Overall, Death on the Pier is a very good, easy to read, cosy murder mystery. Set in the 1930s the investigation doesn’t reply on DNA or high-tech forensics, just good old-fashioned police work making it a refreshing read.

With plenty of rivalries, blackmail and secrets being uncovered through the course of the investigation and interviews it soon becomes apparent that ANYBODY could be the murderer, not just the actress who fired the gun. It is clearly written and constructed in a way to make a good gripping story that isn’t too simple to solve.

Really liked this book! A great inclusion of LGBTQ themes and people in a historical whodunnit. Wouldn’t say it is Agatha Christie level, it is a 1930s whodunnit, that is not equivalent to Christie, but it is still a solid read for mystery lovers.

A charming retro whodunnit that explores queer identity in the 20th century as well as being a fun murder mystery, Death on the Pier is a clear love letter to the theatre and those who tread its boards. Lightweight and enjoyable, it sags a tiny bit in the middle but contains enough Christie-style deductions and intelligent plot twists to more than justify the reading time of an auspicious start to a new crime series to watch.

If you love a good Agatha Christie-esque read then this is a book for you. Very well executed whodunnit and highly recommend.

Great cosy mystery set in 1930s Brighton, with loveable characters and a good mix of characters/plot. Thank you to the publisher for the eARC.

I thought this was such a great murder mystery. Brilliantly thought out and had me changing my mind throughout as to who was the murderer! Set in the early 1930s in Brighton, we follow Bertie, a well respected playwright as he meets up with an old friend Hugh. What should have been a pleasant evening out to watch one of Bertie’s plays at the Palace Pier Theatre soon turns into a real murder mystery.
A great cast of characters and a budding romance, I also loved that the author wrote about The Palace Pier Theatres’ history at the end of this book.

I absolutely enjoyed this theatre murder mystery! it reminded me of the cosy, smart vibes of Only Murders in the Building and I thought the plot twists were actually so clever. I've read a lot of mysteries but this is one i did NOT predict the outcome or what happened! More of this kind of stuff, please!

Set in Brighton during the 1930s, Death on the Pier is the epitome of a British murder mystery. A murder committed onstage during a live performance of a play leads to playwright Bertie Carroll and DI Hugh Chapman getting together to try and solve the mystery. It's full of character and warmth and I would recommend it to fans of a good solid whodunnit.
Thanks to the publisher, Jamie West and Netgalley for the arc.

I enjoyed this mystery. It gave me similar vibes to some of the Agatha Christie novels I have enjoyed. The story has dynamic characters and a complicated mystery to solve. This isn't a total locked room mystery, but it has that kind of vibe. I give this book 4/5 stars.

A solid 3 Stars for me and a great debut book from author Jamie West.

A fabulous little who dunnit? Would make a great summer getaway read. Being set in Brighton it has that English beach holiday vibe. If you’re a fan of Agatha Christie style murder investigations, then this series may be your thing.

A murder mystery theatrical play turns to a real-life drama when the leading lady is murdered, shot on stage in front of the unsuspecting audience. How and who committed such a brazen act. Was it the old switch-a-roo occur wit the stage props. Read to find out.

I feel a commitment to a series coming on the Bertie Carroll mysteries, a good murder mystery series is a hard find.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Regular readers of my blog know that I love historical fiction, crime fiction, and anything with an intriguing setting. This one hits all three!

It's 1933 and off-season in Brighton, never busy, but definitely not the best time for opening night of a play in the theatre at the end of the Palace Pier. The writer of the play, Bertie Carroll, has popped in to see how it is going - and, along with an old school friend who is now a police detective, witnesses a murder live on stage. It's left to Bertie and his friend, Detective Hugh Chapman, to try to uncover what happened when the famous leading lady died in front of a (hardly packed) theatre audience.

Surely the culprit is the cast member who fired the gun at the famed Celia Hamilton on stage?

Bertie finds that things are rarely that simple. Instead, he has to navigate a cast of actors whose training allows them to conceal the truths in their own pasts - plus keep his own secret homosexuality hidden in an era which renders his feelings for Hugh illegal.

I found this to be a charming read - there's lots of likeable characters (including Bertie himself), some figures you might love to hate, plus lots of theatre gossip. I'm really impressed that this is a debut novel as it hangs together so well - and you can definitely see the author's background in theatre shining through. I didn't guess the denouement at all - but, when it came, I definitely found it made sense and I kicked myself for missing all the clues along the way.

I'd recommend this to fans of Agatha Christie/Golden Age style murder mysteries. There's little gore, lots of questioning of suspects and slowly unravelling back-stories - definitely enough to keep an armchair detective in business. I understand that a second book is in the frame and I'm very much looking forward to it.

3.25

This was such a fun debut! Set in 1933 Brighton, Jamie West really captures a lot of the elements I love from Golden Age mysteries. This is truly a whodunnit type murder mystery, which I tend to prefer over modern mystery/thrillers. I also loved all the theatre details, both from a historical perspective and from a technical perspective. It seemed clear to me that West was combining things he knew and loved when he came up with the concept for this book.

Sometimes the amateur sleuth main character doesn’t work for me, because I can find it hard to suspend disbelief that they would have access to parts of the case, etc.; however, I really liked Bertie in this book. And I really liked the hints of rekindled friendship (and maybe more?) we got between him and Hugh.

I will say, I found the initial set up rather confusing as elements of the production immediately gave me red flags and clued me in to who the likely culprit was, though I still found myself intrigued in the how and why of the crime.

Overall, I thought this was a fun, cozy read, and I look forward to picking up the sequel when it comes out!

