This book has really surprised me! It describes itself as a murder mystery type read, so I don’t know why I just wasn’t expecting any murders…?? That’s so stupid but when someone died I was like omg murder yes just what I need. I didn’t know it was coming lol how silly

So basically a lovely little murder obviously made this book at least 50% satisfying regardless of what else happened!

And I really enjoyed everything else - Lena still seemed so cool with these murders happening and how she’d just upped her whole life to move to a different country pretty much overnight.

I loved the other characters too and how little things tied together by the end - though I did predict a couple of things, I was still surprised by other bits!

And multiple timelines!! Switching between the lead up to Lena going to America and her own the ship. I always love this so am happy

A thoroughly enjoyable, intriguing, mystery read set amongst the first class at sea in the 1930s

The author previous novel This Lovely City was one of my top reads of lockdown, so was delighted to be given a chance to read a ARC of Miss Aldridge Regrets from Netgalley and HQ Stories in exchange for a fair and honest review.

First off the cover was lovely, I’d love to see this printed in a cloth bound hardback would make a lovely addition to any bookcase.

This is the story of Lena, a “passing” black woman, set in 1936 she is a night club singer who dreams big after a murder in the club that she performs in she jumps at the chance to escape London and head for New York onboard the Queen Mary but murder follows there begins a classic golden age mystery giving off the very best Agatha Christie vibes. Set upon the ship and the week previous read in the first person by Lena and a mystery voice, we are left guessing right to the very end .There is charming and not so charming characters , a lot of cocktails, jazz, glamour,sex and murder all set in a Atlantic crossing there is no escaping. Along with the exploration of class, gender and race Louise Hare manages to give the classic murder mystery a new deeper depth that is as relevant today as it was pre WW2, much like her previous work This Lovely City which was post WW2 Hare uses the beauty of the age to show the not so beautiful side in a way that is thought provoking, compelling, absorbing and well crafted. Both novels explore the same issues but in a different time however regards of it being the rich old age of the 30’s or the poor post wars years the message is the same. I can see both books working as Sunday night dramas albeit in different formats this book would be perfect as a classic Poirot or Gosford Park set up and This Lovely City would be perfect as a darker Call The Midwife or Small Islands set up.

Fans of Agatha Christie will devour this book. The full set up, the characters even the narration from Lena is class Christie, as huge Christie fan I don’t say it lightly when I say I loved this book.

Superbly told whodunnit set on board a transatlantic ship with race, sex and addiction playing their parts. It starts slowly and it took a while to grasp the storyline but once it did I was hooked. The characters are drawn with skill, the atmosphere of wealth and privilege that is tainted with greed and envy is real enough to touch. I thought I had guessed the culprit but was completely wrong so beware. This is a very superior whodunnit that kept me gripped.

A homage to the golden age of murder mystery greats like Agatha Christie who is referenced a number of times this is an enjoyable who dun it. Set in 1936 Lena is a mixed race club singer who is leaving London and a whole lot of trouble behind to take up an offer of a lifetime to lead in a Broadway show. Despite her street smarts Lena is incredibly niave when rubbing shoulders with the great and good aboard the cruise ship taking her to New York. The first class ticket seemed too good to be true but ignoing her instincts Lena is soon at the centre of a string of murders. An enjoyable read with some great characters and a glamarous setting.

Although I read the blurb for this one, I still didn't really know what to expect. I was presently surprised and I loved it!

It is a great whodunnit mystery - a historical fiction meets thriller and it was thoroughly enjoyable. I was left guessing the identify of the culprit throughout and was shocked at the reveal,

I adored the characterisation of Lena, she was determined and ambitious to survive and do her best as a talented mixed race woman.

Special thanks to NetGalley for sharing a digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinion.

Miss Aldridge Regrets follows Lena, who after her boss dies in mysterious circumstances, she flees to New York.

One the boat as she travels there she finds herself embroiled in the world of the Abernathy family.

I liked Lena as a character and found the exploration into her life as a white passing mixed race woman in the early 20th century very interesting and the book was beautifully written.

I liked the general plot of the story, it reminded me of Death on The Nile, but it was very slow to get going. In contrast, I found the conclusion to be a bit rushed.

Really enjoyed this new book from Louise Hare, having enjoyed her debut for my book club. Great whodunnit set at an interesting time and place in the 30s. Fab writing as always, although I was a little confused by the big reveal at the end. Still didn’t take away from my enjoyment of this book.

