This was a great book for an autumn evening, a cosy crime that was full of atmosphere. I was impressed with the scene setting, 1930s Brighton was vividly brought to life and you got a really great feel for the theatre. The characters were well developed, I particularly liked the interactions between Bertie and Hugh. as a detective team they were both interesting and enjoyable. It's a great debut and I look forward to reading the next in this series.

I tried this novel three different times. I do not like any of the characters. I am almost 20% in but no one has died. THe writing is good, but the details bog down the plot. It was really hard to get through and I honestly just could not do it. I wanted to love this one because murder in a smaller town? But you actually have to get to the murder.

A absolutely brilliant debut novel. A highly enjoyable cozy crime tale set in the cuthroat world of west end acting. Highly influenced by Agatha Christie and will have the reader guessing as to the killer and why, and will not expect the twist at the end.

This was a fun murder mystery set in the theater and I enjoyed it! The characters were great and the plot had me guessing until the end!

Classic murder mystery where the murder in a play is used to cover up a real murder.

Bertie is an amicable sleuth and the author sets the scene for a theater company in the 1930's rather well.

A most enjoyable murder mystery set on the Palace Pier in 1930s Brighton. Well, I am not that old but I did grow up in Brighton and even though my pier of choice was and still is, the West Pier, this was such fun to read. Having a map of 'the mean streets' of Brighton in my head added to my enjoyment. I note that this is referred to as book 1 in the Bertie Carroll mysteries so very much looking forward to the next. Thanks to Netgalley.

*review in exchange for netgalley e-arc*

I adored this book! I’m always a bit touch and go with murder mysteries - I find I either love them or hate them, there is no in between. I loved this one. A murder mystery, theatre, the 1930s? This book couldn’t have been more up my street!

This felt like a proper cosy read. I sped through the book in next to no time and enjoyed this good old fashioned ‘who done it’. I loved the characters and how developed they were and all their depth, I loved reading their interactions and relationships with each other and watching them grow across the book. I loved the twists and turns, from page one I was hooked!

I really enjoyed this book and will definitely pick up more books from this author in the future!

Real Rating: 4.5* of five, rounded up because it was that much fun

I do love Golden Age mysteries. This one, a modern author's take on one of the best tropes for a murder mystery set in 1933 I know of, satisfied me in almost all ways.

The play as the scene of a crime trope is one I genuinely love. <I>All Star Cast</i>, a Golden-Age mystery I read via the Internet Archive, uses the same plot with a few embellishments that, frankly, this book didn't need and doesn't miss. I was enchanted by Bertie, our PoV character, being so absolutely down-to-Earth and commonsensical...I think playwrights absolutely must be both those things or they simply can not do the complex and complicated job of telling a story while moving people around the stage without feeling clanky-creaky-affected. There's so much of that delight present here, even in the descriptions of the action.

What I also loved was Hugh's evident pleasure in Bertie's company. He's a senior policeman...he knows what's at stake in dropping as many hairpins as he does for Bertie to notice! But he still does it, and he still affords Bertie's insights and insider knowledge of the play (which he wrote) and the players (with whom he's acquainted) and theater's many strange, invisible-to-outsiders customs and crotchets that explain how the murder was accomplished.

I believe with all my heart that we'll see these two together in some fashion at a later date. (Especially after Hugh engineers that swim. He clearly wanted a look!)

Why the murder was accomplished, now, that was pure Golden Age stuff. I thought there was nothing left to surprise me in Mysteryland...but there certainly was. The motive for the murder was straight out of Ngaio Marsh! I loved it, because I was reading (by that time) as though I was in 1933. It's just delightful to get that level of buy-in out of an old, tired grouch like me. And to have a real Golden Age detective who is One of Us, a Friend of Dorothy's, a queer gent...appropriately discreet but unmistakably gay, as minor character Teddy proves in his bluff, blokey-jokey way.

