Review: Helen Smith has started a great new mystery series with Emily Castle!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 02 12, 2013
I love mysteries set in London and I equally love finding up and coming writers. Helen Smith is an up and coming writer of mysteries who has developed a charming and interesting character in 26 year-old Emily Castles. Emily, who lives alone in contemporary London, does things like call out, "Hello!" cheerfully to her empty flat to throw off any would-be thieves that might have just happened to trail her home. The mystery begins when Emily finds a letter in her mail that was meant for her neighbor, Victoria, who teaches at a school called Showstoppers.Emily who wants nothing more than to deliver the letter and get home to have some tea and biscuits (cookies in the US) is at first puzzled by Victoria's distraught reaction to receiving a letter. She discovers that Victoria has been receiving threatening letters and soon is drawn into the mystery of who is sending these letters and why.The novella is fast-paced and immediately you are drawn into the mystery and the action without much back-story. I actually liked that about the book and later realized that there is a previous Emily Castles story called, The Three Sisters, where you get a more thorough introduction to Emily Castles. However, having not read the previous book did not detract from my enjoyment of this one - but I now want to go back and read it more.The writing in this book is tight and natural and I could clearly picture the characters having the discussions and back and forth interactions Helen Smith writes so well. Emily Castles is a great protagonist and is about to debut in a new, full length book, Invitation to Die, later in the year. The new Emily Castles noel is being published by a well-known international publishing house - Thomas &Mercer.; Having read Showstoppers I am looking forward to the release of the full-length Emily Castle novel.The bottom line for me: Showstoppers, jumps right into the mystery and introduces some interesting and quite entertaining characters. One of my favorites is definitely Dr. Muriel, who is sure to make more appearances in future Emily Castles books. The mystery is engaging and the book has subtle humor and clues that are fun to look for and discover. I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes British mysteries and I will certainly look for more Emily Castle mysteries in the future.