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Canary Club Mystery #1
Miss Aldridge Regrets
The glittering RMS Queen Mary. A nightclub singer on the run. An aristocratic family with secrets worth killing for.
London, 1936. Lena Aldridge wonders if life has passed her by. The dazzling theatre career she hoped for hasn't worked out. Instead, she's stuck singing in a sticky-floored basement club in Soho, and her married lover has just left her. But Lena has always had a complicated life, one shrouded in mystery as a mixed-race girl passing for white in a city unforgiving of her true racial heritage.
She's feeling utterly hopeless until a stranger offers her the chance of a lifetime: a starring role on Broadway and a first-class ticket on the Queen Mary bound for New York. After a murder at the club, the timing couldn't be better, and Lena jumps at the chance to escape England. But death follows her onboard when an obscenely wealthy family draws her into their fold just as one among them is killed in a chillingly familiar way. As Lena navigates the Abernathy's increasingly bizarre family dynamic, she realizes that her greatest performance won't be for an audience, but for her life.
With seductive glamor, simmering family drama, and dizzying twists, Louise Hare makes her beguiling US debut.
London, 1936. Lena Aldridge wonders if life has passed her by. The dazzling theatre career she hoped for hasn't worked out. Instead, she's stuck singing in a sticky-floored basement club in Soho, and her married lover has just left her. But Lena has always had a complicated life, one shrouded in mystery as a mixed-race girl passing for white in a city unforgiving of her true racial heritage.
She's feeling utterly hopeless until a stranger offers her the chance of a lifetime: a starring role on Broadway and a first-class ticket on the Queen Mary bound for New York. After a murder at the club, the timing couldn't be better, and Lena jumps at the chance to escape England. But death follows her onboard when an obscenely wealthy family draws her into their fold just as one among them is killed in a chillingly familiar way. As Lena navigates the Abernathy's increasingly bizarre family dynamic, she realizes that her greatest performance won't be for an audience, but for her life.
With seductive glamor, simmering family drama, and dizzying twists, Louise Hare makes her beguiling US debut.
368 pages, Hardcover
First published April 28, 2022
About the author
Louise Hare
5 books280 followersLouise Hare is a London-based writer and has an MA in Creative Writing from Birkbeck, University of London. Originally from Warrington, the capital is the inspiration for much of her work, including This Lovely City, which began life after a trip into the deep level shelter below Clapham Common.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 645 reviews
July 22, 2022
Well, well this is thrilling mash up of Woman in cabin 10 meets Titanic with Agatha Christie vibes ( it reminds me of Death on the Nile without its brilliant Belgian detective )
A glamorous historical fiction consists of class differences, raising of Nazism, hard competition at Broadway world, sex traffic of underaged girls, betrayal, cheating, racism, mansplaining mixed with gripping whodunnit mystery takes place in RMS Queen Mary. And of course beautiful forbidden romance was also thrown into equation.
Lena Aldridge, at the age of twenty six, mixed race girl who is a quiet fighter, slowly losing of her hope to have a brighter future as she barely lands on theater roles, singing at a night club her best friend’s scumbag husband is owned, having a relationship with a married man, living in a shoe box room in Soho.
The book opens she is on stage, singing when her boss/ her best friend’s husband Tommy Scarsdale dies in front her eyes. He’s poisoned and she might be involved with the murder.
Luckily Charlie Bacon: ex police officer, look alike Clark Gable with strange last name appears out of nowhere at the right name in the right place, making her an offer she cannot reject. He offers her to be a star in a Broadway play and she has to board on a ship to travel to big Apple in a few days later.
Lena has nothing to lose and this offer can save her from her biggest predicament ( a person of interest of a brutal crime)
During her journey, she finds herself at the same table within Abernathy family: ultra rich, sophisticated and also very dysfunctional family: each of them keeps terrible secrets and one of them is a killer who plans to put blame on Lena for his/ her own misdemeanors. But who and why?
I kept guessing the identity of culprit: it was not so foreseeable! Mostly I liked the characterization! Lena who is resilient, determined, doing her best to survive in jungle as a mixed race, penniless, hungry, ambitious girl with pure talent.
It’s such an exciting, riveting historical fiction meets thriller- whodunnit mystery that fully enjoyed and devoured in one sit that I highly recommend!
Special thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts.
A glamorous historical fiction consists of class differences, raising of Nazism, hard competition at Broadway world, sex traffic of underaged girls, betrayal, cheating, racism, mansplaining mixed with gripping whodunnit mystery takes place in RMS Queen Mary. And of course beautiful forbidden romance was also thrown into equation.
Lena Aldridge, at the age of twenty six, mixed race girl who is a quiet fighter, slowly losing of her hope to have a brighter future as she barely lands on theater roles, singing at a night club her best friend’s scumbag husband is owned, having a relationship with a married man, living in a shoe box room in Soho.
The book opens she is on stage, singing when her boss/ her best friend’s husband Tommy Scarsdale dies in front her eyes. He’s poisoned and she might be involved with the murder.
Luckily Charlie Bacon: ex police officer, look alike Clark Gable with strange last name appears out of nowhere at the right name in the right place, making her an offer she cannot reject. He offers her to be a star in a Broadway play and she has to board on a ship to travel to big Apple in a few days later.
Lena has nothing to lose and this offer can save her from her biggest predicament ( a person of interest of a brutal crime)
During her journey, she finds herself at the same table within Abernathy family: ultra rich, sophisticated and also very dysfunctional family: each of them keeps terrible secrets and one of them is a killer who plans to put blame on Lena for his/ her own misdemeanors. But who and why?
I kept guessing the identity of culprit: it was not so foreseeable! Mostly I liked the characterization! Lena who is resilient, determined, doing her best to survive in jungle as a mixed race, penniless, hungry, ambitious girl with pure talent.
It’s such an exciting, riveting historical fiction meets thriller- whodunnit mystery that fully enjoyed and devoured in one sit that I highly recommend!
Special thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts.
July 3, 2022
Set mainly on the Queen Mary, a British ocean liner sailing from England to New York,
Miss Aldridge Regrets
by Louise Hare brings mystery as well as racial and class differences to life in this historical mystery set in 1936. The story features Lena Aldridge, a mixed-race singer, dancer, and actor whose theatre career hasn’t lived up to her expectations. She’s singing in a basement club, her married lover has left her, a murder occurs at the club, and she’s being kicked out of her lodgings. When a stranger offers her a starring role on Broadways and a first-class ticket on the Queen Mary, she ends up accepting it, despite knowing very little about the opportunity or the people. When a similar death occurs on the ship, Lena wonders what is happening.
Lena has ambition and is resilient. While she supposedly has common sense, she didn’t ask many questions of Charlie Bacon, the stranger with the offer. She accepts things at face value. Is this reasonable given her situation in London? Probably, but she did have alternatives that could have been explored. She’s definitely a flawed character, but she eventually shows growth. Readers become familiar with the main secondary characters overs time through conversations and actions.
This story captivated me from the very beginning. While most of the story is from Lena’s viewpoint, there are interspersed thoughts recorded in a diary by another person. Readers know this person is important to the plot, but will they be able to deduce who it is? The author brought the characters and the cultural lifestyles of the times and place to life. She provides clear physical descriptions of people, clothing, places, and food. While this is helpful in understanding the times, these could have been more concise and would not have slowed the pace as much. The book also switches timelines (multiple times) between the current trip on the Queen Mary and the events of a week before.
