>

Saturday 28 October 2023

The Picture House Murders (Miss Clara Vale Mysteries #1) by Fiona Veitch Smith [Audiobook]


🎙🎙🎙 Narrated by Fiona Veitch Smith and Hannah Genesius 🎙🎙🎙
 
Description from Goodreads:

"Murder is no occupation for a lady... or is it?

1929: Miss Clara Vale is a woman ahead of her time. Rather than attending Oxford to bag an eligible Duke (as her mother, Lady Vale, so desperately hoped), she threw herself into a degree in chemistry, with aspirations to become a scientist in her own right.

But the world isn't ready for Clara. Unable to land a job in science because she's a woman, she is stuck behind the desk at a dingy London library.

Until her estranged Uncle dies suddenly, leaving her his private detective agency, and laboratory, in his will.

Clara couldn't become a detective, could she?

The decision is made for her when one of her uncle's old clients comes to her for help with a case surrounding the local picture house and invites Clara to see the latest show, before they discuss the details.

But during the film, a fire suddenly engulfs the picture house, with tragic consequences.

It seems at first an accident, but Clara soon begins to question if it was in fact a carefully orchestrated murder.

She's suddenly in the middle of a deadly mystery and will discover her scientific skills make her a sleuth to be reckoned with... Can she catch the killer before they strike again?"

🎧📚🎧📚🎧📚🎧

I don't usually read or listen to books of this genre or set in this time period but I was looking for something a bit different and chanced upon The Picture House Murders and, wow, am I pleased.  What an absolute revelation!  I loved it and was totally hooked from the very first word.

Clara is a young woman who is living in a time where woman have little to no control over their lives; yes they have now got the vote but they aren't taken seriously and can't be trusted to run their own lives without the backing of a man!  When Clara finds out she has inherited a business, property and money from her uncle, she has some big decisions to make.

The business she has been left is a private detective agency; Clara has to decide whether to sell it or keep it on but her interest is piqued when one of her uncle's clients comes to her for help and with Clara's background as a scientist with an inquisitive mind, she can't help herself.  However, things soon become more sinister when there are break-ins and a mugging followed by another fire and Clara has to use all her knowledge and acumen to get to the bottom of things.

With a fantastic cast of characters (I absolutely love Clara), an intriguing plot and with narrators that absolutely nailed it, I can highly recommend this audiobook and am looking forward to the next instalment in this new series.

Many thanks to the author, Bonnier UK Audio, Embla Books and NetGalley for enabling me to listen to and share my thoughts of The Picture House Murders.

👇👇👇👇👇👇

Connect with the author:



No comments:

Post a Comment