Miss Aldridge Regrets

May 1, 2022
Hare harks back to the age of Agatha Christie in a sparkling murder mystery set on an ocean liner crossing the Atlantic in 1936. Jazz singer Lena Aldridge, who narrates this charmingly retro novel, boards the RMS Queen Mary with a hefty envelope of cash and a passel of secrets. For one thing, she just witnessed a murder--or maybe more than witnessed. The scumbag owner of the nightclub where she sings has been dispatched with a cyanide-laced drink, and just as she thinks it might be expeditious to skedaddle, she meets mysterious musical agent Charlie Bacon, who offers her an all-expenses-paid voyage to the New World. He says he's working for a Broadway impresario, a friend of her late father's, who would like to offer her a role on the Great White Way. In London, Lena didn't conceal the fact that her father was Black, but Charlie advises her to pass for White while traveling in first class on the Queen Mary since "Americans could be funny about things like that." Once onboard, she becomes entangled with the large and troubled Parker clan. The Parkers are one of those wealthy American families, complete with personal doctor and private secretary, in which everyone has something to conceal. Soon enough, one after another of the clan succumbs to murder. As the bodies are falling around her, Lena finds comfort in the company of Black musician Will Goodman, but he can't prevent her becoming the target of several attacks before the mystery is finally solved. Lena--whose hard-won wisdom includes the fact that "four martinis on an empty stomach will always result in poor decision-making"--is an appealing heroine, and Hare handles her old-fashioned material with a light touch, a keen eye for period detail, and a sturdy grasp on her complicated but at least semicredible plot. Readers will be treated to escapist fun and an homage to some beloved books.

COPYRIGHT(2022) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

May 16, 2022
British writer Hare makes her U.S. debut with an uneven Christie-esque mystery that unfolds during a transatlantic voyage on the Queen Mary in the summer of 1936. Lena Aldridge, a 26-year-old mixed-race London nightclub singer, is on her way to New York City, where she’s been offered a role in a new Broadway show. She’s ready for a fresh start. Her father, an African American piano player, recently died, leaving her with no family, plus her old boss was poisoned to death. While passing as Italian on board, Lena meets a wealthy white family from New York. Her traveling companion, Charlie Bacon, assistant to the Broadway producer, encourages her to charm them so they’ll invest in the show. These are well-drawn characters: there’s the elderly, ailing head of the family, Francis Parker; his aloof daughter, Eliza Abernathy; and her womanizing, alcoholic husband, Jack. Then Francis is poisoned just like Tommy, Jack is found stabbed to death, and Lena realizes she’s being set up: “I felt as though I were trapped inside my own detective novel,” she observes. Lena’s amateur sleuthing and romantic interludes with the ship’s handsome band leader are engaging, though the ending comes out of nowhere and Lena’s final actions feel out of character. Despite the nice buildup, the payoff ends up being a bit disappointing. Agent: Nelle Andrew, Rachel Mills Literary.

May 15, 2022
Lena Aldridge, a mixed-race singer and actress in 1936 London, had dreams of a theater career, but now she's been reduced to singing at a dingy, Mob-affiliated Soho jazz club and wondering what's next. Then her married boyfriend dumps her, and there's a murder at the club. Time for a little deus ex machina, maybe? An American theater promoter, who claims to have known Lena's father and wants to repay a debt to him, appears from nowhere and offers Lena a starring role on Broadway. Too good to be true? Sure, but Lena, worried about being implicated in the murder, needs to skip town now. So begins an Agatha Christie-style mystery aboard the Queen Mary, as Lena, passing as white, gets entangled with her tablemates, a dysfunctional but very rich family of New Yorkers, who unaccountably start dropping dead, one by one. Many more elaborate plot turns strain credulity, but the sumptuous deco backdrop, along with Lena's appeal as a conflicted heroine, will keep readers' minds at least partially off the improbability of it all. Over the top but entertaining fare for the Christie crowd.

COPYRIGHT(2022) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

July 1, 2022

Hare's second novel (after This Lovely City) is set in 1936 London and aboard the Queen Mary. Lena Aldridge is a singer, entertainer, and a multiracial woman, who is often perceived to be a white person. After a murder at the club where she works, she grabs an opportunity to escape to the bright lights of Broadway, an unbelievable offer purporting to come from an old friend of her father's. Traveling in first class is heavenly but not without complications, including another murder. As the passengers glide ever closer to their destination, secrets unravel--including the identity of Lena's mother. With the support of the handsome bandleader, Will, and her own sharp wits, Lena unravels a murderous plot and heads toward a new life in New York on her own terms. The novel's ambiance is spot-on; somewhat like Carola Dunn's Daisy Dalrymple set 10 years later or Marie Benedict's The Personal Librarian. As Lena narrates, switching from the present to the past, readers gain helpful glimpses of her backstory. VERDICT With vividly drawn characters, this exciting blend of murder mystery and historical romance is hard to put down once one starts reading.--Pam O'Sullivan

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