The plot has more layers to it than one might think. While the book did not leave me with a sense of astonishment and wonder, it did provide great insights into many factors of the times such as racism, drug addiction, drinking alcohol to excess, family dynamics, friendship, glamor, class dynamics, music, smoking, politics, attitudes about women, and much more. There is a strong sense of time and place giving the overall read great atmosphere.
Overall, this book was an enjoyable historical mystery and character journey. Readers that enjoy historical mysteries and the glamor and pitfalls of the 1930’s should check out this novel.
Berkley Publishing Group and Louise Hare provided a complimentary digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley. This is my honest review. Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way. Publication date is currently set for July 5, 2022. This review was originally posted at Mystery and Suspense Magazine.
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Review coming soon.
Lena has ambition and is resilient. While she supposedly has common sense, she didn’t ask many questions of Charlie Bacon, the stranger with the offer. She accepts things at face value. Is this reasonable given her situation in London? Probably, but she did have alternatives that could have been explored. She’s definitely a flawed character, but she eventually shows growth. Readers become familiar with the main secondary characters overs time through conversations and actions.
This story captivated me from the very beginning. While most of the story is from Lena’s viewpoint, there are interspersed thoughts recorded in a diary by another person. Readers know this person is important to the plot, but will they be able to deduce who it is? The author brought the characters and the cultural lifestyles of the times and place to life. She provides clear physical descriptions of people, clothing, places, and food. While this is helpful in understanding the times, these could have been more concise and would not have slowed the pace as much. The book also switches timelines (multiple times) between the current trip on the Queen Mary and the events of a week before.
The plot has more layers to it than one might think. While the book did not leave me with a sense of astonishment and wonder, it did provide great insights into many factors of the times such as racism, drug addiction, drinking alcohol to excess, family dynamics, friendship, glamor, class dynamics, music, smoking, politics, attitudes about women, and much more. There is a strong sense of time and place giving the overall read great atmosphere.
Overall, this book was an enjoyable historical mystery and character journey. Readers that enjoy historical mysteries and the glamor and pitfalls of the 1930’s should check out this novel.
Berkley Publishing Group and Louise Hare provided a complimentary digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley. This is my honest review. Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way. Publication date is currently set for July 5, 2022. This review was originally posted at Mystery and Suspense Magazine.
----------------
Review coming soon.
November 22, 2022
I'm new to the cozy mystery subgenre, or am I? I'm not sure, but I do know I'm new to the term. My new friend 'Lois is recovering slowly' introduced me to the term last Friday (18 Nov 22).
I was looking for a book to read over the weekend, and I was attracted to the title and cover of Miss Aldridge Regrets. The title reminded me of the Ella Fitzgerald song Miss Otis Regrets, and the cover artwork reinforced that impression. Even though Lois told me this book had no connection with either Ella Fitzgerald or the song Miss Otis Regrets, I downloaded the audiobook from my local library, and I'm glad I did. (I downloaded the audiobook because all the available text-based digital copies of this book had been checked out.)
Miss Aldridge Regrets was an enjoyable read, and it introduced me to a new subgenre, which I really enjoy.
According the the all knowing Internet, "Cozy Mysteries are a subgenre of crime fiction in which sex and violence occur off stage*, the detective is an amateur sleuth, and the crime and detection take place in a small, socially intimate environment."
*In the case of Miss Aldridge Regrets, sex and violence do take place onstage, so I would change the first item listed above to this: In Cozy Mysteries sex isn't explicit, and violence isn't gory.
I was looking for a book to read over the weekend, and I was attracted to the title and cover of Miss Aldridge Regrets. The title reminded me of the Ella Fitzgerald song Miss Otis Regrets, and the cover artwork reinforced that impression. Even though Lois told me this book had no connection with either Ella Fitzgerald or the song Miss Otis Regrets, I downloaded the audiobook from my local library, and I'm glad I did. (I downloaded the audiobook because all the available text-based digital copies of this book had been checked out.)
Miss Aldridge Regrets was an enjoyable read, and it introduced me to a new subgenre, which I really enjoy.
According the the all knowing Internet, "Cozy Mysteries are a subgenre of crime fiction in which sex and violence occur off stage*, the detective is an amateur sleuth, and the crime and detection take place in a small, socially intimate environment."
*In the case of Miss Aldridge Regrets, sex and violence do take place onstage, so I would change the first item listed above to this: In Cozy Mysteries sex isn't explicit, and violence isn't gory.
December 9, 2021
3.5 rounded up.
When the owner of the Canary club Tommy Scarsdale dies right in front of her, mixed race singer Lena Aldridge decides to accept the offer of a lifetime role in a Broadway show. What has she got to lose? She has no job, her beloved father Alfie has recently died and she’s all alone bar best friend Maggie. Before she knows it she’s aboard the Queen Mary bound for New York, little realising the play has already begun and the curtain is raised as she plays the role of a lifetime. The story is told in the present aboard Queen Mary and backtracks to the previous seven days from the events at the Canary club.
There’s a lot to like in the latest novel by the talented Louise Hare. The setting aboard the Queen Mary is excellent and there is a real clarity conveyed in the differences between those in the luxury of the upper decks and those below. Central to events on the liner is the wealthy Abernathy family who Lena meets on the first night on board the luxury ship. The dynamics between the family are vividly portrayed and we have everything from wealthy gilded cages to philandering. There are scenes where the atmosphere is both strange and strained with a lot of subtext to spot and plenty of uncomfortable machinations especially as we get further to New York. The characterisation is very good especially of Lena who trades to worlds with her mixed race background. She is extremely likeable, intelligent, pragmatic and is growing in self-awareness especially of her situation. The historical context is well done especially the values of the time, the almost casual institutional racism and the rise of Nazism is there in the background. The events on the liner present us with a ‘locked liner mystery’ and parts of this are very good and feel very Christie-esque which fits nicely with the 1930s timeline.
However, I think that it gets a bit over the top but most importantly this also allows you to perceive who is behind proceedings. I’m also not sure you need the inserts between Lena‘s narrative from this character as it jars with me, striking a false note and it breaks the flow of the novel.
Overall, though despite these reservations I do enjoy this book as it has a lot more depth to it than other books in this genre. I love the cover to which is stunning.
With thanks to NetGalley and especially to HQ for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.
When the owner of the Canary club Tommy Scarsdale dies right in front of her, mixed race singer Lena Aldridge decides to accept the offer of a lifetime role in a Broadway show. What has she got to lose? She has no job, her beloved father Alfie has recently died and she’s all alone bar best friend Maggie. Before she knows it she’s aboard the Queen Mary bound for New York, little realising the play has already begun and the curtain is raised as she plays the role of a lifetime. The story is told in the present aboard Queen Mary and backtracks to the previous seven days from the events at the Canary club.
There’s a lot to like in the latest novel by the talented Louise Hare. The setting aboard the Queen Mary is excellent and there is a real clarity conveyed in the differences between those in the luxury of the upper decks and those below. Central to events on the liner is the wealthy Abernathy family who Lena meets on the first night on board the luxury ship. The dynamics between the family are vividly portrayed and we have everything from wealthy gilded cages to philandering. There are scenes where the atmosphere is both strange and strained with a lot of subtext to spot and plenty of uncomfortable machinations especially as we get further to New York. The characterisation is very good especially of Lena who trades to worlds with her mixed race background. She is extremely likeable, intelligent, pragmatic and is growing in self-awareness especially of her situation. The historical context is well done especially the values of the time, the almost casual institutional racism and the rise of Nazism is there in the background. The events on the liner present us with a ‘locked liner mystery’ and parts of this are very good and feel very Christie-esque which fits nicely with the 1930s timeline.