I so delighted in this experience. The author's evident love for theater, and his perfectly achieved evocation of a theater in Brighton long gone, came clearly through. It felt as though I was not only in that vanished theater, but in 1933, and among actors exactly like the ones in the story. <I>Murder at the Matinee</i> can't come early enough in 2023 for me!

I absolutely loved this book! I’m such a fan of murder mystery and this had the Agatha Christie vibes to it, which is something hard to narrow down. I couldn’t stop reading and I’m so happy this is going to become a series of stories. I especially loved the implications between the main characters during this time period. I can’t wait to see Bertie and Hugh again.

I really enjoyed this book, it had a clever plot line, strong characters and was easy to follow. I would highly recommend!

It’s opening night for a redo of one of playwright Bertie Carroll‘s lesser known murder mysteries. And everyone agrees that famous, but now fading, Celia Hamilton played her death scene extremely well. Maybe too well, for when the curtain goes down, Celia truly dead. Shot in front of an audience that included Carroll and his friend Chief Detective Inspector Hugh Chapman.
What a fabulous debut novel, with a plot that was very well crafted. West’s image of the Brighton theater world of the 1930s shows that he knows his subject. The vivid descriptions of the Palace Pier Theater, the actors, and theater life were particularly good. The characters are very well drawn, with Bertie as an extremely engaging stand out. Hugh Chapman is still something of an enigma, but I look forward to learning more about him! The supporting cast were all interesting and made for an interesting set of suspects.
This was a great old fashioned theatrical murder mystery. I read it cover to cover without stopping and thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm already looking forward to the next installment!

Perfect for anyone who enjoys a decent Agatha Christie-style mystery. A great cast of characters with a setting that's vidly brought to life. A lot of fun to read.

Renowned murder mystery playwright Bertie Carroll turns real life detective when his leading lady is shot and killed on stage, in full view of an unsuspecting audience.

Once the curtain falls and the applause subsides, the horrible truth begins to dawn on the cast of suspects backstage. But as motives, secrets and old rivalries begin to come to light, the murderer is still waiting in the wings.

With the help of Chief Detective Hugh Chapman, an old friend from school, Bertie must put his amateur sleuthing skills to the test to unravel the ultimate whodunnit.

The debut novel from Jamie West is set in and around The Palace Pier Theatre in Brighton, a lost theatre, lovingly recreated. A cosy murder mystery set in Brighton a town I know well. A good first debut from @thisisjamiewest

This was a good debut murder mystery. Set in the theatre, it’s a classic ‘whodunnit’ when the actress is shot on stage surrounded by potential killers. Death in paradise and Agatha Christie vibes, it’s a cosy novel. A little predictable for me with a slow start.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest, independent review.

The curtain rises and murder mystery playwright Bertie Carroll is in the audience of The Palace Pier Theatre in Brighton, for the opening night of one of his plays.

But as an unsuspecting audience watches on, an actress is shot during the play and killed onstage in front of them.

This causes the playwright, normally used to writing about murder mysteries, to turn detective to help solve a real one. Together with his old school friend, Chief Detective Inspector Hugh Chapman, they team up to find out who killed former Hollywood star, Celia Hamilton.

After chatting to the author Jamie West at a book party, I was really looking forward to reading his book and requested it as soon as it came onto Netgalley.

This is a cosy mystery set in the 1930s with lots of quirky, well-crafted, engaging characters. All of the characters have their little secrets, especially Bertie and Hugh. There is a hint of homosexuality there, but it's very understated, due to the era the book is set in. The book is the first in a series, and I am intrigued by how their friendship will develop in the rest of the series.

As a theatre lover, I absolutely loved the atmospheric setting of The Palace Pier Theatre. One of the lost theatres that no longer exists, it was great to hear it described in detail.

The author, Jamie West, works in theatre, and his knowledge comes across in his writing with lots of details about how productions are staged and the day-to-day of theatre life.

I love the investigation by Bertie and Hugh and felt it was very original with a hint of Agatha Christie and lots of red herrings to keep me guessing.