I really enjoyed this book, it was well written with a riveting storyline, a compelling setting and well developed characters. Twisty and unpredictable, it kept me guessing and had me on the edge of my seat.

I'm a big fan of murder mysteries, and set on board a cruise ship in the Golden Age ticked all the right boxes for me...

Miss Aldridge Regrets follows the story of Lena Aldridge; a nightclub singer who gets the job offer of her life and boards a ship taking her from her hometown of London to the bright lights and fame that await her in New York. While onboard she becomes embroiled with the rich Abernathy family, and as the drinks flow , the murder count rises!

I enjoyed the book for the most part, it's well written, and I was left guessing until the big reveal towards the end. It did seem a good bit longer than it needed to be, and I feel like the motive around the set up and killings could have packed more of a punch as I wasn't completely blown away by it. Otherwise it was an enjoyable enough story.

Thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for the ARC.

’Miss Aldridge Regrets’ by Louise Hare is perfect for fans of the Golden Age mystery novels of Agatha Christie and the like. Lena jumps at the chance to sail off to New York when a fantastic job offer comes her way. Working in a basement jazz club was never the plan, but a murder in the cub makes her desire to get out of London all the more urgent. Once on board the Queen Mary she is pushed into spending time with a rich and influential family. Danger lurks around every corner, even if Lena doesn’t realise it. A mystery unravels as they cross the Atlantic - and someone is intent on causing mayhem.

The story had the best setting. A murder mystery aboard an ocean liner is always going to get my vote. The mystery was well done, and the author brought in class and race issues that made it feel real. Her female characters were interesting and their lives drove the story for me. I enjoyed it.

I was given this ARC for review.

A modern take on a golden age Agatha Christie type mystery. The added element of racial, sexual and class divides makes this a thought provoking as well as an enjoyable read. Unusual ending too, unexpected but it works.

A really evocative puzzle of a read. As compelling as it was atmospheric, packed full of twists and turns - a real treat!

This book is a really enjoyable period piece about the misadventures of Lena Aldridge. She is a warm, likeable character who tells us her story in a first person narrative as well as taking us back to the previous week when her life changed for ever. It has a touch of Agatha Christie's novels which involve travel overseas, such as Death on the Nile, with a strange mixture of characters thrown together in one place. The transatlantic boat trip to America keeps us firmly in the time period and is a gorgeous reminder of the golden age. The book also looks at the grieving process as Lena misses her beloved Father. Trouble seems to follow our heroine wherever she goes. Will she be framed for murder or will the true killer be brought to justice? An enjoyable historical crime story with an unexpected murderer.

Not sure if it was a file/download issue but there were lots of gaps, stop/starts which really ruined the flow. I would love the chance to read a better version as the description of the book appeals to me.

Twisty, turny and a big reveal that you won’t see coming, but makes complete sense when it does. Lena is feisty and intelligent, yet she can’t work out what’s happening, and why she’s involved. The musings of the murderer keep you guessing, the added complication of Lena’s heritage makes an interesting twist, the beautiful depiction of life for the rich versus the poor in the 1930s adds depth, and the ending is satisfying – not much more one can ask.

Miss Aldridge Regrets by Louise Hare
I had thoroughly enjoyed This Lovely City by Louise Hare and was threrefore very keen to read her latest novel. Some of the issues in the novel echo those in the previous book such as racial prejudice and the way in which people of colour are treated.
I really enjoyed the novel and found Lena an engaging and interesting character. Lena is a mixed race woman who has been brought up singlehandedly by her black musician father. She is still reeling from his death from Tuberculosis (which was ravaging the country at the time). Her childhood friend, Maggie, is married to Tommy Scarsdale, the unscrupulous owner of the Canary Club.
Tommy dies with whilst Lena is performing on stage and she decides that now would be an opportune moment to take up the offer of the job of a lifetime on Broadway. Her best friend Maggie is free of her abusive marriage to Tommy and Lena has severed ties with her married lover.
So she boards the Queen Mary bound for New York and her life immediately becomes enmeshed with elderly Francis Parker, his well to do daughter Eliza Abernathy, Jack, her husband and their children Francis and Carrie. The relationship between these entitled, egocentric and dysfunctional family members is vividly portrayed. We have a marriages of convenience, affairs and children whose wishes are subjugated to those of their parents. There are scenes where the atmosphere is palpable and it is apparent there are undercurrents in almost every exchange especially as we near New York. The story is told in the present aboard Queen Mary and there are flashbacks to the events at the Canary club.
The novel is set in 1936 and there are references to the rise of Nazism and the attitude to those of the Jewish faith. As all the events take place on board the liner with nowhere to escape we have the feeling of an Agatha Christie locked room murder but with no Poirot to solve the murder. Indeed Lena expresses a liking for the novels of the “Queen of Crime”.
I really enjoyed the novel and love the mix of history and crime. I will be recommending the novel at my various book groups and eagerly anticipate this author’s next offering.
Many thanks to the author, the publishers and Net Galley for the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

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.