However, I think that it gets a bit over the top but most importantly this also allows you to perceive who is behind proceedings. I’m also not sure you need the inserts between Lena‘s narrative from this character as it jars with me, striking a false note and it breaks the flow of the novel.
Overall, though despite these reservations I do enjoy this book as it has a lot more depth to it than other books in this genre. I love the cover to which is stunning.
With thanks to NetGalley and especially to HQ for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.
June 3, 2023
3.5 stars. I enjoyed this and will definitely read the next in the series. There's a murder that is introduced at the beginning of the story and referred to throughout but the big murder the blurb refers to, the one the real mystery of the story hinges on doesn't occur until the end of the first third of the book. That's a peeve of mine for a mystery.
Lena narrates the story except for some excerpts that are obviously the unknown killer. The flow of the story was good but it didn't really feel much like Lena was investigating the goings on. Things happened that propelled the story and much of it involved Lena but she wasn't sleuthing it out. The killer pretty much just explains it all and then . So that ending was a little less than satisfying for this reader. To the good, I liked Lena's relationship with Will Goodman and Dr. Wilding. Given the time of this story, discussions of racism and Lena's passing as white were well done. I look forward to what's next for Lena as the setup of her prospects in New York and reconnect with Will on the ship and Maggie back in London are sure to be interesting. I just hope she's more active a sleuth in her next mystery.
Recommended.
Lena narrates the story except for some excerpts that are obviously the unknown killer. The flow of the story was good but it didn't really feel much like Lena was investigating the goings on. Things happened that propelled the story and much of it involved Lena but she wasn't sleuthing it out. The killer pretty much just explains it all and then . So that ending was a little less than satisfying for this reader. To the good, I liked Lena's relationship with Will Goodman and Dr. Wilding. Given the time of this story, discussions of racism and Lena's passing as white were well done. I look forward to what's next for Lena as the setup of her prospects in New York and reconnect with Will on the ship and Maggie back in London are sure to be interesting. I just hope she's more active a sleuth in her next mystery.
Recommended.
August 9, 2022
A favorite era gotten fairly for its appearance but almost not at all for its plot and mores context.
Severely overlong, repetitious and within the body count just not close to believable. Liquor is on almost every page. People are surface flat. Dumb too. Ugh! Not well done and not for me. I need to know the primes enough to care.
Severely overlong, repetitious and within the body count just not close to believable. Liquor is on almost every page. People are surface flat. Dumb too. Ugh! Not well done and not for me. I need to know the primes enough to care.
September 14, 2022
The author has captured 1936 London and the Queen Mary voyage nicely.
Lena Aldridge is a singer in a seedy London jazz club where the owner has just been murdered right under her nose and said club owner just happens to be the husband of her best friend Maggie.
Serendipitously Lena has just been offered a chance to appear in a play on Broadway and has been given first class tickets on the Queen Mary by Charlie Bacon claiming to be a Broadway agent, a man she has never met before. Surely that is suspicious but Lena feels it best to get out of London for the moment.
Since Lena is a mixed-race girl Charlie encouraged her to pass for white and mix with the wealthy and prominent American Parker family travelling on the Queen Mary. In fact he insists on it.
It is clear from the beginning of the book that someone is plotting against Lena so you get what you expect when two of the men of the American family are murdered on ship.
An odd twist is revealed quite out of the blue making it appear almost ridiculous and I have to say it fell flat for me.
It appears this is book#1 in what I suppose will be a series. While I enjoyed this read and I liked Lena a lot I can’t say I’ll be waiting anxiously for the next book.
Lena Aldridge is a singer in a seedy London jazz club where the owner has just been murdered right under her nose and said club owner just happens to be the husband of her best friend Maggie.
Serendipitously Lena has just been offered a chance to appear in a play on Broadway and has been given first class tickets on the Queen Mary by Charlie Bacon claiming to be a Broadway agent, a man she has never met before. Surely that is suspicious but Lena feels it best to get out of London for the moment.
Since Lena is a mixed-race girl Charlie encouraged her to pass for white and mix with the wealthy and prominent American Parker family travelling on the Queen Mary. In fact he insists on it.
It is clear from the beginning of the book that someone is plotting against Lena so you get what you expect when two of the men of the American family are murdered on ship.
An odd twist is revealed quite out of the blue making it appear almost ridiculous and I have to say it fell flat for me.
It appears this is book#1 in what I suppose will be a series. While I enjoyed this read and I liked Lena a lot I can’t say I’ll be waiting anxiously for the next book.
March 15, 2022
I would like to thank Netgalley and HQ for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
This is a stand-alone novel that switches between a transatlantic sea voyage on the Queen Mary in 1936, and events from a week before.
This was a new author for me so wasn’t quite sure what to expect. It was a little bit mixed, with the author trying to capture the era and its social and ethnic status issues, and weave in a murder. Overall I found it a little slow and overlong. It was difficult to absorb yourself in the narrative and I soon got to the stage where I didn’t really care.
This was an unusual variation on the genre of murder mysteries set in the golden age, dealing with mixed race, dated attitudes to ladies and the social standing variation between the English and the Americans. But not for me.
This is a stand-alone novel that switches between a transatlantic sea voyage on the Queen Mary in 1936, and events from a week before.
This was a new author for me so wasn’t quite sure what to expect. It was a little bit mixed, with the author trying to capture the era and its social and ethnic status issues, and weave in a murder. Overall I found it a little slow and overlong. It was difficult to absorb yourself in the narrative and I soon got to the stage where I didn’t really care.
This was an unusual variation on the genre of murder mysteries set in the golden age, dealing with mixed race, dated attitudes to ladies and the social standing variation between the English and the Americans. But not for me.
October 28, 2023
Shame, I loved the cover but, I found the book very tedious and slow. Not a great story it could have been better.
July 14, 2022
From a murder on land to murders at sea.
Lena had been there for them. One she thought she was responsible for, and the others she was set up for.
We meet Lena in a seedy nightclub in Soho where she sings and where she doesn't want to be.
Luckily a friend of her father's finds her a job ,and she makes her way from England to New York in first class on the Queen Mary.
She meets a family who shares their table and stories with her.
Something is wrong with this family, though, but perhaps they knew to invite Lena to their table.
Poor Lena gets drawn into the family's nightly dinners and also gets pulled into being questioned about the murder of one of their family members.
We follow Lena as her life before getting on the Queen Mary and during her time on the Queen Mary is revealed
I really liked Lena, but the poor girl was always in the middle of something. Someone was trying to harm her, and she had no idea why.
I enjoyed most of the characters even though they were a bit on the eccentric side.
MISS ALDRIDGE REGRETS is a mystery and family drama all rolled into one.
Who was the “real” murderer on the Queen Mary….we know who it was in Soho.
And who was trying to murder Lena?
Did they think she knew something?
It took a little for me to warm up to the story line, but as secrets unfold, you will quickly be turning the pages and enjoying the hustle and bustle.
Those readers who enjoy books set on ocean liners and this time period will definitely enjoy MISS ALDRIDGE REGRETS. 4/5
This book was given to me by the publisher via NetGalley for an honest review.
Lena had been there for them. One she thought she was responsible for, and the others she was set up for.
We meet Lena in a seedy nightclub in Soho where she sings and where she doesn't want to be.
