Death on the Pier by Jamie West - Book Review

Death on the Pier by Jamie West

Series: A Bertie Carroll Mystery #1 

Publication Date: 10th Oct 2022

Genre: Historical Mystery, LGBT

4 Stars 

One Liner: A good start to the series 

*****

Bertie Carroll is a successful playwright in the 1930s. He is in Brighton to watch the performance of one of his plays (the not-so-successful one) in the Palace Pier Theatre. Bertie meets an old friend, Chief Detective Inspector Hugh Chapman, and they attend the event together. 

A former Hollywood star, Celia Hamilton, is shot on the stage as per the play. But they soon realize that a murder took place right in front of their eyes. Hugh asks Bertie to solve the case as his partner. After all, why can’t a playwright who specializes in murder mysteries solve a real crime? 

Things get complicated as more information comes to light. It’s up to Bertie and High to find the killer and the reason for the crime. 

The story comes in the third-person POV. 

What I Like: 

• The writing is easy to read and enjoyable. The pacing is steady almost throughout, though it dips a little in the last third. 
  
  
• Bertie is a likable character, and so is Hugh. I’m already looking forward to the next in the series. The other characters are pretty much two-dimensional but do the job. 
  
  
• Gertrude reminded me of Miss Lemon, except that she is more relaxed and cheerful. In fact, the book has quite a few touches of Agatha Christie’s storytelling. The final reveal is another example of this. 
  
  
• I could guess the killer even before the murder happened. Of course, that didn’t diminish my reading experience as I wanted to see if I was right and find out how the crime was committed. 
  
  
• The main character belongs to the LGBT community. Yet, this aspect wasn’t used as a banner on his head. I liked how it’s just who he is. There’s some discussion in a veiled manner (which will probably be revealed in the next books). Bertie and Hugh’s past seem like a potential subplot to connect the series. 
  
  
• The theatre is another character in the story. The detailing shows the author’s experience in the field. But… (continued in the next section)

What Didn’t Work for Me: 

• The beginning has a detailed description of the Palace Pier Theatre. While it helped visualize the place (after all, that’s where the murder occurs), it felt a bit too stretched. I enjoy descriptions, but this went a bit too long, IMO. 
  
  
• The book is dialogue-heavy. This isn’t an issue per se, but I found it tiring at a couple of places. 
  
  
• A little more character development would have been great (we might see it in the coming books). 

To summarize, Death on the Pier is a good start to a historical mystery series, with a playwright as an amateur sleuth. It’s a light read. Pick it up when you want something to relax with.  

Thank you, NetGalley and Brabinger Publishing, for the eARC. T 

#NetGalley #DeathonthePier