Murder on the Dance Floor by Shirley Ballas

I received an advance review copy for free thanks to NetGalley and HQ and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Blurb

Behind the sequins and sparkle of Blackpool Tower Ballroom’s famous Dance Festival, the competition is about to turn deadly…

When a promising young dancer collapses during the opening tango of the festival, Lily Richmond, dance legend, teacher and one-time world champion, is convinced that murder is afoot. There’s only one person who can help her delve into the mystery: her former student and private detective, Susie Cooper. But Susie vowed she’d never return to the ballroom – let alone go undercover as a professional dancer when there’s a killer on the loose…

As the competition gets even fiercer and the bodies start to pile up, can the unlikely dance-detective duo unravel the rumours from the rumbas and expose the murderer’s identity, before they strike again?

My Opinion

With the amount of time it has taken me to read this book it was obvious that I wasn't enjoying it as much as I should have. This was one of those books where I had to have a serious debate with myself as to whether I wanted to read it or if I was just drawn in by the name on the cover, sadly I think I was drawn in by the name. It was an okay book, but it was missing the wow factor. I found myself getting easily distracted whilst reading this as it just wasn't holding my attention.

Rating 3/5

2.5

Murder on thr Dance Floor is an OK read. I do love Strictly Come Dancing and a murder mystery so I thought I'd really enjoy this. It's quite slow go begin with so I found myself getting a bit bored at times but when the twists and turns start happening it picks up the pace and it intrigued me that bit more. I did like Lily and Susie's relationship. Those two would be the reason why I might read the follow up. It's a good effort, just not a particularly memorable read.

Brilliant - really unusual... murder and ballroom dancing! Hope Shirley writes another! Would recommend

Murder on the Dance Floor centres around a young dancer who drops dead at a ballroom dancing competition and it becomes clear that their killer is looking for revenge. Lily Richmond, a dance legend turned coach, enlists the help of one of her former pupils Susie Cooper, a private detective, to help catch the killer.

The dance world isn't something I've ever really read about so this element of the book was quite interesting .I thought the characters of Lily and Susie had a lot of potential and I thought their backstories were developed and realistic.

However I thought both of main female characters' personalities seemed to get lost once the romance subplots picked up and I felt that in both cases the romances felt rushed and quite forced. I really disliked the ending of this and I wish that more clues had been left throughout so that we as the reader would've been able to figure out the culprit. The pacing was too slow and there were some overly long descriptions. Furthermore for a book that is marketed as a mystery/thriller, certain elements of the romance subplots were quite explicit.

Usually I wouldn't comment on the formatting of an ARC as I understand that is a proof copy however in this case the publisher's watermark being in the middle of sentences on the majority of the pages did really detract from the reading experience and made this book quite tedious to get through.

Overall as a massive Strictly fan I was so excited to dive into this book however I ended up being extremely disappointed. If you love ballroom dancing and are looking for a romance this book could work for you but as a mystery/thriller it didn't work for me unfortunately.

Drama on the dancefloor. For fans of Strictly - for sure! Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review this book.

Coming up to a competition, a tragedy happens. Lillian who runs a dance school and judges, thinks that it needs to be investigated and calls in one of her old students. The main characters Lillian , Jack and Susie have history and secrets. Throughout the book you are immersed in the world of ballroom dancing, with the glitz, tiring, brutal rehearsals and fierce rivalry between contestants. Who wants to win so badly that they are prepared to go to any extreme and just who needs to be watched and who might be a target next? It was a great insight into the 'real life' strictly season!
You guess and second guess who may be responsible and whether everyone will stay safe.

Lots of fun combined with an insiders look at the sometimes catty - and in this case fatal - world of latin and ballroom dancing. Ballas (or her ghostwriter?) has come up with a great cast of characters, all just that little bit larger than life. Kept me reading through to the reveal!

I really enjoyed this book as it was like strictly come dancing but with a twist of murder. I really enjoyed the story and the character of Lily Richmond who I’m not going to lie reminded me of a certain judge who just happened to write this book lol. The story I found was also like a behind the scenes of the ballroom dancing world and I thoroughly enjoyed this along with the fact that there was a murder to solve. The way that Lily, Jack and Susie Cooper all stuck together to find out who the murderer was along with the twists all along the way. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would highly recommended this book.

I would like to thank NetGalley very much for letting me review this book and I would highly recommend this book if you like murder mysteries with a splash of ballroom dancing.

This dance-themed murder mystery's characterisation and ethos draw the reader into the world of competitive dancing. Full of authentic detail, it focuses more on the setting than the plot in parts. When the murder mystery gets underway, it has numerous suspects and some clever twists. Lily and Susie, the main protagonists, are believably complex characters, and the backstories add interest. I like the glamorous, glitzy setting and vivid characters in this enjoyable, cosy-style mystery.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

Thanks to the Publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

In Whitby, Lily and her dance school are at a competition. One dancer gets ill and then they’re dead.

So, did they die due to ill health, or did someone have something to do with it?

Now, Lily turns detective, and she joins a student who used to be at the school, and is now a private detective to find out what really happened.

I recommend this book.

I expected more which makes me sad as I’m seeing the book advertised a lot. Ghostwriting seems obvious here and there’s too much descriptive parts and not much dialogue. Also with getting an early copy it was heavily overdone on the publisher tags which cropped up mid text which made it harder to read. A real shame.

💃📚 BOOK REVIEW 📚💃

MURDER ON THE DANCE FLOOR by
📝 @shirleyballas
🗣️ @hqstories

PUB DATE - OCT 12th

#DropTheSynop 👇

Behind the sequins and the sparkles, the competition is about to turn deadly . . .