Luckily a friend of her father's finds her a job ,and she makes her way from England to New York in first class on the Queen Mary.
She meets a family who shares their table and stories with her.
Something is wrong with this family, though, but perhaps they knew to invite Lena to their table.
Poor Lena gets drawn into the family's nightly dinners and also gets pulled into being questioned about the murder of one of their family members.
We follow Lena as her life before getting on the Queen Mary and during her time on the Queen Mary is revealed
I really liked Lena, but the poor girl was always in the middle of something. Someone was trying to harm her, and she had no idea why.
I enjoyed most of the characters even though they were a bit on the eccentric side.
MISS ALDRIDGE REGRETS is a mystery and family drama all rolled into one.
Who was the “real” murderer on the Queen Mary….we know who it was in Soho.
And who was trying to murder Lena?
Did they think she knew something?
It took a little for me to warm up to the story line, but as secrets unfold, you will quickly be turning the pages and enjoying the hustle and bustle.
Those readers who enjoy books set on ocean liners and this time period will definitely enjoy MISS ALDRIDGE REGRETS. 4/5
This book was given to me by the publisher via NetGalley for an honest review.
April 13, 2022
1936, mixed-raced Lena Aldridge is a showgirl at a club in Soho, London. One night the boss (and her best friend’s husband) is poisoned and dies whilst in the audience. Lena may have had a hand in the murder and tries to keep her head down. It’s not long though before a theatre producer who knew her deceased father gets in touch and wants her to appear in his new show on Broadway.
Knowing that she needs to leave London and that it is an opportunity of a lifetime, she accepts and travels in comfort to New York on the Queen Mary. However, someone on board is wanting to make her life hell, and what better way than framing her for murder. But who and why would someone go to the trouble of following her onto the ship to stage the elaborate plot?
Miss Aldridge Regrets is a relaxing read, given the plot. It makes you feel like you are in calmer times and definitely back in time to 1936. The book is split into two different periods, the ship crossing and 2 weeks previously and the lead up to the murder. Plus, a fewflash backs to Lena’s childhood.
Her new theatre boss wants her to make herself known on the crossing and to get to know the wealthy passengers, but Lena feels out of her depth. She isn’t used to a life of luxury or hobnobbing with the rich but she soon realises that the rich are not that much different from everyone else and some are not to be trusted.
The book was engaging and it held my attention throughout. I was eager to find out who had it in for Lena and why. The plot certainly has a murder-mystery feel to it.
A fabulous historical crime mystery that was decently paced and kept me guessing for most of the book. I enjoyed it from beginning to end.
Knowing that she needs to leave London and that it is an opportunity of a lifetime, she accepts and travels in comfort to New York on the Queen Mary. However, someone on board is wanting to make her life hell, and what better way than framing her for murder. But who and why would someone go to the trouble of following her onto the ship to stage the elaborate plot?
Miss Aldridge Regrets is a relaxing read, given the plot. It makes you feel like you are in calmer times and definitely back in time to 1936. The book is split into two different periods, the ship crossing and 2 weeks previously and the lead up to the murder. Plus, a fewflash backs to Lena’s childhood.
Her new theatre boss wants her to make herself known on the crossing and to get to know the wealthy passengers, but Lena feels out of her depth. She isn’t used to a life of luxury or hobnobbing with the rich but she soon realises that the rich are not that much different from everyone else and some are not to be trusted.
The book was engaging and it held my attention throughout. I was eager to find out who had it in for Lena and why. The plot certainly has a murder-mystery feel to it.
A fabulous historical crime mystery that was decently paced and kept me guessing for most of the book. I enjoyed it from beginning to end.
April 11, 2022
I'm sorry to report that I didn't enjoy this one very much at all. The story itself was lacked lustre or intrigue, which I had expected for a whodunnit set in the 30's on a cruise liner. The Abernathy family characters were very one dimensional and I struggled to stay connected enough to even tell some of them apart. The book felt very disjointed and it was a tedious read. However I see some good reviews of this one out there so obviously just wasn't for me. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.
November 5, 2022
A perfectly fine historical mystery (enhanced by a unique setting in the form of a transatlantic voyage) but not very memorable for me
March 12, 2022
I must admit that I was somewhat taken in by the cover, and blurb, surrounding this book. I love mysteries set on ships, but I felt that the author really did not do justice to the setting. The novel opens with the death of a nightclub owner, and, within a short period, singer Lena Aldridge is aboard the Queen Mary, heading for New York. I must admit I doubted that, as a witness to a sudden death, she would be allowed to travel abroad but, that was just my first concern with the plot and I was, at least at first, willing to go with it.
Lena has an interesting background, being a mixed-race woman who passes as white – something she is informed will be important to hide in the more colour conscious United States. However, although her background story had depth, I didn’t feel that her character did. In fact, most of the characters in the novel were quite stereotyped. Having been told by Charlie Bacon, who invites Lena to New York on behalf of Broadway Impresario Benny Walker, that she should impress the rich and influential passengers on board, Lena finds herself on the table of the elderly Francis Parker and his relatives. These range from Parker’s son in law, Jack Abernathy, whose hands roam inappropriately to his sweet and innocent granddaughter, Carrie. However, she never really seems to go beyond the characters on the table and Hare does not make use of the closed shipboard setting as well as she could.
The story goes back and forth between events on board to the back story of what happened in the Canary Club in Soho, and it soon becomes clear that there are those on board who do not wish Lena well. Overall, this felt fairly routine, with some plot twists thrown in, but I couldn’t gather up much enthusiasm for what happened as I just never felt that involved with the characters. I received a copy of the book from the publisher, via NetGalley for review.
Lena has an interesting background, being a mixed-race woman who passes as white – something she is informed will be important to hide in the more colour conscious United States. However, although her background story had depth, I didn’t feel that her character did. In fact, most of the characters in the novel were quite stereotyped. Having been told by Charlie Bacon, who invites Lena to New York on behalf of Broadway Impresario Benny Walker, that she should impress the rich and influential passengers on board, Lena finds herself on the table of the elderly Francis Parker and his relatives. These range from Parker’s son in law, Jack Abernathy, whose hands roam inappropriately to his sweet and innocent granddaughter, Carrie. However, she never really seems to go beyond the characters on the table and Hare does not make use of the closed shipboard setting as well as she could.
The story goes back and forth between events on board to the back story of what happened in the Canary Club in Soho, and it soon becomes clear that there are those on board who do not wish Lena well. Overall, this felt fairly routine, with some plot twists thrown in, but I couldn’t gather up much enthusiasm for what happened as I just never felt that involved with the characters. I received a copy of the book from the publisher, via NetGalley for review.
August 20, 2023
This is a murder mystery set in the 1930s by English author Georgina Campbell. Lena Aldridge is a mixed race singer playing in a tacky nightclub in Soho. After the death of her friend’s husband, the club manager, she is offered a dream job on Broadway and travels aboard the HMS Mary Queen to get to New York. On board she becomes drawn into the wealthy Abernethy family circle, intrigued by their interactions and dazzled by the glamour, until another body is discovered. Afraid fingers will point at her, she carefully tries to get to the truth, unveiling many secrets and surprises along the way.
This was an enjoyable read with a great setting, but not as dazzling as the blurb might suggest.
This was an enjoyable read with a great setting, but not as dazzling as the blurb might suggest.
July 14, 2023
Urgh, didn't care for this and i have an ARC of the sequel lol!