Well, this was an absolute delight! Thanks to NetGalley for my chance to read this book ahead of its publication in April 2022.

I'm so glad that I saw this on 'Between the Covers' on BBC2 as I wouldn't have otherwise picked it up - the cover didn't immediately call out to me that it was a period murder mystery, but it is. And a good one.

The story follows Lena Aldridge, a nightclub singer in 1936 Soho who is grappling with the loss of her beloved father, Archie, and eking out a living for herself in London's seedy underworld. When she is offered a big acting breakthrough on Broadway, it seems too good to be true - but it is perfect timing for Lena to escape London given a recent murder at the club. With a first-class ticket on the 'Queen Mary' headed for New York, Lena leaves her London troubles behind...and finds a shipboard community with murder on their minds.

I'll admit that the setting of this book was what drew me in - I love the idea of the glamour of the luxury liner headed for New York and settled in for lots of sumptuous details. I liked the fact that Lena didn't confine herself to the first-class lounges and that there was a sense of the diversity of life on board the ship - including the staff quarters and the tourist class areas. In fact, I could have done with a bit more detail on the setting - it's well done, but I was greedy for more!

The setting also allows for a clever closed-circle mystery. When a murder is committed, there are very few possible suspects - Lena and her dining companions are the focus for much of the story. This is an engaging device as the reader gets to know the Abernathy family and their various hangers-on. There's some really interesting character development, twists and turns here as the family's secrets are uncovered during the voyage.

The mystery itself is cleverly plotted - although we hear the murderer 'speak' in the italicised sections of the book, I'll admit that I didn't see the denouement coming at all. In fact, I think I had suspected pretty much everyone over the course of the book so I can't claim that my scattergun approach got me anywhere near to solving the crime!

I liked the fact that the book touches on some really thought-provoking social and historical context, Not only is there a hint of the rise of fascism in the backdrop to the story, Lena is mixed race, a fact which allows for some interesting social commentary on attitudes to race then and now. She 'passes' for white, something that allows her to take her place amongst the first-class passengers on the 'Queen Mary', but it is not without anxiety - the awareness that she could be 'discovered', thoughts about how she will be received in New York compared to London and the implications of her relationship with Will, a black pianist on the ship. The attitudes reflect those of 1936 - but provoke thoughts in the reader about whether enough has changed in the 85 years since.

I loved this book and recommend it highly to those who want a period murder mystery with plenty of surprises. You'll find yourself rooting for Lena, even as she makes some naive and morally-grey decisions, and will love exploring the 'Queen Mary' with her. The social context adds an engaging dimension and takes the book out of the truly comfortable cosy crime genre - but it is all the better for it.

Lena's life is not going how she expected but an opportunity comes and its too good to be true.
Death is following her and its time to find out why and who is doing it.
A great read, i could not put this down. fans of Agatha Christie will love this book.

Opening with a jawdropping firsthand account of murder in a Soho club in London, Miss Aldridge Regrets immediately transports you to the 1930's with all its glitz, glamour and shine but also with a seedy and corrupt underbelly. This dichotomy runs throughout the book and I found its portrayal fascinating and in keeping with historical accuracy of the time period; the class & racist divides, transatlantic travel & emigration with the rise of Hollywood & Broadway, as well as the post-prohibition era in America.
Lena wasn't a character I necessarily felt I always understood but I was fond of her and equally the other characters within the story were certainly entertaining to read. Will and Lena's connection was beautiful to read.
Yes, Lena is undoubtedly naive, but I felt this was understandable due to her only just losing the protection of her father and the privilege her best friend afforded to her with her status. I can see that back then many people chose to pursue their dreams in another country particularly when so much was at stake.
The murder mystery aboard the Queen Mary ship was something I thoroughly enjoyed and the comeuppance of certain characters was definitely satisfactory.