Murder at the Theatre Royale is a fun cosy read for a sunday before christmas, by its nature is simple and typical playing off stereotypes isnt really a Christie rival to be honest but thats not to say its not a fun read.

I appreciated this story as a light, easy read. It has a fast pace and I found myself finishing the book fairly quickly. I liked Daphne and I was rooting for her to be able to write the investigative stories she had her heart set on. I also quite liked the idea of her being the agony aunt of the column as it provided some humour.
The murder at the theatre was entertaining as the suspects were all thespians; flamboyant, secretive and competitive. Daphne had a lot of investigating to do with the pulling of loose threads until she had the puzzle unravelled. The detective is disappointingly useless and only helpful in providing her with access to crime scenes. It would be nice to see her with a more dependable sidekick.
I enjoyed this entertaining mystery and I hope there's more from Daphne soon.

This is a perfect, feel-good, cosy up with the fire and Christmas tree lit behind you kind of book. Perfect Christmas read, simple and easy! This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop.

The E-Book could be improved and more user-friendly, such as links to the chapters, no significant gaps between words some text written has been typed in red and a cover for the book would be better. It is very document-like instead of a book. A star has been deducted because of this.

Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

Murder at the Theatre Royale was trying to be a Golden Age murder mystery but it really didn't work for me! Set in 1935, it's centred around the murder of an actor during a rehearsal of A Christmas Carol – and I thought it was incredibly over-written, there were too many characters, and none of them were particularly convincing or interesting. Daphne King, an unmarried 37 year old agony aunt trying to be a crime correspondent, would have been such an interesting protagonist as well; but this premise was so under-utilised in ways that made no sense to me. The final scene honestly felt like something out of Scooby Doo, and the less I talk about the offensive Scottish accent the better.

It was a nice festive murder story to read, unlikeable characters and many suspects. I am not often a fan of theatre based mysteries but did quite enjoy this one.

Daphne King, the brains and pen behind the popular 'Dear Susan' agony aunt column, but she yearns for a more exciting role in the crime department, despite her editor's views on the roles of women journalists. So when the death of an ageing actor just before opening night of a new production of 'A Christmas Carol' lands squarely in her lap, she's determined to prove it is murder and crack the case.

Murder at the Theatre Royale is joyous romp around the backstage world of 1930's West End theatre, and provides a lovely way to spend a cold winter afternoon, nestled in front of the fire.

Christmas 1935 in London, and Daphne King, aged 37, and a rather unsatisfied reporter who hitherto has to be content with being the popular agony aunt with the Daily Chronicle is given a different assignment to write a piece on the staging of a new performance of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol at the Theatre Royale. But when she goes to meet the Director, the elderly Chester Harrison, the actor playing Ebeneezer Scrooge, Robert Stirling, keels over during rehearsal and dies on the spot. Daphne’s senses that something is not right with his death, while the police are initially keen to see it as a simple case of heart failure. Her instincts are correct, and Daphne seizes the opportunity to investigate Stirling’s death to provide her with a more challenging and engaging role with the newspaper. The story is told entertainingly with humour and brio, but the characters and plot lack that essential credibility – the book seems more of a pastiche of Golden Age Detection fiction. Certainly, Moncrieff does not play fair with the reader by introducing a key character right at the conclusion of the story, so that the reader cannot be reasonably expected to identify the murderer
There are some anachronisms – the term bimbo to describe a female in derogatory terms in the 1930s was not in usage – this only became popular in the 1980s. And surely any British writer should know that Daphne waking in London at six in the morning of 23rd December would never be disturbed by piercing sunlight through the curtains! Furthermore, a double murderer who had planned their revenge could not expect a prison term in the 1930s, but would be definitely facing the gallows. In general, the story was a disappointment.

A cosy Christmas murder mystery with plenty of 1930s charm and glamorous thespians. And a dishy Bob Cratchit. Didn't see that coming.

A newspaper agony aunt steps in for a colleague to cover the local theatre. They are putting on the famous and festive play A Christmas Carol when the actor playing the main character, Ebenezer Scrooge, suddenly drops dead during rehearsals. Everyone assumes he has had a heart attack, but the reporter begins to look for clues to a murder.

Set in London in 1935, this book has a lovely period feel with a host of characters who all have their own foibles. The language used is mostly appropriate, with 'quite' and 'queer' used in the ways of early twentieth century England, but a little forced at times. The reporter sets about researching the history of the characters in an attempt to find out whodunnit. Obviously, the police are of no use at all.

