In 1935, a few days before Christmas, a production of A Christmas Carol has come to London's Theatre Royale. When one of the cast members dies on stage, journalist Daphne King finds herself in the middle of an investigation. However things take another turn when someone else is found dead backstage.

I cannot resist a festive mystery and this made for such a fun read.

Daphne was such a great character that I took an instant liking to and I enjoyed seeing how she handled the investigation. The story itself was very well paced and kept me engaged throughout. I particularly loved how you are thrown straight into the drama. The 1930s London setting was such a perfect fit for the story, of course there were no phones or technology at that time and it allows the reader to just focus on the mystery unfolding.

I highly recommend this wonderfully entertaining book.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House UK for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

I expected this murder mystery to be a quick, fun read but have been left slightly disappointed. The plot is well thought out and engaging, although not in itself relying on the Christmas season: any play and any time of year could have been chosen by the author. My main quibble with this novel is the writing style. Is it meant to be facetious, or is it simply stilted and verbose? Either way, the flowery style detracted from what could have been the fun read I was expecting.

In 1930’s England newspaper agony aunt, Daphne King, is delighted to have the chance to work as a reporter for “the culture desk”, rather than sticking to her standard column, and interview a couple of famous actors who are staging a comeback and are in London to perform in “A Christmas Carol”. Even better for Daphne, when one of the players dies on stage in front of her during rehearsals - Daphne takes note of everything like any good investigator would and suspects foul play. Murder and mayhem ensue and Daphne is kept busy under the watchful gaze of her “tame” policeman, who has worked with her before and makes allowances for some of her meddling.

The book has all the hallmarks of an excellent story. The theatre world in particular, lends itself to colourful characters, secrets and intrigue. I was also drawn to the beautiful book cover and the fact it was labelled “A Christmas Mystery”, looking forward to a seasonal escape from reality.

Unfortunately, the writing style wasn’t to my taste. The language used was very floral and overly descriptive. Initially, I thought it was to add a sense of the period, but the use superfluous adjectives continued throughout the book causing confusion and detracting from the flow of the storyline. The premise of the book is excellent and the characters intriguing but sadly, wasn’t the immersive escape I was expecting.

This book made me feel like I was in the middle of a 1930s detective film.
Larger than life characters, a press reporter desperate to move away from the agony aunt page and a cast of thespians whose quarrels go back many years.
Great fun

A nice cozy mystery based in London in the world of journalism and the bright lights of the theatre.

Daphne is trying to shrug off the agony aunt role at the paper she works for and is cutting her teeth with crime fighting. Based in the backdrop of an ailing London theatre she is on hand when a murder takes place.

Good story and an easy read, liked the theatre setting although I did get confused a little with the number of characters.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars
I enjoyed this story and read it quite quickly. I very much liked the character of Daphne and thought that she was well described. Some of the other characters felt slightly cliched and not introduced properly. I also felt that some aspects of the plot were quite implausible and too convenient. That said, I would still recommend this book for the perfect antidote to the frazzle of a modern Christmas. a perfect afternoon read, not too taxing and just the right amount of festive cheer.

A new-to-me author, whose blurb drew me in. The plot is credible, the characters well written but I found the narrative itself a bit hard A new-to-me author, whose blurb drew me in. The plot is credible, the characters well written but I found the narrative itself a bit hard going. There were not enough clues for the reader to join the dots, and the text was sprinkled with too many clever and unusual words to make it easy reading. Admittedly I am not the brightest kid in the block and although one can guess the meaning, reading it in the context, it felt clumsy and for me, not as enjoyable. It is unlikely that I will request another ARC from this author, sorry!

A Most Unlikely Mystery…
The Festive season has dawned and Christmas has arrived at the Theatre Royale. December 1935, London, the final stop for the production of A Christmas Carol - a production not already without problems - surely the finale of the tour will go without a hitch? Not so, as tragedy is about to strike on the opening night. As bodies mount, journalist Daphne King is determined to unravel a most unlikely mystery. With a cast of entertaining and nicely drawn characters and an engaging and enjoyable storyline this is a relaxing, easy reading mystery.

Murder at the Theatre Royale by Ada Moncrieff is a wonderful, historical murder mystery set in December 1935. Based in snowy London, with a few clues for readers who fancy a bit of armchair sleuthing, it centres around journalist Daphne King who feels the need to prove to her boss at the Evening Chronicle, Martin Halliday that she is worth more than her Dear Susan 'Agony Aunt' role. She is given an opportunity by the editor-in-chief and makes her way to the Theatre Royale on Great Windmill Street on the number 24 bus. When Scrooge, part of the acting team in Director Chester Harrison's production of A Christmas Carol drops dead practically at her feet it looks as though the actor died of a heart attack. With occasional touches of humour, this is a compelling and engaging Christmas historical crime novel that I enjoyed immensely.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Random House Vintage via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

As usual in my reviews, I will not rehash the plot...