I really enjoyed Jamie West’s debut novel Death on the Pier which is set on opening night of a Christie style murder mystery in a now former theatre in Brighton. It’s a perfect winter warmer of a murder mystery as playwright Bertie and his childhood friend Hugh, who happens to be a police officer investigate the murder that took place on stage.

I really enjoyed the use of the playwright as investigator as it brought a certain insiders knowledge and both provided the read clues and left them guessing.

It’s a cosy little read, nothing too chilling or unpleasant and includes a nice dynamic of characters and an interesting backdrop. It’s an easy read which I absolutely flew through and couldn’t wait to find out ‘who dunnit’. West has a background in theatre and this is evident in the book and as a theatre lover I really embraced this passion and small titbits of insider knowledge.

It’s one of those book where you kinda know what you’re getting yourself into but it’s well executed and the ending isn’t obviously guessable from page 1.

Fantastic book! Loved everything about it!!! I can not wait to see more books from Jamie West!!! The scene setting is amazing!
4⭐️

Death on the Pier is a delightful theatrical murder mystery by debut author Jamie West. Released 10th Oct 2022 by Brabinger, it's 336 pages and is available in paperback and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats. For Kindle Unlimited subscribers, this book is currently included in the KU subscription library to borrow and read for free.

It's abundantly clear that the author has intimate background knowledge of the theatre world and the people who call the milieu home. He writes clearly and engagingly and the characters are three dimensional and the whole is a satisfying read.

I love the subgenre. Golden age is a definite plus for me (this one is set in interwar Brighton, 1933). This book is maybe a little more 'cozy' style than Marsh or Christie, but it was such a lovely read. The settings are well described and the plotting never dragged. I loved that the actual stage itself is the scene-of-the-crime. Although it's not at all derivative, there are such lovely Inspector Alleyn at the theatre vibes; in this case it's playwright Bertie Carroll as sleuth, assisting Hugh, an old school chum, and now serving as an inspector with Scotland Yard.

This is the first in a series, and there are definite foreshadowings of a more romantic relationship between Hugh and Bertie, but nothing explicit or overwrought. The release date for the second book has not been publicly announced at this point, so presumably late 2023 at the earliest.

Four and a half stars. Looking forward to what is in store for this series.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

I tried desperately to get into this book but for some reason the story just didn't resonate with me. I did think the writing was good though.

As a Brightonian and a theatre lover plus a fan of the ‘cosy crime’ genre I was keen to give this a go.

The setting is the end of the pier theatre and a whodunnit play where the star ‘acccidentally’ gets shot by a supposed prop. The writer, Bertie, teams up with his friend, local chief inspector, Hugh, to solve the mystery.

The backdrop of Brighton was perfect and the research put into the history of the theatre (no longer there) was clear. Whilst the crime was neatly sewn up, the underlying tension between Bertie and Hugh reminds us how hard life was for many when homosexuality was a criminal offence and adds a thought provoking theme to the book.

Bertie and Hugh made a charming team and I look forward to them solving more mysteries in future.

I gravitate towards historical mysteries quite effortlessly. This particular book packed a punch. The lead protagonist and the situations he finds himself in are refreshingly tense.
I also appreciate that it took me a couple of pages to get the entire mental visual of the ongoing events. I like having to work a little initially to know the time and place, especially since I do not read the blurbs close to actually picking up a book. I do not know how else to describe it or if it makes me odd, but there it is!
When the book begins, we have a playwright (Bertie) invited to a showing of a play of his. This is with a cast that seems at odds with each other. The scene is well and truly set. Before the actual performance, Bertie happens upon an old friend of his. Hugh is a Detective and is invited to the showing of the play. When the loudest and meanest of the actors (expectedly) falls dead from a real bullet, the investigation begins.
There are a lot of secrets among the stage actors, and Bertie slowly sifts through them all, hoping that his own dangerous secret stays hidden. I recently read and reviewed a similar plotline, except that the other was written in a more humourous jaunty tone. This is more serious, and it was near impossible not to want Bertie to have a happier ending. Given the laws of the time, I do not see how it will work out.
I liked the writing and the way the story unfolded. The author provides us with just enough information to ensure that we do not feel the resolution came out of nowhere. It is also possible to guess part of the whole, but I would say near impossible to figure it all out to the last point. This ratio is the perfect one to appreciate a murder mystery book and come away satisfied.
There is to be a next book, and I, for one, look forward to meeting Bertie again. I highly recommend this book to readers of this genre.
I received this book as an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

This is my favourite type of mystery. It’s cozy, really immersive and has a great storyline that makes sense.

Death on the Pier is a classic cosy mystery set in the theatrical world. It keeps you on your toes while not being too far fetched.

I had a few theories as I read it and ended up being (60%) right. The twists were shocking but were also believable, which I think is very important.

I’d recommend this book to any cosy mystery readers or Agatha Christie fans.

Solid period mystery, set in 1930s Brighton. Bertie Carroll is a likeable and lively character who puts his murder mystery playwriting skills to the ultimate test by solving the real life murder of the lead actress, Celia Hamilton, in one of his play's that is being performed at the Palace Pier Theatre. On opening night, to boot! Fortunately, his friend DCI Hugh Chapman, is visiting Bernie and is able to take charge and keep the case focused, advising his friend along the way.

The setting is unique and well-drawn, the characters diverse and the mystery really well thought out and resolved. Very clever!

An excellent debut, and I am already looking forward to the next in the series.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for the ARC to read and review. All opinions are strictly my own.