Told from the reporter's point of view in the third person, with the occasional delve into other people's thoughts, the story ambles along in a pleasant and stress-free manner. There is a little tension between the cast members and some are better actors than others. Oh yes, the reporter-detective even has a magnifying glass. Jolly stuff.

An enjoyable festive read.

I think that Ada Moncrieff writes entertaining historical mysteries that pays homage to the Golden Age authors.
This one was entertaining and I liked the descriptions of the theatre world and the solid mystery
I wasn't a fan of Daphne who can be a bit irritating at times but I appreciated her strength.
The style of writing reminded me of the Golden Age novels and the pace is one of a classic mystery
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

My thanks to Random House U.K. Vintage for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘Murder at the Theatre Royale’ by Ada Moncrieff.

A Christmas-themed historical cosy mystery featuring journalist Daphne King set in London 1935.

Daphne King is rather bored of her position as the Daily Chronicle’s in-house Agony Aunt, though her editor is reluctant to let her branch out to more serious journalism. As Christmas approaches Daphne leaps at the opportunity to fill in for another reporter to interview famed theatre director Chester Harrison and his actress wife, Theodora D’Arby.

She meets him at London's Theatre Royale where Harrison is staging a new adaptation of ‘A Christmas Carol’. The play has had a troubled run on its tour of regional theatres and tensions among the cast are running high.

Daphne is invited to watch a rehearsal but then there is a death on stage, initially presumed to be a heart attack. Yet Daphne spots something that may suggest murder and finds excuses to stay around the theatre and undertake her own investigation. Then there is another death, this time it is clearly a murder!

Daphne quickly morphs into full-on amateur sleuth mode including gathering all of the suspects together for the Poirot-style denouncement as to whodunnit under the gaze of Daphne’s pet policeman, Inspector Marklow.

Although I enjoyed it, I did feel that some of the dialogue and social etiquette seemed out of sync with its 1930s period setting.

Overall, I found ‘Murder at the Theatre Royale’ a quick and easy read. I admit that I am quite fond of the intrepid female reporter trope, such as the 1940s Brenda Starr comics. I wonder will there be more cases for Daphne King?

3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

A nail-bitingly tense crime mystery that will keep you turning the pages late into the night. Great characters, great storyline. I kept turning the pages instead of turning off the light!

Murder at the Theatre Royale is a very enjoyable cosy murder mystery set in London's 1930's Theatre land ..Journalist Daphne King wants to be a reporter instead of an "Agony Aunt" and is sent to do a piece on the opening of a new production of A Christmas Carol when one of the acTors drops dead seemingly of a heart attack but Daphne is not so sure and so the mystery begins .The ending reminded me of Poirot getting all his suspects together in one room and finally revealing the murderer .Loved it ! Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC.

This is a fun, cozy mystery with a likable main character, Daphne, who is sick of being an Agony Aunt for her newspaper job and instead wants to work on the crime side, and what better way to do that than solve the case of the murder at the Theatre Royale? There are lots of suspects in the cast of the production who you have to keep an eye on at all times and as each clue is revealed, Daphne gets one step closer to figuring it out. The ending brings it all together in one brilliant scene of confrontation to create a fast paced story that you won't want to put down! One negative is that the language used was a bit too excessive in parts as if the author was trying too hard to make it sound like the 1930s but overall it is a good murder mystery perfect for cold and dark nights.

There are several things which I like about this book. It’s set in a theatre, the story takes place just before Christmas, it is set in London in the 1930’s and it has a feisty female amateur sleuth.
Daphne King, a young journalist who is trying to work her way up at her newspaper is given the task of interviewing a playwright and his wife at the London theatre where they are reviving a production of A Christmas Carol. Before she gets a chance to conduct the interview one of the cast dies on the stage in front of her. A murder has occurred and Daphne is determined to find out the culprit.
The dialogue between the theatre troupe and Daphne is fast paced and witty. The cast of characters are interesting enough to keep the story going and the strands of the mystery wind to a satisfactory conclusion, one that I didn’t guess. A light cosy mystery that makes a very enjoyable read.

A very enjoyable romp through London’s 1930s theatre world. Daphne is languishing in her role as a newspaper agony aunt when she is given the opportunity to cover a story in the theatre. A murder occurs almost as soon as she arrives and from there it’s a breathless race against time to identify the murderer. Full of ‘good eggs’ and Lyon’s’ tearooms, incompetent policemen and red herrings, this was an easy, quick read and jolly good fun! 3.5 stars from me.