This is a period murder mystery set in the 1930s before the war. As such, it does not have the rather gory forensics that one enounters in a modern day murder mystery, which made a welcome change!

The characters are interesting, and I liked the writing style - which had an old-fashioned ring to it. I did find the pace a little slow, but that could be because I'm used to reading more up to date crime novels.

Enjoyed it on the whole, and I would read more by this author.

Recommended if you like murder mysteries with a period setting and a lack of gore!

My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC. All opinions my own.

Love a theatre set novel, this one didn’t let me down with the added mystery too!

Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publishers for letting me read this book in exchange for my review.

Daphne is a newspaper agony aunt, desperate to make it as a crime journalist. Unfortunately, the world of crime is very male orientated and she is firmly kept in her place by her editor. However when a set of circumstances mean she is present at a suspicious death, she is determined to take her chance and get the story. Can she help solve the mystery as well as get her article published?

A fairly slow moving book, I struggled at times to concentrate. However, Daphne is engaging and some of the other supporting characters have interesting side stories.

Unfortunately I didn’t enjoy this at all largely due to its persistent tone of irony,even sarcasm.The idea is a good one,Daphne could have been a very likeable character and to be fair the resolution of the plot was engaging.Yet,I felt that there were far too many adjectives, and qualifying phrases that spoilt the pace of the plot.

3.5 stars
I did feel for Daphne, she wanted to be a journalist but was given the job of the agony aunt at the newspaper office where she worked. Also others got credit for her scoops and all this because she was a woman. It must have been so frustrating to be disregarded because of your gender. It was an entertaining read and some of the comments were humorous. The workings out are quite complex but eventually the culprit is uncovered. I received a copy and have voluntarily reviewed it. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was a good mystery story, well told, with characters that fitted in the period in which it was set. I enjoyed the book and would like to read another of hers. I would recommend Murder at the Theatre Royale to anyone who likes period crime novels without the forensics and gore of modern titles.

I love a classic murder mystery, I love a historical mystery series (Daisy Dalrymple, Phryne Fisher, Royal Spyness, etc) and so the blurb and the description of this really appealed to me. Sadly, it just didn't work in the reality. I found the characters flat and one dimensional and the plot not massively well thought through. It also doesn't play particularly fair by the rules of the genre in terms of the reader being able to work out the solution along with the "detective". Never mind.

The PERFECT popcorn mystery for the Christmas period! So grab that cinnamon popcorn, make a hot chocolate and get yourself snuggled on a sofa ready for some festive fun! A light mystery story with some wonderful humour thrown in! A true delight from start to finish, an absolute joy!
-
Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the ARC!!

A whimsically written story evoking the cadence of classic cosy mystery, with a plucky hero that would be a fun Christmassy read for any mystery fan.

Daphne is determined to prove herself worthy of moving to the crime desk at the paper she works at. With one solve under her belt, she’s sent to the Theatre Royale to write a puff piece on the production of A Christmas Carol, but gets more than she bargains for when one of the actors dies right in front of her. Determined to prove it’s murder, Daphne has just days to investigate and produce the piece that’ll guarantee her future as an investigative journalist.

I found this book to be a quick read that I enjoyed over two cups of tea, though I found myself wanting to know more about the characters, as some of them were a little underdeveloped, and was frustrated to find the mystery wasn’t solvable in the end.

I was looking forward to reading this as I love a good cosy. Sadly this was far too slow paced and the 1930s setting just didn't work. It wasn't believable. The characters were all a bit stereotypical. This would actually probably work better as a TV drama. I didn't have a problem with the language apart from it being a highly cliched way of portraying a certain group of people.
Daphne was a great character and I could relate to her ambition but not her knee length socks (oh please) and satchel.
Not a bad read but not what I was hoping for .
2.5/5 stars

A nice cozy mystery set in the 1930's. The plot had lots of twists and turns and I didn't guess the culprit for a change. It was back to the reporter being the sleuth which is a change at the minute from rich socialite with a dog nowhere to be found and the policeman is an older married man so cannot be the love interest which is a nice change. as was Daphne being older than the current norm at 37. The only thing was I didn't feel there was any real opportunity to know Daphne very well but it is only a first novel so there is time for that I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.