A Necessary Murder by MJ Tjia

A uniquely atmospheric murder mystery

I am a great fan of the classic whodunnit and am always willing to give historical murder mysteries a try. Although interesting, I found this one a little uneven and don't think I will hunt down the preceding or subsequent in the series.

Plot: there are two plots intertwined here - murder and missing person - and I won't spoil how they are tied together. They seemed to take a while to kick in, so after the climax, I had to reread the beginning just to see how what clues were scattered from the start. Both played out satisfactorily, to my mind, though seemed to go over-long with the red herrings.

Characters: the main character, Heloise Chancey, is a bit of an odd duck. She is the main POV but I can't say I really liked or got to know her. Perhaps this is stems from starting at book 2 of a series, but the overall impression I got of Heloise was of a vain, selfish woman who sees the detective thing as a bit of a lark and something to do while her married lover is tending to his pregnant wife. Far more interesting is her mother and maid (yeah, that made me raise an eyebrow), whose POV carried the B plot and whose perspective on Victorian London was altogether unique and compelling.

Setting; I haven't read much in Victorian England, but I liked how in addition to the parlours and parks, we get to see the docks and the immigrant quarters, where immigrant sailors mingle with the outcasts of society. I loved the diversity shown and the writing here is evocative and rich as it draws the reader into a London that I've rarely seen.

Verdict: an interesting mystery with a fascinating and well-written setting, but let down by a main character I couldn't get behind

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book via NetGalley, all opinions are my own

Headliners by Lucy Parker

Quick note: I would say that unlike the previous novels in the London Celebrities series, this book is not completely stand-alone. I highly recommend reading The Austen Playbook prior to reading this book, and not just because I absolutely adored TAP (Austen murder mystery show, grouch with a heart of gold, absolute ray of sunshine who coaxes him into actually smiling? SIGN ME UP)

Having said the above, let's cut to the chase. Headliners is a great book and an excellent addition to the London Celebrities series. It had drama, banter, and hilarity in SPADES. It had me laughing out loud when I was supposed to be sleeping as I desperately tried to fit in just one more chapter.

The main characters will be familiar to readers of The Austen Playbook as both made their debut there, and much of the initial friction between the two stems from events in the closing chapters of that book. However, after some honest communication, they get past that particular point of difference with admirable grace. Goodness, I do love it when characters actually talk to each other.

There are a few fun cameos from previous books - nothing jarring - and the best scene in this book had me telling absolutely everyone around me. It's this beautiful moment of vindication that is all the more satisfying for being delayed (no spoilers, but you'll know it when you see it). I also loved that there were enough interesting side characters that the author has a wealth of future stories to tell.

Five fabulous stars for a book I thoroughly enjoyed.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from NetGalley; all opinions are my own