A Lady Alkmene Mystery: Fatal Masquerade
Vivian Conroy
Rating: 4 stars
Amazon UK £1.99
Synopsis:
Masked danger...
Lady Alkmene Callender has always loved grand parties, but when she receives an invitation to a masked ball thrown by Franklin Hargrove - oil magnate, aviation enthusiast and father of her best friend, Denise - she's never seen such luxury. The estate is lit up with Chinese lanterns in the gardens, boats operated by footmen float across the pond and the guest list features the distinguished, rich and powerful!
But below the glamour, evil is lurking. When a dead body is discovered, it forces Lady Alkmene to throw off her mask and attempt to find the true killer before Denise's family are accused. If only her partner, Jake Dubois, weren't hiding something from her...
This case might just be more dangerous than either of them could have imagined.
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Review:
Vivian Conroy's writing really is something else. I've never read a book where I'm as hooked onto the storyline as I was whilst reading her novels. There's something about the style of writing that just makes you not be able to put the book down and such was the case with Fatal Masquerade.
As you may well know, if you've read my blog before, I don't tend to read mystery novels. They just aren't usually my thing. That was until I reviewed Rubies in the Roses, another book by Vivian Conroy, and I was hooked. Now I really enjoy them. The thing is with Vivian's stories is that they're not just mystery's - they're cosy mysteries - and this makes all the difference.
Mysteries are usually ones that have no humour or romance but these are different, and the book reflects that. I just found this book so intriguing from the start. I hadn't read a Lady Alkmene book before this, but if you're worried that you won't get into the story or you'll get too easily lost, then don't worry - I was worried about this too but I easily understood who was who and what was going on!
The story follows Lady Alkmene as she attends her best friends fathers masked ball. But of course, with a mystery novel, drama occurs too soon and they are shortly trying to work out which of the party-goers was the killer. It's definitely treated as mysterious, and Lady Alkmene is trying hard to figure out who committed the crime before Denise or any of her family are accused.
The overall settings and the descriptions of said settings were described beautifully and you really felt as though you were there at the party with everyone. The characters all flowed easily together and I did find myself really enjoying this book.
Thank you to Netgalley and to the publisher for a chance to read this novel, which I have reviewed honestly.
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About the Author:
Vivian Conroy writes the Cornish Castle Mysteries for HarperCollins, with book 1 Death Plays a Part released in July and Rubies in the Roses following in late August. Her Lady Alkmene Mysteries, of which the first instalment, A Proposal to Die for, became an Amazon USA and Canada best seller in five categories.
For all the latest bookish news, with plenty of dogs and desserts, follow Vivian on Twitter via @VivWrites. You can also find her on Goodreads, Library Thing, Book Bub and Fantastic Fiction.
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