Calamity under the Chandelier (A Sleuthing Starlet Mystery Book 1) by Camilla Blythe – Review by Jana Teppih

Calamity under the Chandelier by Bianca Blythe
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Calamity under the Chandelier is the opening to Bianca Blythe’s new series called Sleuthing Starlet Mysteries. It is my first foray into Ms Blythe’s universe and as I understand, it is her first mystery story and it takes place in the time period between the two world wars, just when the Flapper Era has ended. I can see that her other series have been taking place in further past so it was interesting to start off knowing that this is her first detective story AND it is in the ‘most recent’ time.
We have two American girls in England at Christmas time – Veronica who has married the son of a duke and her friend Cora who has lost her contract with movie studio and decides to take the trip her friend. You can just close your eyes and picture how two American starlets are wreaking havoc in the stiff upper lip crowd! The writer is giving us an interesting view into the upper class of the time when the first rumblings of the discontent are being heard and the next war is just around the corner.
There are twists and turns and there are quite a few unpleasant characters there but on the other hand each of them adds something to the story so they pull you in and you lean back and light your ciggie, drink a glass of absinthe and try to solve the murder with Cora. It was great to see how Cora emerged as a confident and brave young woman after meeting her at the beginning as a shy and unsecure girl.
I can see that there are 3 more stories in the series so if you take a liking to Cora and her Great English Adventure, then you know you have quite a few hours to look forward to! I am sure that the ‘ride’ also gets smoother the more into the era and the characters we get into!

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