The Three Dahlias: 'An absolute treat of a read with all the ingredients of a vintage murder mystery' Janice Hallett (Three Dahlias Mysteries Book 1)

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Best Books Set in the 1920s — from Stories That Shimmer with Champagne and Social Change, to Rip-roaring Reads Covering Crime, Colonialism and Beyond. An absolute treat of a read with all the ingredients of a vintage murder mystery: a country house, mysterious dead bodies and three actresses all keen to catch the killer. Perfect weekend reading!' Janice Hallett, author of The Appeal The story follows three generations of actresses for one role, the role of a detective (a Miss Marple if you may) and their journey in uncovering multiple murders and a whole family of secrets. It was a fast-paced murder mystery that left me questioning every character and possible motive. However, it wasn’t predictable or boring, meaning it was a LOT of guessing. Thank you to the publishers for this early review copy, I was sold from the front cover ‘It wouldn’t be a country house weekend without a little murder’!

A wonderful celebration of Golden Age crime. . . a read you can sink into, just like the perfect country house weekend. You will definitely love Dahlia in all her guises by the end’ S.J. Bennett, author of The Windsor Knot What made this fun as a reader was that I kept wanting to figure out, not so much whodunnit, as ‘who is Dahlia?’ (The idea of the convention seems more than plausible. After all, there is an annual Agatha Christie convention in Torquay.) The thing is that Dahlia Lively reminds me a lot of Phryne Fisher, but that series didn’t even start being published until 1989. There’s not enough history. Loved the characters, the plotting was very cleverly done ensuring that you were constantly in a spin about who was doing what and why, hooked right until the very end. Each actress has her own interpretation of the character – but this English summer weekend they will have to put aside their differences, as the crimes at Aldermere turns anything but cosy. An absolute treat of a read with all the ingredients of a vintage murder mystery: a country house, mysterious dead bodies and three actresses all keen to catch the killer. Perfect weekend reading!’ Janice Hallett, author of The Appeal

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The pace was perfect for a leisurely Sunday afternoon read with tea and cake, you weren’t racing along but also you really were not about to let anything disturb you while reading. Quite intense! It may sound like a scheme guaranteed to give the fans the experience of a lifetime. But anyone who was a true student of those mysteries would tell you that the convention is also the perfect setting for murder. If only to provide the once and future Dahlias with the opportunity to solve either their last – or their first – case. Because first we have those three Dahlias, and they are much more interesting than the murder. The three women represent different stages of life and different points in a career. If this were a fantasy they’d be the classic female triptych of maiden, mother, crone. Or perhaps the Fates. Certainly the fate of both the victims and the perpetrator. There is national treasure Rosalind King, from the original movies, who's feeling sensitive that she's past her prime, TV Dahlia for thirteen seasons, Caro Hooper, who believes she really IS Dahlia Lively, and ex-child star Posy Starling, fresh out of the fame wilderness (and rehab) to take on the Dahlia mantle for the new movie - but feeling outclassed by her predecessors.

There have been more than enough Miss Marples, but that’s a role that an actor takes on much later in her career. Tommy and Tuppence hasn’t been filmed nearly often enough. But it’s fun to imagine. There is national treasure Rosalind King, from the original movies, who’s feeling sensitive that she’s past her prime, TV Dahlia for thirteen seasons, Caro Hooper, who believes she really IS Dahlia Lively, and ex-child star Posy Starling, fresh out of the fame wilderness (and rehab) to take on the Dahlia mantle for the new movie – but feeling outclassed by her predecessors. History Makers: Female Writers Dominate the 2023 William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award ShortlistEach actress has her own interpretation of the character and her own secrets to hide – but this English summer weekend they will have to put aside their differences as the crimes at Aldermere turn anything but cosy. I loved it - witty, engaging and hugely enjoyable. A must for fans of classic mysteries." - Frances Brody In between filming scenes, signing autographs for locals, photoshoots, talk show appearances in London and jetting off to France for an impromptu party, the three Dahlias do what they do best - surrupticiously sleuth. And very soon the evidence starts to point towards one particular co-star... It all starts with someone who seems to be out to get all of them – only for that person to end up getting got. And not by any of them. But along the way, what makes the story fun is the way that these women, literally set up to be rivals at every turn, band together in an unusual bond of sisterhood. So before we proceed – I have already requested book 2 and would happily have read it straight away if it had been sat in my towering to be read piles – so that’s how much I loved it!