Joined in 2023 
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63 About this deal
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!
When a weekend convention is booked at the stately home where the author of the series lived, the mix of literary, television and movie celebrities, event organisers, and fans creates chaos and intrigue when murder is declared. And ex-child star Posy Starling, fresh out of the fame wilderness (and rehab) to take on the Dahlia mantle for the new movie.An affectionate homage to the Golden Age of Detective Fiction and a wry nod to our continuing fascination with it. In attendance: the VIP fans, staying at Aldermere; the fan club president turned convention organizer; the team behind the newest movie adaptation of Davenport's books; the Davenport family themselves - and the three actresses famous for portraying Lettice's 1930s detective, Dahlia Lively. I fell in love with the characters, who all had their own secrets and burdens, and you rooted for their self- recognition and belief. But anyone who was a true student of those mysteries would tell you that the convention is also the perfect setting for murder.
I will admit that I pulled my crime solving hat on and rubbed my hands with glee as I read the invitation list and took in the plan of the house and grounds. 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. But things take a nightmare turn when a prop weapon is replaced with the real thing - with almost fatal consequences for her fellow Dahlia, Rosalind King. There are several stately homes up and down the country that could have inspired the one in the book. There have been more than enough Miss Marples, but that’s a role that an actor takes on much later in her career.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. It’s about the people, and very much like Knives Out, about the relationships between the people and where the hidden stress points are. A contemporary mystery with a Golden Age feel, perfect for fans of Agatha Christie and Jessica Fellowes - and Janice Hallett and Richard Osman, of course!
In attendance at Aldermere: the VIP fans, staying at house; the fan club president turned convention organiser; the team behind the newest movie adaptation of Davenport’s books; the Davenport family themselves; and the three actresses famous for portraying Dahlia Lively through the decades. A contemporary mystery with a Golden Age feel, perfect for fans of Agatha Christie and Jessica Fellowes.
Fabulous 1930’s sleuth Dahlia Lively has appeared on the page, as well as been played by actresses on TV and the big screen. But it’s her three brilliant protagonists which are the stars (literally) of the show – three very different actresses, who have each played the same detective character at one point in their lives and are brought together to solve a crime. Very happy to recommend this on to all cosy crime fans and to all fans of great classic crime reads.
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