This is a brilliant debut, and I am looking forward to reading more in the series.

An intriguing and entertaining historical mystery, a fascinating description of the theatre world and a solid mystery.
I thoroughly enjoyed this story and hope to read other books featuring these fleshed out characters.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

Delightfully old school read! Agatha Christie style mystery with a fun cast of characters and a pretty straight forward investigation. The author was very good at setting the scene and our MC Bertie was just so very likeable. I do look forward to more books and I hope that there's some movement on the romantic front.

I enjoyed this book immensely, it had a wonderfully nostalgic feel to it and the main characters were very sympathetic. It's not the most intriguing or gritty mystery but had enough story to keep the plot moving along and to keep the reader wanting to turn the page. I particularly like the hinted potential of the relationship between Bertie and his detective friend Hugh. I was pleased to see that a sequel is already in the pipeline, and will definitely be putting it on my reading list.

A charming look at historical theatre—the people who made it happen (onstage and off), the buildings it took place in, and the communities that supported it—Death On the Pier by Jamie West just made me want to sit by the window with a blanket and a warm beverage and lose myself in the Brighton pier theater. I found the story—the mystery of who killed actor Celia Hamilton—and lead characters developed and lovable, and found myself excited to figure out whodoneit alongside Bertie—our protagonist, a murder mystery playwright, and Hugh—Bertie's school friend turned Scotland Yard detective.

At times, I did have trouble distinguishing whose perspective various chapters were told from. For example, a chapter would appear to be solely describing the internal thoughts, desires, observations and motives of Bertie, and then out of nowhere we would get a one paragraph glimpse at those same things from Hugh, before going back to following Bertie for the rest of the chapter. Despite these confusing moments, the book was overall cohesive and easy to follow, and it didn't happen often enough to take me out of the world.

West has done a lot work to create an accurate look at the real life world of British theater in the 1930s that is backed up by extensive research and first hand experience in modern-day theater. If I hadn't known going into it that West has backstage experience, I would have been able to tell right away with the amount of care and detail that went into describing the lives and experiences of those who are involved with theater. There were the things that have stayed the same from the 30s to today: the attitudes of actors, the way reviews and producers make or break careers, the stage manager's refusal to go onstage for an ill actor, and the "show must go on" mentality, to name a few. Add the research into the things that are different—technologies and other developments—together it created a believable and relatable world for this story to take place within. As a stage manager myself, I found that the line "stage managers are built of tougher stuff than you or me," told me everything I wanted to know about West's perspective as a crew member and author, down to the respect he has for the unseen moving parts that create theater.

I also have a lot of appreciation for the representation of queerness in this story. Bertie's (and other characters') queerness isn't relevant until it is, and even then, is it really? It's just a part of who the characters are. That's something I feel like is missing from the literature canon at large—characters who happen to be queer and the story isn't focused on the struggle or experience therein. West did a wonderful job making it clear that Bertie (and others!) are unarguably and unapologetically queer while still allowing the murder mystery storyline to be the star of the book.

Despite perspective issues and a few instances of repetitive dialogue or descriptions, I enjoyed this story thoroughly and will absolutely return to this world when West's second book comes out in 2023!

Thank you to Netgalley and Brabinger Publishing for access to the ARC of Death on the Pier!

This book is perfectly fine. I thought the premise was an interesting one. However, the opening chapters of the story felt a little too much like the author was borrowing heavily from <i>Noises Off</i>, a 1982 play by Michael Frayn that later became a movie in 1992. For this reason, the setup felt predictable. Additionally, I think it’s my family’s background in law enforcement that makes me a stickler for law enforcement-related detail. That an active police detective would enlist a playwright to solve a murder was a bridge too far. For me. However, this will make a delightful read for those who (a) enjoy a cozy sort of mystery and (b) are happy to suspend disbelief. In short, a worthy book, but unfortunately not one that worked so well for me personally.