housemaid or looking after children she would rather not know. Then one day an error leads her to the apartment of Delysia LaFosse, a nightclub singer with a complicated love life. She tries to tell Miss LaFosse she has come about the job, but Miss LaFosse does not listen. As the story progresses, no children appear, but by now Miss Pettigrew is proving adept at solving Delysia’s small difficulties.
On the surface, this is a frothy story of gowns, flirting, lipstick, negligées and men, suitable and unsuitable. Beneath the surface, it is a novel about throwing away the bounds of class and venturing into the unknown. It is about taking a deep breath and being brave in order to change your life. I was rooting for Guinevere Pettigrew and was particularly pleased with the ending, as I am sure she was too.
My enjoyment of the novel was supplemented by gorgeous line drawings by Mary Thomsom in my Persephone edition.

If you like this, try:-
‘Angel’ by Elizabeth Taylor
‘Curtain Call’ by Anthony Quinn
‘A Death in the Dales’ by Frances Brody #7KateShackleton

And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
#BookReview MISS PETTIGREW LIVES FOR A DAY by Winifred Watson http://wp.me/p5gEM4-2oe via @SandraDanby

#BookReview ‘Curtain Call’ by Anthony Quinn #historical #1930s

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The 1930s come alive in Curtain Call by journalist Anthony Quinn, I stepped into his world and felt as if I was there. An effortless read, I was plunged into the worlds of Stephen Wyley, artist; Nina Land, actress; the gloriously-named Madeline Farewell, hostess; Jimmy Erskine, theatre critic; and Tom Tunner, Erskine’s assistant. Anthony Quinn The setting is a time of looming war, royal crisis, blackshirts and strict homosexuality laws. It is not an easy novel to categorize: there are murders, but it is not a detective novel; we see the world of art and theatre and prostitution, but it is not a novel about art etc. Packed with period detail, with not one detail too many, this is written with a light hand and a clever plot. It starts with a romantic assignation and chance encounter in a hotel with a murderer, known in the newspapers as the Tiepin Killer. This meeting of only seconds, brings together the key characters and kickstarts the murder plotline.
Curtain Call is the predecessor, not prequel, to Quinn’s novel Freya.

Click the titles to read my review of other novels by Anthony Quinn:
FREYA
HALF OF THE HUMAN RACE
MOLLY & THE CAPTAIN
OUR FRIENDS IN BERLIN
THE RESCUE MAN
THE STREETS

If you like this, try:-
‘The Light Years’ by Elizabeth Jane Howard  #1CAZALET
‘At Mrs Lippincote’s’ by Elizabeth Taylor
‘The Heat of the Day’ by Elizabeth Bowen

And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
#BookReview CURTAIN CALL by Anthony Quinn http://wp.me/p5gEM4-1Xu via @Sandra Danby