Kitty Underhay is embroiled in another murder investigation when a local councillor is poisoned at a dinner event at a hotel. Local politics and scandal are uncovered over the course of the investigation. Meanwhile, Kitty and Matthew Bryant try to move forward with their relationship…
Murder on the Dance Floor see the Kitty and Matthew seize the chance to spend some time together socially. But their enthusiasm is quickly diminished by Councillor Everton’s death from cyanide. They join forces once again to investigate possible motives and suspects as well as supporting the police with their enquiries.
Kitty remains a strong female lead, negotiating attitudes towards women and class in the 1930s. She is a likeable character as is Matthew so I am glad they seem ready to embark on ‘walking out’.
There are two subplots which have significance for the main characters. Firstly the romance between Kitty and Matt which has been simering slowly over the previous books. He is still haunted by the deaths of his wife and child but this book reveals secrets and allows the couple to consider a future.
The second subplot is the disappearance of Kitty’s mother almost twenty years before. This has also threaded through the previous books and there are significant developments to the mystery in this book.
Although it is a murder mystery, there is no violence or graphic detail about the death. I have said previously that the books remind me of Agatha Christie books and the Gosford Park film in terms of setting and tone.
November 1933. Amateur sleuth-cum-dutiful granddaughter Kitty Underhay stifles a sigh of boredom as she attends the annual Hoteliers’ Association Dinner and Dance on behalf of her grandmother, the proprietress of the Dolphin Hotel. She hopes the company of ex-army captain Matthew Bryant will enliven the otherwise dull evening. That is, until bullish and overbearing local councillor Harold Everton drops dead into his bowl of consommé.
While the local police are still scrambling for their whistles, Kitty and Matt waste no time leaping into action. Soon they find themselves caught up a dangerous search to uncover who amongst the distinguished guests used cyanide for seasoning?
When their digging throws light on a corruption scandal brewing in the local council involving Everton’s assistant Thomas King, they are sure they’ve cracked the case. But before he can be questioned further, King’s body is found in a smouldering car wreck. Meanwhile, the murderer has made a sinister plan to avoid detection or punishment, and it will lead Kitty and Matt into a dangerous dance with death…
A fast, fun and utterly unputdownable Golden Age cozy murder mystery, perfect for fans of Agatha Christie, T E Kinsey and Lee Strauss.
Author Bio:
Nell Dixon was born and continues to live in the Black Country. Married to the same man for over thirty-five years she has three daughters, a cactus called Spike, a crazy cockapoo and a tank of tropical fish. She is allergic to adhesives, apples, tinsel and housework. Her addictions of choice are coffee and reality TV. She was winner of The Romance Prize in 2007 with her book Marrying Max, and winner of Love Story of the Year 2010 with her book, Animal Instincts. She also writes historical 1930’s set cozy crime as Helena Dixon.
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