I overall enjoyed this one, it was well set in a fabulous period and the characters were well described. The story was well plotted and there were a number of twists along the way. I did struggle at times with the language which I felt took away a bit from the flow of the tale

Journalist Daphne King is, “to put it mildly, a sensation”. “Housewives up and down the country [are] united in their adoration for Dear Susan”, the agony aunt column she writes for the Daily Chronicle. Although Daphne “had surprised herself with the talent she had for dispensing wisdom and guiding her readers towards untangling their conundrums”, she is no longer satisfied with dispensing her wisdom to the likes of “Barbara of Basingstoke”, “Maud from Bagshot”, “or advise[ing] another Gladys of Woolton” on such banal topics as gardening, cooking and relationships. Sensational Daphne has two problems barring her way to working on the crime desk. Firstly, she has been sharing her contacts and confiding all her hunches with the star reporter Jamie Jenkins who has taken all the credit for three separate investigations solved by Daphne over a 6-month period. Secondly, her editor Martin Halliday damns her with faint praise as “a fine little writer”. Not only patronising he has food-stained clothes, an unkempt droopy moustache, a paunch, thinning hair and he slouches. How will mousy Daphne who wears knee high socks and lace up shoes stand up to this man? Perhaps a theatre review will show off her journalistic skills, especially if she happens to be at the scene of a murder. Perhaps she might even solve the case herself!
“King, it’s nothing personal – Jenkins is just a newspaper man through and through, like a stick of Brighton rock”, Martin Halliday explained, idly flicking an elastic band in his left hand, swiping some mince pie crumbs from his desk with his right. “That hoo-ha with the laundry workers last month- Jenkins had the scoop thanks to his bobby pals. The stiffs who’d popped their clogs in Soho – Jenkins was there, had the nod from the squire at the Three Greyhounds. Not to mention he sniffed out that bad apple in Westminster before you could say “How’s yer Father?” He’s a bloodhound, King, like I said: a newspaper man to his core”.
This unnatural, strange speech is supposed to be an imitation of how people spoke in 1937. Moncrief’s writing style is certainly unique. She combined hackneyed expressions with Shakespearean references and untranslated French.
Montcrieff uses a great many expressions not only in dialogue but as a character’s thoughts. Daphne thinks to herself that “she wouldn’t be happier if she had a ring on her finger and a bun in the oven”. This expression was first used by Nicholas Monsarrat in a novel he wrote in 1951. A woman in the 1930s would not think about pregnancy in this way.
“Roger that. I will endeavour to deliver you an early Christmas Present of sensation and scandal” replies Daphne to her editor. “Roger that” as a way of telling someone that you understand their instructions and plan to execute them was used by military and aviation personnel during the second world war, when the use of two-way radios became a main form of communication and operators. The expression “Roger that” entered the mainstream language during the 1960s.
Her characters are very clichéd, her police inspector and his bobby enjoy a break in a Soho bun shop at the same time every day, rather like the policeman in the Simpson’s tv series.
The sentences are at times painfully overwritten “Only one sentiment pulsed within her cranium, a sentiment that would come to nudge at her intermittently over the course of the next two days: Something was wrong and she needed to find out what it was”.
“Like every other room in the Theatre Royale, the bar was something of a palimpsest”.
The formality of 1930s speech is lost, Daphne would have called her editor Mr Halliday and he would have called her Miss King. A police inspector would not have arrived at a crime scene “depositing the last of an iced bun into his mouth”
I find it hard to believe that the well-travelled Cambridge educated Ada Moncrieff or Penguin would publish this bilge if their intentions were literary. The book feels like what it probably is; a proposal for a tv drama series not a novel.

A nice and short cozy mystery set in the 1930s. Very enjoyable and funny where the plot allows it given that is a murder mystery.

A very fun murder mystery story that was well-told. The characters were so varied and interesting and believable, the scene painted so well I could see them all in the miserable bar or on the stage. I actually didn't guess the ending (though I did guess a couple of things) so that was extra fun.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for a fair review.

This is a campy, spoofy period murder mystery, set in 1930s London in the run up to Christmas. Daphne King, an aspiring crime writer, is tasked to review a new production of A Christmas Carol, recently arrived in the West End. She instead becomes engaged in solving a murder mystery involving the cast and crew of the show,

This novel is very light and the plot is under-developed but on its own terms I did enjoy it. It's a lot of fun, the characters are larger than life and the period is well captured. For some light festive escapism, I can recommend it.