theatre Archives - The Quick and the Read

Book Review: ‘Death on the Pier’ by Jamie West

Regular readers of my blog know that I love historical fiction, crime fiction, and anything with an intriguing setting. This one hits all three!

It’s 1933 and off-season in Brighton, never busy, but definitely not the best time for opening night of a play in the theatre at the end of the Palace Pier. The writer of the play, Bertie Carroll, has popped in to see how it is going – and, along with an old school friend who is now a police detective, witnesses a murder live on stage. It’s left to Bertie and his friend, Detective Hugh Chapman, to try to uncover what happened when the famous leading lady died in front of a (hardly packed) theatre audience.

Surely the culprit is the cast member who fired the gun at the famed Celia Hamilton on stage?

Blog Tour: ‘Hotbed’ by Joanna Scutts

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for ‘Hotbed’ by Joanna Scutts, a fascinating look at (as it is subtitled) ‘Bohemian New York and the Secret Club that Sparked Modern Feminism’.

Thanks to Random Things Tours for my place on the tour and for my copy of the book in exchange for an honest review – opinions are all my own!

This book was published in hardback by Duckworth on 14th July, 2022.

Book Review: ‘The Midnight Hour’ by Elly Griffiths

I love historical crime and this series ticks all the boxes for me (if we are OK with calling the 1960s ‘historical’!) – this isn’t my first book in this series and so I knew more or less what to expect. I wasn’t disappointed and actually think this is one of the stronger instalments in the series.

‘A Little London Scandal’ by Miranda Emmerson

Another book released on 20th August, this is a lovely piece of historical fiction with a mystery at its heart – right up my street!

I’d read (and loved) ‘Miss Treadway and the Field of Stars’ a while back, but picked ‘A Little London Scandal’ up without realising that it featured the same characters. It doesn’t matter too much if you haven’t read the first book, but you would be missing an absolute treat.

In this book, the sixties are swinging, but for Nik and the rent boys based around Piccadilly Circus all is not so bright. Police raids and violence threaten their livelihoods and the murder of one of them, Charlie, near an exclusive gentlemen’s club, causes them to come under some unwelcome scrutiny. When Nik is arrested for the murder, Anna Treadway, dresser at the Galaxy Theatre in Soho, steps in to prove his innocence. Her investigations take her into the heart of seedy London but also reveal corruption within high society.

This is another great read. The 1960s setting is lively and well-researched and Anna herself is an appealing protagonist (as we discovered in the first book). She is moral, motivated to help others and kind – but her softer character should absolutely not be interpreted as weakness and she is also flawed and human.

It is quite sad in places as the prejudice against gay men is depicted and the reader is shown that the 1960s were not all about free love and tolerance as they have been presented. The early pages are a little slow, but once the story really gets going then it is addictive! I raced through the majority of the book and will be keenly looking out for more titles in the series.

I would recommend this highly to anyone who enjoys historical fiction, especially connected to issues of gender and sexuality. I really would suggest you start with the first book though, otherwise you risk missing out on a charming novel that establishes this great protagonist.

I received a free copy of the book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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Photo by Jeremy Dean Bourbeau from Burst

‘City of Girls’ by Elizabeth Gilbert

I’d never read anything by Elizabeth Gilbert before as her most famous book, ‘Eat, Pray, Love’, doesn’t fit in with my usual genres. However, this one – published in April 2020 – is a lovely piece of historical fiction with a fabulous heroine at its heart.

I was drawn to this book as it promised a fun and light read in the world of New York's theatrical world.  I thought it would be an ideal escapist book for these tricky times. 

The first part of the book absolutely delivers this.  The narrator, Vivian Morris, is upbeat and cheerful in telling the story of her arrival in New York in 1940.  Freshly expelled from her university course for minimal effort, she goes to stay with her Aunt Peg, an eccentric family member who runs a dilapidated theatre.  Vivian soon makes friends with the showgirls and starts living the high life in a city full of men and alcohol, far away from the war raging in Europe.  I loved this bit of the story - the theatre people and Vivian's joie de vivre make for compulsive and upbeat reading.

The tone shifts a bit in the second part of the book as Vivian ages and there is more of a war theme.  I'll admit to not enjoying this bit as much, although it's beautifully written and quite touching.

Overall, this is an evocative and compelling novel with a really unique heroine at its heart.  I'd recommend it wholeheartedly although it didn't quite deliver the consistent high I was looking for.  However, that's just my personal preference for fabulous glitz rather than the sad impact of war.

I received a free copy of the book from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Photo by Katherine Barcsay from Burst

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