February 17, 2022
Eh… I really hated everything about this book except one (1) thing. Let’s start from the only good thing, shall we? I liked having a mixed race white passing protagonist in a mystery set in the 1930s, but that’s where it ends. I cannot say anything good about this book.
Since they are usually what influences my rating the most, let’s talk about the characters first. The main character, Lena, was so stupid I wanted to scream at her. Literally scream at her to wake up. I don’t care that the book was set in the 1930s, she had a kind of life up untile the point where the book starts that you’d think she would know how to use her brain. Apparently not, and it was so damn frustrating reading from her point of view. Especially since it was obvious she shouldn’t have trusted some people she barely knew. All the other characters were mostly useless and one dimensional, beside their name and like one characteristic each, they didn’t have anything that helped you make them apart. The villains — if you could call them villains — were laughable. Both the mystery on land that the one at sea were so boring and obvious, and the characters did not help make them interesting at all.
Speaking of which, this book is almost 400 pages long at it has multiple “mysteries” to solve, but really… Nothing happens for most of it. We are just following the dumbest woman ever wandering on a cruise ship asking herself “Who could it be?” and not seeing the plain truth.
The pacing is also wrong, I don’t know what the editor was thinking when they said yes, this is good, no need to change anything. Really, I had to read multiple useless description of what the MC was eating and drinking or how she was dressed and the character + mystery building were practically non-existent. I understand it’s historical fiction and probably the author wanted to set the tone, but it was too much tone and too little actual substance.
Moreover, it was clear she was trying to emulate Miss Agatha Christie, and she also mentioned her novels once or twice, but I really believe she did not accomplish the goal. I also think this book does not add anything to the mystery genre in general, but maybe I am being to harsh. I don’t know, it was just a huge disappointment…
To make things worse, I think the setting was completely underused. I usually love mysteries set on cruise ships or trains, because they have the feeling of a locked-room mystery, but with a little more scope for the investigation. Some of my all times favourite mysteries are set on ships or trains and Agatha Christie herself was a master at writing them. There’s a long tradition of this subgenre of mystery and Miss Aldridge Regrets was just not it. To think of all the things the author could have done with a setting such as the RMS Queen Mary, it makes me keen on picking up a pen and rewriting the whole book.
If all this wasn’t enough, the writing style was also boring. Aside from the useless descriptions mentioned above, the dialogues were cringy and 100% unbelievable. There’s one particular scene — I cannot say much, because it’s spoiler — where a character tells something huge to our dear Lena and the whole thing is so badly written I actually had to stop and send a rant audio to Vitt, because it was so dumb. I hated it.
You’d think I had finished, but no. There are three more things which I found extremely annoying: the first one is that the two main mysteries were linked, but the link was once again so dumb and unbelievable it made me roll my eyes; the second one is also due to this fact and it’s that the motive of the murderer was stupid and not well explained at all. The third and last one is that there was a romance subplot that didn’t add anything to the main plot, and was also instalove-y. Did we need it? I think not.
So, please avoid this book. It’s not problematic per se (even if there was a bit of slut shaming in my opinion; I know it was set in the 1930s, but some comments could be avoided), but I believe it’s not worth your time. Don’t be fooled by the cover, don’t make my same mistake, and skip on this one. There are plenty of better titles to read, as far as I am concerned, and it’s not fundamental that you read this one. If you want a good mystery set on a ship, do yourself a favour and read Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie.
I received an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review via Netgalley; this does not affect my rating nor my opinions in any way. Everything you’ll find in this review is what I actually think and it wasn’t influenced by anyone. Thank you so much to the publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read and review this book!
Since they are usually what influences my rating the most, let’s talk about the characters first. The main character, Lena, was so stupid I wanted to scream at her. Literally scream at her to wake up. I don’t care that the book was set in the 1930s, she had a kind of life up untile the point where the book starts that you’d think she would know how to use her brain. Apparently not, and it was so damn frustrating reading from her point of view. Especially since it was obvious she shouldn’t have trusted some people she barely knew. All the other characters were mostly useless and one dimensional, beside their name and like one characteristic each, they didn’t have anything that helped you make them apart. The villains — if you could call them villains — were laughable. Both the mystery on land that the one at sea were so boring and obvious, and the characters did not help make them interesting at all.
Speaking of which, this book is almost 400 pages long at it has multiple “mysteries” to solve, but really… Nothing happens for most of it. We are just following the dumbest woman ever wandering on a cruise ship asking herself “Who could it be?” and not seeing the plain truth.
The pacing is also wrong, I don’t know what the editor was thinking when they said yes, this is good, no need to change anything. Really, I had to read multiple useless description of what the MC was eating and drinking or how she was dressed and the character + mystery building were practically non-existent. I understand it’s historical fiction and probably the author wanted to set the tone, but it was too much tone and too little actual substance.
Moreover, it was clear she was trying to emulate Miss Agatha Christie, and she also mentioned her novels once or twice, but I really believe she did not accomplish the goal. I also think this book does not add anything to the mystery genre in general, but maybe I am being to harsh. I don’t know, it was just a huge disappointment…
To make things worse, I think the setting was completely underused. I usually love mysteries set on cruise ships or trains, because they have the feeling of a locked-room mystery, but with a little more scope for the investigation. Some of my all times favourite mysteries are set on ships or trains and Agatha Christie herself was a master at writing them. There’s a long tradition of this subgenre of mystery and Miss Aldridge Regrets was just not it. To think of all the things the author could have done with a setting such as the RMS Queen Mary, it makes me keen on picking up a pen and rewriting the whole book.
If all this wasn’t enough, the writing style was also boring. Aside from the useless descriptions mentioned above, the dialogues were cringy and 100% unbelievable. There’s one particular scene — I cannot say much, because it’s spoiler — where a character tells something huge to our dear Lena and the whole thing is so badly written I actually had to stop and send a rant audio to Vitt, because it was so dumb. I hated it.
You’d think I had finished, but no. There are three more things which I found extremely annoying: the first one is that the two main mysteries were linked, but the link was once again so dumb and unbelievable it made me roll my eyes; the second one is also due to this fact and it’s that the motive of the murderer was stupid and not well explained at all. The third and last one is that there was a romance subplot that didn’t add anything to the main plot, and was also instalove-y. Did we need it? I think not.
So, please avoid this book. It’s not problematic per se (even if there was a bit of slut shaming in my opinion; I know it was set in the 1930s, but some comments could be avoided), but I believe it’s not worth your time. Don’t be fooled by the cover, don’t make my same mistake, and skip on this one. There are plenty of better titles to read, as far as I am concerned, and it’s not fundamental that you read this one. If you want a good mystery set on a ship, do yourself a favour and read Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie.
I received an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review via Netgalley; this does not affect my rating nor my opinions in any way. Everything you’ll find in this review is what I actually think and it wasn’t influenced by anyone. Thank you so much to the publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read and review this book!
July 4, 2022
Miss Aldridge Regrets
by Louise Hare
Berkley Publishing Group, Berkley
Pub Date: July 5
A gripping tale set in London, 1936, when Lena -- a biracial nightclub singer who passes as white -- sees her poisoned boss die in front of her. Losing her job, she tries to uncover his killer, and accepts an offer to sing in a Broadway musical in NYC.
But on the transatlantic trip aboard the Queen Mary, murder and chaos follow her. Who is the real killer? Can Lena herself be trusted? A must-read for histfic mystery lovers who adore complicated MCs and stylish period pieces.