When a promising young dancer collapses during the opening tango of a major competition, Lily Richmond, dance legend, teacher and one-time world champion, is convinced that murder is afoot.

There’s only one person who can help Lily solve the mystery: her former student, now turned private detective, Susie Cooper. But Susie vowed she’d never return to the ballroom . . .

As the competition gets fiercer and the bodies pile up, Susie will be forced to go undercover in Blackpool and come face to face with a man she thought she’d left behind. Can Lily and Susie unravel the rumours from the rumbas and expose the murderer’s identity before they strike again?

💃💃💃💃💃💃💃💃💃💃💃💃

Must point out that I'm no fan of ballrooms and have never watched an episode of 'Strictly' but I do like a thriller and this being set in Blackpool where I live, well, I had to give it a go.

So, yes, the dancing talk, rumba's, salsa's and whatever else did all fly straight over my head, there was alot of it which you'd expect but luckily I could see past it and started to enjoy the sweaty murderous slope we were starting to slip down.

Even better for me was that, there's not just one murder but two, plus a little sub-plot of something totally different running alongside so plenty to keep me entertained in amongst all the dancefloor shenanigans lost on me.

To sum up, no it's not made me want to start watching the dancing thingy but it was a good read for me. In all honesty probably best suited to someone who does like the dancing aspect but I can appreciate a well written and interesting piece of writing, and 'Murder on the Dance floor' certainly had that.

Thank you #HQStories 💗

MURDER ON THE DANCE FLOOR - OUT TODAY

- Leanne 😁

This is a collaborative effort between Ballas and a ghostwriter, to be clear. That said, I think I was expecting a bit more maybe - this read as a bit of a mishmash, with some characters being quite vivid like Lilian, Susie and Jack, but others being almost stock caricatures. It’s clear there’s a lot of knowledge and experience about the world of competitive dance, but it was a fairly so so effort in terms of plot. The whole Marmaduke subplot petered out with a whimper, the big finale was too implausible, and frankly Jack’s reaction to Susie’s having withheld (can’t spoil you), was just too twee. I find it hard to believe anyone would just bounce back that quickly…

It honestly felt like a bit of a first time effort in terms of language, characters and plot.

I received a free ARC copy of this via NetGalley and the publishers in return for an unbiased review.

Lily Richmond and her dance school are attending a competition in Whitby when a dancer becomes ill and unfortunately dies.
Is the death of the dancer natural causes ? Or could it be something more sinister ?
Lily plays amateur detective along with an ex pupil who has now become a private detective.
This book merges the glitzy and cut throat world of ball room dancing alongside a murder mystery .
I found this an easy and enjoyable read .
A pleasant cosy mystery .
Thanks to NetGalley and HQ.

I attempted to read this title a few times but gave up as the publisher's copyright mark is splashed across every page and I can't actually read it. I would be interested in reading this and giving a revised review if the issue is sorted out.

I quite enjoyed this book, but more for the background insight into the world of ballroom dancing and the excitement of being at the famous ballroom in Blackpool.

There are some likeable characters from the world of a fictional professional dance world and some great descriptions of the beautiful costumes and the ballroom scenes.

The appearance of an ex amateur who nearly turned professional who is now a private detective is a good storyline, however the investigation part of this story let it down a little as there seemed to be little or no
police involvement in what was a revenge driven series of threats.

Well written and I do look forward to seeing how this series progresses.

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

When a promising young dancer collapses during the opening tango of a major competition, Lily Richmond, dance legend, teacher and one-time world champion, is convinced that murder is afoot.
There’s only one person who can help Lily solve the mystery: her former student, now turned private detective, Susie Cooper. But Susie vowed she’d never return to the ballroom. As the competition gets fiercer and the bodies pile up, Susie will be forced to go undercover in Blackpool and come face to face with Jack, a man she thought she’d left behind.
A debut novel & an entertaining murder mystery with romance. The characters have depth & I liked Susie, Lily & Jack. I enjoyed the insight into the world of professional dancing. There were red herrings as well as twists & turns & I didn’t work out who the villain was. An enjoyable read & I look forward to reading more from the author
My review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

Having really enjoyed Shirley Ballas' autobiography and being a big fan of Strictly Come Dancing, I was really excited to read Murder on the Dance Floor. But sadly a few things didn't work for me.
The first thing, as many others have commented on, the formatting and having the publishers name appear throughout made it a real struggle to read properly. This was a real shame as it made it hard to read sections properly.
I also wasn't aware that this was co-written and I think this was to its detriment. It was hard to distinguish Shirley's voice, which is what I think many would have picked this book up for.
I get what this was trying to do but it just felt too cliched and silly for me.
I hope that Shirley writes her own book next time, as I said her autobiography was really captivating while this was almost the opposite.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was so disappointed with this book. I have listened to Shirley Ballas promoting this book and was so excited to read it. I found it too descriptive and the storyline was very slow and lacking in action. As a lover or crime and thriller genre, I felt this book almost fits into the romance, cozy categories. (Reading was not helped by the number of times the publisher added their tag line, some in the middle of sentences which was really off putting).

Lilly is getting ready for the Blackpool championships with her dancers when a promising star dies on the dance floor. She begins to worry that her death is actually a murder. Calling in an old friend and past dancer now detective to help her. Can they figure out the truth?

I wasn't initally sure about this. I've never been a huge strictly fan but the premise caught my attention and wanted to give it a try. It was actually pretty good. The plot is interesting and the identity of the murderer was a surprise. I must admit I had no idea who the killer was until the end. The plot is a slow burn to a dramatic ending. You can tell there is a Mills and Boon link to this but I love those sort of books so it didn't put me off. The characters arent all likeable but it fits with the territory. Susie is great though and I loved Lilly. A fun mystery with a dancing twist.