This is the second book from the author of the highly acclaimed ‘This Lovely City’ Louise Hare. The book is an exciting well written historical crime novel, set in 1936 London and also on board the ship The Queen Mary which is headed to New York.
Lena Aldridge is working in a basement club in Soho as a Jazz singer, feeling that the glittering career she should have led has passed her by. Lena is offered out of the blue a life changing opportunity, by a stranger with a credible link to her family to star in a Broadway show which will catapult her to much dreamed of stardom.
As Lena is about to leave there is a death at the club, the timing is perfect and Lena sets out on the voyage that will change her life and fortune. However, death follows her on board the Queen Mary as she is drawn into the wealthy Abernathy family drama, death strikes again. Lena suddenly finds herself centre stage in an unwanted starring role that she has no choice in taking part and trying to survive.
I enjoyed this book so much; Louise is a talented storyteller and brings a new freshness and perspective to the murder mystery. Louise cleverly brings in themes of race and class along with pre-World War II attitudes. The action takes place between the fabulous Queen Mary which is full of luxury that Lena has not experienced before, and also back to the events that happened two weeks prior at the down at heel club Lena was working at that ended with a murder.
The characters are warm and charming and the plot moves along at a pace. It felt very authentic and there has been a lot of research carried out for the locations of the book, social attitudes of the time, and added details that I loved about the fashion and ambience. I was gripped all the way through the book which kept me intrigued and guessing right to the end and what a surprise that was, I didn’t see that coming! I was totally engrossed by this work, full of atmosphere and drama. I would definitely recommend this book, one not to be missed by fans of a brilliant murder mystery with a feel of Agatha Christie. 
Louise Hare is a London-based writer whose location inspires her writing. She has an M.A in Creative Writing. Louise’s debut novel ‘This Lovely City’ which came out in 2020, was featured on the BBC2 Book Club ‘Between the Covers’ hosted by Sara Cox and is also published by HQ Stories division at Harper Collins.
Miss Aldridge Regrets by Louise Hare was reviewed for Books Up North by Ana Richards
Ana initially trained in textiles and worked in textile conservation, but preferring to engage with people rather than fabric she changed career into community-based roles in both private and public sector. Currently she is involved in a number of community groups as a volunteer publicity officer and also is a committee member of a couple.
Ana has been actively involved in her local book festival carrying out various roles and was thrilled to be a judge for its short story competition. She is a keen and enthusiastic reader of all genres and looks forward to getting immersed into a new and exciting world of each new book. Her interests include family and local history, art, food and a lot of reading of course!
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