A Very Lively Murder (Three Dahlias Mysteries Book 2)

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Before the three friends can solve the mystery, a death occurs leading the Dahlias to also start their own murder investigation. I am unsure what happened there, I might need to re-read the last part of 'The Three Dahlias' as for the life of me I can't tell why Anton hates her now and she is left out of the movie.

The book has an underlying brooding feeling, aided and abetted by stormy weather and the setting in a country house in the Welsh landscape. There's celebrity drama, discussion of discrimination and abuse of women in the film industry and it culminates in a locked room murder mystery in atmospheric Tŷ Gwyn (the White House) during a storm. In between filming scenes, signing autographs for locals, photoshoots on set and jetting off to France for an impromptu party, the three Dahlias do what they do best - surreptitiously sleuth. Posy had also registered the presence of Dominic Laugharne, another well-known actor of the old school. Though the author, Kath Watson, is careful to provide sufficient details without giving away the entire plot.I fairly zoomed through this one, clever, a little bit of old school murder and detection and a very satisfying conclusion.

After a lot of pages of- nothing-happenings and Rosalind being threatened, but won't go to the police -later (which is around 168 pages or half mark of the book) we finally get the first body dropped. The ending wasn't a surprise; we knew it had to be one of a fairly small group of people, most of them not all that likable.

In between filming scenes, signing autographs for locals, photoshoots in London, talk show appearances and jetting off to France for an impromptu party, the three Dahlias do what they do best - surrupticiously sleuth. During the filming the pair realise that Rosalind is being targeted by a dangerous killer and contact Caro Hooper (the star of the tv series as Dahlia) to help them with their investigation.

But no - guess what happens during this night of being trapped in with suspects and building tension.I really liked the atmosphere the book created with the North Wales setting and brooding weather conditions. I really enjoyed being reunited with the characters from the first book again and meeting some new ones too although I did get some of the supporting film cast mixed up at times. Katy Watson grew up in North Wales, as part of a family of folk singers, storytellers and murder mystery addicts. The story felt like a delicious puzzle to get stuck into and I found myself getting my notebook out to jot down ideas, very much like one of the characters in the book.

Ex child star Posy Starling is finally filming her dream role - Dahlia Lively in The Lady Detective movie. Posy feels she is finally ready to make the role of Dahlia Lively her own, appearing alongside fellow Dahlia from the original films, Rosalind King who is playing an elderly relative.I also love the way the plot echoes those classic golden age themes, here the isolated community with secrets. I just love reading murder mysteries like these - there are the three leading ladies, a filming in London, and lots of sleuthing in a locked room mystery setting and ahhhh it was just such a fun read. The plot is well concieved, and has several layers - and there is a good cast of characters (literally, as the action is centred around the filming of a movie).