The third book in the Dahila mysteries with fun and endearing characters. A cosy murder story. Looking forward to the Christmas mystery later this year.

The third in Katy Watson's Three Dahlia's series finds our heroines - Rosalind, Caro and Posy - asked to look into a possible miscarriage of justice for a podcast. Initially, they are sceptical and believe that the man originally convicted was guilty of the murder. But when their investigations take them to a literary festival in a small Cotswolds town, a writer is found dead under mysterious circumstances and it seems as if perhaps the wrong person was convicted after all.

Similarly to the previous books in the series, Seven Lively Suspects is a fun and undemanding read which will appeal to readers of Golden Age mysteries and modern cosy crime alike.

The Three Dahlias, at a crime writing festival? Oh yes, there will be plenty of entertaining, murderous, shenanigans ahead!
The 'Seven Lively Suspects' is a return to the world of Rosalind King, Caro Hooper and Posy Starling, three actresses who are famed for starring as the fictional sleuth Dahlia Lively as written by the (also fictional) Lettice Darling. The three women have become friends and family and indeed, readers of the previous novels will notice the development of the characters with Caro learning (slowly) to listen to her friends, and both women looking out for the youngest member of the trio, Posy. As for Posy herself, she is also slowly settling into her role and friendship, growing in confidence in herself.
The trio are invited to help review a murder from 5 years previously, where Caro testified against the suspect. A man has been found guilty of murdering the lead of a writing group, but his sister is convinced of his innocence and pushes the trio to re-examine the evidence.
As always, our Dahlias encounter plenty of danger, but there is also much humour to be had that lightens the atmosphere and helps to keep the plot moving quickly.
The 'Seven Lively Suspects' is an entertaining and fun additon to the series and one that I particularly enjoyed. I raced through the pages.

DNF @ 5%

The chapter I did read was really good. The only reasons I DNFd the book was because I just could not bring myself to read any more and also because I have not read the other books in the series, nothing against the book itself or the author.

Under a baking summer sun, the village of Market Foxleigh is holding a grand event, a crime writing festival where three of the actresses who play the fictional character, detective Dahlia Lively, will also be present.

A few years ago, one of Dahlia's biggest fans, Scott Baker, was arrested for a murder. But his insistence on his innocence has led to a podcast team reinvestigating the case, and the Dahlias of course pitch in to help with the investigation.

This is a witty murder mystery that gives a nod to its predecessors from the Golden Age of crime novels, and will be devoured by the many fans of Agatha Christie and her ilk. A very enjoyable read. It gets 3.5 stars.