Seven Lively Suspects

Katy Watson

IF you’re looking for that perfect beach read, indulge your senses in a delightful contemporary murder mystery which dishes up all the vibes and va-va-voom of the much-loved Golden Age of crime writing.

Seven Lively Suspects is the third sleuthing treat in debut author Kate Watson’s (pictured below) entertaining Three Dahlias series which delivers vintage-style mysteries, and stars three rival actresses who have all played fictional 1930s detective Dahlia Lively on screen and are now making a name for themselves as the Three Dahlias and solving real-life murders.

So meet national treasure Rosalind King from the original movies, Caro Hooper, the TV Dahlia for thirteen seasons, and ex-child star Posy Starling who came fresh out of the fame wilderness and took on the Dahlia mantle for a brand new movie.

It’s been five years since Dahlia fan Scott Baker was arrested for a murder that had eerie echoes of one of Lettice Davenport’s famous detective Dahlia Lively books. But now a true crime podcast wants to re-open the cold case, convinced that the police got it wrong... and they want Rosalind, Caro and Posy, the three Dahlias, to help them to prove that they’re right.

The murder of aspiring crime writer Victoria Denby created a sensation at the time with the public’s imagination hooked by the detail of a paper dahlia placed beside the body, just like in one of Dahlia Lively’s fictional cases. There were fears that a copycat killer was at large in the peaceful town of Market Foxleigh. Despite the tabloids’ fearmongering, the police quickly arrested Victoria’s friend and fellow writer, Scott Baker, and when it emerged that he had also been accused of stalking Dahlia actress Caro Hooper, it seemed like an open and shut case.

Most people have forgotten the case but this baking hot summer, a crime writing festival is being staged in Market Foxleigh, and the guests of honour are the Three Dahlias themselves. The three women had anticipated a weekend of cream teas, awards dinners and warm white wine but before long they’re sleuthing together once again. Can they help to find the real killer?

Watson, who spent her teenage holidays reading paperback Agatha Christies, always dreamt of writing her own crime novel and these The Three Dahlias mysteries are the perfect celebration of the Golden Age crime she loved so dearly.

Set against the alluring backdrop of a crime fiction festival in in the picturesque Cotswolds, this cold case thriller in the midst of a steamy English summer packs in all the favourite tropes of a vintage mystery, and then adds a delectable modern twist. Cosy crime with a glitzy glow!
(Constable, hardback, £16.99)