Thanks to the author, Berkley Publishing Group, Berkley, and NetGalley for the ARC. Opinions are mine.
#MissAldridgeRegrets
#LouiseHare #lourhare
#berkleypublishinggroup
#NetGalley
#histficnovel #1930s #queenmary #goldenagecrime #historicalcrimefiction
#mysterythrillerfiction
#multiculturalinterest
#bookstagramcommunity
by Louise Hare
Berkley Publishing Group, Berkley
Pub Date: July 5
A gripping tale set in London, 1936, when Lena -- a biracial nightclub singer who passes as white -- sees her poisoned boss die in front of her. Losing her job, she tries to uncover his killer, and accepts an offer to sing in a Broadway musical in NYC.
But on the transatlantic trip aboard the Queen Mary, murder and chaos follow her. Who is the real killer? Can Lena herself be trusted? A must-read for histfic mystery lovers who adore complicated MCs and stylish period pieces.
Thanks to the author, Berkley Publishing Group, Berkley, and NetGalley for the ARC. Opinions are mine.
#MissAldridgeRegrets
#LouiseHare #lourhare
#berkleypublishinggroup
#NetGalley
#histficnovel #1930s #queenmary #goldenagecrime #historicalcrimefiction
#mysterythrillerfiction
#multiculturalinterest
#bookstagramcommunity
June 1, 2022
Have just started this and am loving it. It's quite charming.this was a great premise and started well but then ran out of steam. It was almost trying too hard. The mystery also failed to grab. Maybe it's just my mood!
April 25, 2023
this was wild ?????
thank you to berkley pub for the gifted copy!
thank you to berkley pub for the gifted copy!
April 24, 2023
Ah, I liked this one. It's basically Agatha Christie with a young mixed-race jazz singer as its main protagonist--and I say protagonist instead of heroine, because Lena has to look after her own interests, and exhibits morally ambiguous behavior throughout the story. Which makes her interesting, although I'm not sure enough was really done with this.
Stuff I liked:
-- Murder aboard the Queen Mary! It felt as elegant and exciting as you'd expect.
-- Set in the 30s, with a white-passing protagonist, both race and class division are explored.
-- Lena is unapologetically independent and nearly all her decisions are self-protective or self-advancing in nature. I understood her, even though at times the things she turned a blind eye to were hard to ignore.
-- I enjoyed the bit of vacation romance, and it felt appropriately sweeping and of a finite time.
--The two timelines are easy to follow, even on audio, though I'm not sure the unknown second POV added much to the story. After the first arch interruption, it gets repetitive and shrug-worthy.
Stuff that could've used improvement:
-- The music stuff should be stronger.
-- Just about all the other characters should be developed more.
-- The motivations behind the deaths should be more convincing. One is fairly easy to guess, and dropped without much fanfare after you find out what happened, but the others seemed more farfetched and needed more groundwork established.
-- The ending! I don't mind what happens, exactly, and I applaud an atypical conclusion. But it just felt like it was underwritten, and certainly I needed more reasoning and feeling behind the choices that are made. And while I also don't mind that Lena is not the detective and largely reacts to things throughout the story instead of acting--this felt right, as a passenger--I do think that at the end, we needed more of an emphatic statement and proactive decision-making from her.
3.5 stars, rounded up because I enjoyed the setting and main character, as well as the audio version.
Audio Notes: I loved Georgina Campbell's narration! The louche, sophisticated manner of speaking she adopts for Lena contrasts well with a myriad of other voices. I am not familiar with her as an actress, but she's very gifted as an audiobook reader. I hope she's the narrator for book two.
Stuff I liked:
-- Murder aboard the Queen Mary! It felt as elegant and exciting as you'd expect.
-- Set in the 30s, with a white-passing protagonist, both race and class division are explored.
-- Lena is unapologetically independent and nearly all her decisions are self-protective or self-advancing in nature. I understood her, even though at times the things she turned a blind eye to were hard to ignore.
-- I enjoyed the bit of vacation romance, and it felt appropriately sweeping and of a finite time.
--The two timelines are easy to follow, even on audio, though I'm not sure the unknown second POV added much to the story. After the first arch interruption, it gets repetitive and shrug-worthy.
Stuff that could've used improvement:
-- The music stuff should be stronger.
-- Just about all the other characters should be developed more.
-- The motivations behind the deaths should be more convincing. One is fairly easy to guess, and dropped without much fanfare after you find out what happened, but the others seemed more farfetched and needed more groundwork established.
-- The ending! I don't mind what happens, exactly, and I applaud an atypical conclusion. But it just felt like it was underwritten, and certainly I needed more reasoning and feeling behind the choices that are made. And while I also don't mind that Lena is not the detective and largely reacts to things throughout the story instead of acting--this felt right, as a passenger--I do think that at the end, we needed more of an emphatic statement and proactive decision-making from her.
3.5 stars, rounded up because I enjoyed the setting and main character, as well as the audio version.
Audio Notes: I loved Georgina Campbell's narration! The louche, sophisticated manner of speaking she adopts for Lena contrasts well with a myriad of other voices. I am not familiar with her as an actress, but she's very gifted as an audiobook reader. I hope she's the narrator for book two.
Read
September 14, 2023DNF - 10%
I don't care if Lena orders the chicken or the salmon, that she doesn't like to chat people up, or that this is her first time on a boat (or ocean liner, my apologies Mr. Wilding)...
I cannot get past the lack of movement, tension, urgency, or intrigue. Not for me.
I don't care if Lena orders the chicken or the salmon, that she doesn't like to chat people up, or that this is her first time on a boat (or ocean liner, my apologies Mr. Wilding)...
I cannot get past the lack of movement, tension, urgency, or intrigue. Not for me.
November 12, 2022
4.5 Stars rounded up
I loved everything about this.
I will concede that much of the 'mystery' I guessed fairly early on bur like most cozy mysteries the novel doesn't hang on the cleverness of the crime.
Cozy mysteries sell the atmosphere, setting and characters.
This was well done and historically valid.
I'm super impressed and look forward to the next installment.
I loved everything about this.
I will concede that much of the 'mystery' I guessed fairly early on bur like most cozy mysteries the novel doesn't hang on the cleverness of the crime.
Cozy mysteries sell the atmosphere, setting and characters.
This was well done and historically valid.
I'm super impressed and look forward to the next installment.
July 12, 2022
Lena Aldridge is a woman with ambition. However, being of mixed race back in the 1930s limit her opportunities. Her career in London comes to a screeching halt when her boss, the husband of her best friend, is poisoned while in the audience. Lena may indeed be a suspect, but she does have a chance to get away because she gets offered an opportunity to appear in a show on Broadway. Lena takes a first class ticket ride on the Queen Mary that might open many doors of opportunity for her.
However, things do not go as planned. In fact, there is a murder on the ship. More than that, someone is not happy with Lena‘s presence and various scenarios occur that make her life very difficult and it is questionable whether she will even make it to Broadway. The transatlantic cruise is not one of pleasure, even though Lena has a first class ticket. Instead, she is often accosted, accused, and judged by her race and sex. While on the ship,Lena gets the opportunity to learn more about her past and the book shows how she was sometimes able to pass as white and how she played on either side of race depending on how it would benefit her.
