Fatal Festivities

1930s Partners in Spying Mystery #0.5

by Rose Donovan

A mysterious invite, a festive party, and a murderer hiding amongst the mistletoe.

Christmas in England, 1936.

When Ruby Dove receives a cryptic invitation to Lady Charlesworth's swanky London soiree, Fina Aubrey-Havelock convinces her friend to attend. With journalist Pixley Hayford in tow, the trio is determined to have a smashing time and discover the face behind the missive. But they soon face a corpse instead.

To clear Ruby's name, they set off across the wintry English countryside in search of the miscreant. Will the snow halt the murderer in their tracks?

If you love golden age detection with a dash of history, join our fashionable Oxford sleuth-spies in a delightful mystery romp through the 1930s. Ruby and Fina wager that you'll never guess who did it.

121 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 1, 2021

About the author

Rose Donovan is a lifelong devotee of golden age mysteries. She now travels the world seeking cosy spots to write, new adventures to inspire devious plot twists, and adorable animals to petsit. Learn more at www.rosedonovan.com

Reviews

[Barbara Ball · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have thoroughly enjoyed every one of Rose Donovan's mysteries featuring Ruby, Fina, and Pixley. This was no exception. I took the time to read a couple of reviews and I understand the issues mentioned in them. First of all, it is a novella and that doesn't give room to really develop the characters, their backgrounds, and their relation to one another. I had the advantage of already seeing the main characters as 3 dimensional beings, and was able to overlook the lack of development.
Secondly, the mystery itself is fast-paced and does seem to jump around more than I would like, but the story does wrap it all up at the end.

The fact that it is described as the first in a new series does make it less than perfect in background information provided. That is unfortunate, but the story itself is clever, if somewhat convoluted, and plays out quite well.

I received an advance copy of this novella with the proviso I would write an honest review. This is my honest review. I urge any who have read this without having experienced previous books by Rose Donovan to consider reading some of the previous Ruby Dove novels for a little more background. They are well worth it.

[Anne Kavcic · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars! Ruby Dove and Fina Aubrey-Havelock, with their journalist friend Pixley, are back again in another clever murder mystery, this time with an anonymous invitation to a soirée. One member of the jazz trio drops dead! Was it poison in the orange juice on the piano? Ruby was the last person seen nearby, so of course she has an extra reason (besides curiosity) to help the police investigation. Clues and suspicions mount up until the very end, and descriptions of 1920s fashions and slang add a lot to the atmosphere. This is the start of a new set of mysteries featuring these characters, and it isn't necessary to have read earlier ones, although with those you do get a bit more background in their lives. I've enjoyed every one of these books and recommended this one as well.
I received an advance copy and freely leave this honest review.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rather odd book. I’ve no idea what half of the things said mean. I realize this is set in England and the characters will be speaking British English but it’s still a bit much. There’s also no real introduction of the trio of friends the main characters and then we’re introduced straight away to a mysterious note and a party at a noble’s house. It makes for a disjointed read. While the mystery would give Sherlock Holmes pause the pacing of the writing is jarring. It skips from place to place and time passes with no rhyme or reason. It’s hard to follow. There’s promise I think the actual mystery part of the book was quite good. However I think it needs another run through with an editor to make for a more pleasant reading experience.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Alice Hazelbaker · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the start of a new series, with characters carrying over from the Ruby Dove mysteries series, but it’s not necessary to have read them to enjoy this one. Ruby receives an invitation to Lady Charlesworth’s elegant soirée, and Fina convinces her to go, dragging journalist and friend Pixley along. But just as the jazz trio starts to perform, the saxophone player dies! There are so many red herrings it’s hard to track them all, including mixed up romantic liaisons! But Ruby is determined to solve it. I received an advance copy of this book from the author and write this review voluntarily.

[Paula Sindberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this novella but didn’t love it. The plot seemed overly complex, especially because, as a novella, there really wasn’t time to develop the characters in any depth. Too many moving parts. Still, it was enjoyable.

I received an ARC copy of the book in return for an honest review.

[Liza · Rating 3 out of 5]

To quote another review "I enjoyed this novella but didn’t love it."

It's probably my fault - I don't read many historical cozies. I don't really accept the concept of the 1930s police allowing a woman to explain the crime to all the suspects.