When hotelier and amateur detective Kitty Underhay is invited to a boring dinner and dance for the local hoteliers’ association, you know it will be anything but quiet. In Murder on the Dance Floor, fourth in this 1930s-set sleuthing series by Helena Dixon, there are two mysteries to solve. 
The head of Exeter Chamber of Commerce, Councillor Harold Everton, is a martyr to indigestion so when – after the three-course dinner, coffee and petits fours – discomfort strikes, his wife does what she always does. Marigold takes a sachet of powders from her handbag. Harold mixes the contents with water and swallows it in one gulp. He drops dead at the dinner table as diners around them are dancing to the music of the Imperial Hotel’s dance band.
Immediate suspects are the councillor’s fellow guests at the table including Kitty and Captain Matthew Bryant, her friend and owner of Torbay Private Investigative Services. Also present are the Everton’s daughter, Mr Everton’s nephew, his solicitor and his wife, and a pair of local hoteliers. Matt is troubled that the councillor may have been about to employ his services. When meeting Mr Everton days earlier, he had requested Matt’s business card. ‘It must have been a delicate or personal matter, or he would have involved the police.’ Matt and Kitty spring into action, asking questions, gathering information and, as usual, making a nuisance of themselves. Unfortunately, the murderer notices their investigations and they find themselves in danger again.
Meanwhile Kitty has new clues to follow up regarding the disappearance of her mother in June 1916. Could a map of medieval underground passages beneath Exeter’s streets prove helpful. Is a disreputable pub called The Glass Bottle at the heart of the secret? And why would her mother Elowed have gone to such a dangerous part of the city?
The detection progresses at a brisk pace along with the underlying question of whether Matt and Kitty will ever get around to discussing the possibility of ‘walking out together.’ This theme works well because Dixon tells the story from Kitty and Matt’s alternating viewpoints, neatly showing up the misunderstandings, minor grudges, jealousies and secrets.
Reasons to keep reading the series? First, Kitty is an independent heroine whose unpredictable and determined behaviour adds charm and tension to the storyline. Two, Kitty and Matt’s relationship is like some sort of romantic two-step, one step forwards, one step back. Third, the cast of local characters whose personalities become clearer as the series progresses. These include irritating gossip Mrs Carver, whose annoying stories are always outrageous sometimes accurate. The cake-loving detective inspector Greville. The car-mad Doctor Carter who drives too fast. And Alice Miller, housemaid at the Dolphin who has already proven herself a worthy accomplice in Kitty’s detections. It’s a great ensemble cast.
There are to date 18 books in the series and I’ve only read four. Next is Murder in the Bell Tower.
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
And my review of the first in a new series by Helena Dixon:-
THE SECRET DETECTIVE AGENCY #1SECRETDETECTIVEAGENCY
If you like this, try:-
‘Murder at Catmmando Mountain’ by Anna Celeste Burke #1GeorgieShaw
‘Death at the Sign of the Rook’ by Kate Atkinson #6JacksonBrodie
‘Dying in the Wool’ by Frances Brody #1KateShackleton
And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
#BookReview MURDER ON THE DANCE FLOOR by Helena Dixon @NellDixon https://wp.me/p2ZHJe-7Bu via @SandraDanby
COMING SOON… THE NEXT BOOK I REVIEW WILL BE:- 
SANDRA DANBY'S BOOK REVIEWS 