In addition to the problems that Lena is having on the ship, yet another murder occurs. Considering that this book is written in first person narrative, as well as by means of a diary, we just are given privy to Lena‘s thoughts and concerns while she is on this trip. Is Lena guilty of these murders or is her situation one that makes her a likely suspect? She’s definitely not an innocent woman because she had been sleeping with a married man. Does this mean that she is a woman that does not have a good character or does this mean that she is a woman who dealt with living a double life and took whatever she could to get by? The dynamics in this book take on quite a few different directions, which include morality, alcohol and drugs, racism, class distinction, the unfairness that some women face and much more.
Considering that this book is not just a historical fiction but a historical mystery, it is definitely a well-layered book that has a lot of intrigue as well as drama. In fact, this book reminded me of Agatha Christie’s book Death on the Nile as the second murder happened while they were on the ocean so it was more than clear that the murderer was on board. That definitely increased the tension and danger in this well-written and captivating read.
Many thanks to Berkley Books and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.
April 14, 2022
Im new to this author and enjoyed this one overall although I did find it a little long winded.
Set in the 1930s, its the story of Lena Alridge, a mixed race Jazz singer in her 20s working in a seedy little club in Soho London.
When a surprise opportunity of starring in a musical on Broadway arises she jumps at the chance and is whisked away first class on a cruise liner bound for New York,
The vast bulk of the story takes place on the cruise liner as Lena gets involved with a very rich family and secrets are revealed as well as murders!
This one was enjoyable overall. I suppose its a murder mystery and it did have the feel of an Agatha Christie novel at times but I saw it more as a social commentary piece and the prejudice of not only race but also class and indeed sex.
Its also a book about self discovery and its all wrapped up in this murder mystery format which is quite a lot to take in.
It did fall apart a bit towards the end and I did find it a little too long but I enjoyed it overall and the author certainly captured the atmosphere of the era and presented some fairly well rounded characters. One of the main messages I took form the book is that everything isnt black and white(ironic given the subject matter). The characters that we root for all have their own baggage and there arent your traditional goodies and baddies on show here.
Thanks to the publisher for the ARC through Netgalley.
Set in the 1930s, its the story of Lena Alridge, a mixed race Jazz singer in her 20s working in a seedy little club in Soho London.
When a surprise opportunity of starring in a musical on Broadway arises she jumps at the chance and is whisked away first class on a cruise liner bound for New York,
The vast bulk of the story takes place on the cruise liner as Lena gets involved with a very rich family and secrets are revealed as well as murders!
This one was enjoyable overall. I suppose its a murder mystery and it did have the feel of an Agatha Christie novel at times but I saw it more as a social commentary piece and the prejudice of not only race but also class and indeed sex.
Its also a book about self discovery and its all wrapped up in this murder mystery format which is quite a lot to take in.
It did fall apart a bit towards the end and I did find it a little too long but I enjoyed it overall and the author certainly captured the atmosphere of the era and presented some fairly well rounded characters. One of the main messages I took form the book is that everything isnt black and white(ironic given the subject matter). The characters that we root for all have their own baggage and there arent your traditional goodies and baddies on show here.
Thanks to the publisher for the ARC through Netgalley.
January 22, 2023
Lena Aldridge boards the Queen Mary in 1936 to sail to New York from London. Accompanying her is Charlie Bacon, the self-appointed promoter, who has promised her a role in a Broadway show due to the connections of her deceased father. Lena has recently been fired from her singing act in a backstreet club after a disagreement with the owner, who is also the husband of her best friend, Maggie. Maggie's husband is poisoned and dies at the club on the same night with his mistress at his side.
Once on board the Queen Mary in first class, Charlie manages to secure a place at the dinner table of a very wealthy family. Travelling with the family are the elderly father, his nurse, and his doctor. There are many intrigues and assignations on the voyage, people die unexpectedly from foul play, and family secrets are exposed. This may be reminiscent for some readers of Agatha Christy’s novels.
Once on board the Queen Mary in first class, Charlie manages to secure a place at the dinner table of a very wealthy family. Travelling with the family are the elderly father, his nurse, and his doctor. There are many intrigues and assignations on the voyage, people die unexpectedly from foul play, and family secrets are exposed. This may be reminiscent for some readers of Agatha Christy’s novels.
August 25, 2023
For my full review, visit me at https://mrsbrownsbooks.wordpress.com/...
With a style that very much reminded me of Agatha Christie, I had hopes that this 1930s murder mystery would be equally compelling. However, I thought the narrative was rather strained and slow, finding it quite dull in places and making it more of a harder read.
With a style that very much reminded me of Agatha Christie, I had hopes that this 1930s murder mystery would be equally compelling. However, I thought the narrative was rather strained and slow, finding it quite dull in places and making it more of a harder read.
December 25, 2022
Miss Aldridge Regrets follows the seafaring adventures of singer and aspiring actress Lena Aldridge. Lena is crossing over to New York for a job that promises Broadway stardom, leaving behind her job as a singer in a seedy bar, her best friend, and a murder that's casting a shadow over her life and her future. Onboard an ocean liner in swanky cabin (first) class, Lena has to try and blend in with the rich, white people throwing their money around. Lena is a biracial woman who passes as white, and her time at sea shows her warring with herself, feeling like she has to pick a side, an identity to show the world. It's the 1930s, and there are major consequences for her profession and personal life depending on how she is perceived. There isn't space for her to just exist. When a second murder eerily similar to the one haunting her steps takes place on the ship, Lena is suspicious of how they might be connected and what danger it might mean for her.
This is a historical mystery with nuance, suspense, and character-driven intensity. The murder doesn't take place until a third of the way in, but the author is busy building up potential suspects, victims, and connections from the first page. The reader can already have her detective hat on, especially as flashbacks reveal more about what Lena is running from in London. The story is propulsive, always engaging and moving on to Lena's next challenge. This is one of those mysteries where I suspected everyone of everything by the end, assuming ill intent and secret motives on behalf of the whole cast. On the other hand, it's easy to be in Lena's corner, whether it's about her budding romance with a pianist who treats her well, her strained relationship with a sister-like best friend, or her safety as a murderer stalks the corridors of the ship, I was cheering for her.
Beyond the cast and plot, the historical elements and social commentary are also strong. The conversation around race covers many aspects, including how Lena's experience once she reaches New York will likely be jarring as she's dropped right into the segregated muck of 1930s America. The rise of the Nazis is also on the minds of the cast, a major news story that is already affecting many communities though war is not yet upon them. Lena considers the costs and morality of speaking up when political conversations about Germany veer towards the privileged and bigoted. On a lighter note, it is fun to see Lena reading Poirot novels as a contemporary, enjoying his detecting even as she takes up amateur sleuthing under duress.
This is the most fun I've had with a mystery in a while. Thanks to Berkley for my copy to read and review!
This is a historical mystery with nuance, suspense, and character-driven intensity. The murder doesn't take place until a third of the way in, but the author is busy building up potential suspects, victims, and connections from the first page. The reader can already have her detective hat on, especially as flashbacks reveal more about what Lena is running from in London. The story is propulsive, always engaging and moving on to Lena's next challenge. This is one of those mysteries where I suspected everyone of everything by the end, assuming ill intent and secret motives on behalf of the whole cast. On the other hand, it's easy to be in Lena's corner, whether it's about her budding romance with a pianist who treats her well, her strained relationship with a sister-like best friend, or her safety as a murderer stalks the corridors of the ship, I was cheering for her.
Beyond the cast and plot, the historical elements and social commentary are also strong. The conversation around race covers many aspects, including how Lena's experience once she reaches New York will likely be jarring as she's dropped right into the segregated muck of 1930s America. The rise of the Nazis is also on the minds of the cast, a major news story that is already affecting many communities though war is not yet upon them. Lena considers the costs and morality of speaking up when political conversations about Germany veer towards the privileged and bigoted. On a lighter note, it is fun to see Lena reading Poirot novels as a contemporary, enjoying his detecting even as she takes up amateur sleuthing under duress.
This is the most fun I've had with a mystery in a while. Thanks to Berkley for my copy to read and review!
June 22, 2022
Miss Aldridge Regrets by Louise Hare is glamorous historical fiction set on the famous ocean liner, the Queen Mary. Most of the action takes place on the ocean liner, with flashbacks to London. Miss Aldridge Regrets is a family drama and a murder mystery all in one.
Lena Aldridge is an aspiring bi-racial actress in 1936, in London. After trying for years to make a career, she’s starting to realize that she just might not make it. When she’s singing in a club in SoHo, she witnesses a murder. The murder of the abusive husband of her best friend. Knowing she might be implicated in the murder, she jumps at the chance, when a stranger gives her two first-class tickets on the Queen Mary and a promise of a Broadway role.
Charlie Bacon, the mysterious man who promised Lena a Broadway part, accompanies her on the cruise. He insists they sit with a wealthy American family, the Abernathy’s for dinner, and as she gets to know this wealthy American family, she realizes they are very dysfunctional. However, when another murder happens at sea, on the way to New York, to one of the Abernathy family members, Lena starts to wonder if her own life is in danger.
I enjoyed this story and the mystery very much. I loved the setting of the Queen Mary, and the author did a wonderful job of describing life on the ocean liner. I also liked that Lena’s love interest is a member of the staff of the ship, and that made for some interesting scenes from the working class. The Abernathy’s were quite an interesting, obscenely wealthy family, and although none of them were very likable, they were very interesting.
I liked that the second murder happened on the ship, in the middle of the ocean, with no place to escape, so we knew the murderer had to be on board the ship. As for the murder, I was surprised and didn’t figure it out until the characters did. Although there were plenty of clues.
I recommend Miss Aldrige Regrets to anyone who enjoys women’s fiction and mysteries. I received a complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Lena Aldridge is an aspiring bi-racial actress in 1936, in London. After trying for years to make a career, she’s starting to realize that she just might not make it. When she’s singing in a club in SoHo, she witnesses a murder. The murder of the abusive husband of her best friend. Knowing she might be implicated in the murder, she jumps at the chance, when a stranger gives her two first-class tickets on the Queen Mary and a promise of a Broadway role.
Charlie Bacon, the mysterious man who promised Lena a Broadway part, accompanies her on the cruise. He insists they sit with a wealthy American family, the Abernathy’s for dinner, and as she gets to know this wealthy American family, she realizes they are very dysfunctional. However, when another murder happens at sea, on the way to New York, to one of the Abernathy family members, Lena starts to wonder if her own life is in danger.
I enjoyed this story and the mystery very much. I loved the setting of the Queen Mary, and the author did a wonderful job of describing life on the ocean liner. I also liked that Lena’s love interest is a member of the staff of the ship, and that made for some interesting scenes from the working class. The Abernathy’s were quite an interesting, obscenely wealthy family, and although none of them were very likable, they were very interesting.
I liked that the second murder happened on the ship, in the middle of the ocean, with no place to escape, so we knew the murderer had to be on board the ship. As for the murder, I was surprised and didn’t figure it out until the characters did. Although there were plenty of clues.
I recommend Miss Aldrige Regrets to anyone who enjoys women’s fiction and mysteries. I received a complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
August 11, 2022
(Content warnings: murder, racism, classism, sexual assault, death of parent (pre-events of the book, but heavily discussed))
This book was kind of a mess. The premise and setting were so promising, but jeez, the execution's ROUGH.
Let's start with the good stuff: the way the race and class dynamics were handled was one of the few genuinely compelling parts of the book, and the romance was quite sweet and well-paced - a welcome respite from the frustrating wreck that was the main plot. As for everything else...
The supportive cast feels flat and uninteresting, and the main character, Lena, feels like a passive participant in her own story - she seems to hardly make any decisions at all, the plot sort of just happens to her. Most of my issues, though, have to do with the murder mystery plot. So this is a murder mystery, right? It's marketed as a murder mystery. So, naturally, you'd expect the main character to maybe try to figure out the murder mystery at some point. Wrong! Lena at no point tries to solve the murder. She doesn't take initiative, doesn't do any sort of investigating, snooping, even thinking about it that hard. Despite being one of the main suspects. (The one time she does go sleuthing in someone else's cabin, literally nothing comes of it, and it ends up completely pointless.) Furthermore: there is a surprising lack of tension in the story, considering the murderer on the loose and all, and the book's slow pace certainly doesn't help with that. The weird interludes from the murderer's POV - essentially Villain Monologues™️ - feel unnecessary, taking away suspense instead of building it up. Seriously! There were multiple points in the book where i went "oh, that would've been an actually cool plot twist, if we WEREN'T LITERALLY TOLD ABOUT IT BY THE MURDERER IN ADVANCE. why?!" I'm honestly still SO baffled by this choice. It'd take some seriously good writing and editing to pull off intertwining the main narrative with long flashbacks and the antagonist POV interludes without making it feel disjointed, and this book just doesn't manage it. I hoped the reveal of the murderer would redeem the book a bit, but oof, nope. It's.... not great, either. I can't really get into it without spoilers, the antagonist motivations feel flimsy, and it required more suspension of disbelief that I was willing to give. Overall, it leaves much to be desired, I think. 😔
(Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!)
This book was kind of a mess. The premise and setting were so promising, but jeez, the execution's ROUGH.
Let's start with the good stuff: the way the race and class dynamics were handled was one of the few genuinely compelling parts of the book, and the romance was quite sweet and well-paced - a welcome respite from the frustrating wreck that was the main plot. As for everything else...
The supportive cast feels flat and uninteresting, and the main character, Lena, feels like a passive participant in her own story - she seems to hardly make any decisions at all, the plot sort of just happens to her. Most of my issues, though, have to do with the murder mystery plot. So this is a murder mystery, right? It's marketed as a murder mystery. So, naturally, you'd expect the main character to maybe try to figure out the murder mystery at some point. Wrong! Lena at no point tries to solve the murder. She doesn't take initiative, doesn't do any sort of investigating, snooping, even thinking about it that hard. Despite being one of the main suspects. (The one time she does go sleuthing in someone else's cabin, literally nothing comes of it, and it ends up completely pointless.) Furthermore: there is a surprising lack of tension in the story, considering the murderer on the loose and all, and the book's slow pace certainly doesn't help with that. The weird interludes from the murderer's POV - essentially Villain Monologues™️ - feel unnecessary, taking away suspense instead of building it up. Seriously! There were multiple points in the book where i went "oh, that would've been an actually cool plot twist, if we WEREN'T LITERALLY TOLD ABOUT IT BY THE MURDERER IN ADVANCE. why?!" I'm honestly still SO baffled by this choice. It'd take some seriously good writing and editing to pull off intertwining the main narrative with long flashbacks and the antagonist POV interludes without making it feel disjointed, and this book just doesn't manage it. I hoped the reveal of the murderer would redeem the book a bit, but oof, nope. It's.... not great, either. I can't really get into it without spoilers, the antagonist motivations feel flimsy, and it required more suspension of disbelief that I was willing to give. Overall, it leaves much to be desired, I think. 😔
(Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!)
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