Rosalind King, Caro Hooper and Posy Starling have one thing in common. Well, two, they’re all actresses but more importantly, they are all Dahlia Lively, the 1930’s detective created by Lettice Davenport, the writer of 79 mystery novels and countless short stories. Rosalind played her in a few films, then Caro starred in a TV series that adapted each of Lettice’s stories and now Posy is going to play her in a new film, if the script can get approved by the estate.

All three of them have come together at Aldermere, the Davenport estate, for a convention organised by the team behind Posy’s film, but from the off, things aren’t going well. Blackmail messages, threats in the form of dolls posed as dead bodies… and then one of the party drops dead. Exactly as someone did in one of Lettice’s books – and it wasn’t natural causes then… What the convention needs is a detective. Or at least three actresses who know how to play one…

I’ve had my eye on this one for a while. I’ve mentioned that recently I’ve come across modern books that would be classified as cosy but that don’t deserve to be tarred with the same brush as those that just think that a plucky young gel who manages to avoid being murdered in the last chapter is a detective. I found a few such series and this one has the potential to join them.

The premise is delightful. I’d been on a bit of a dry spell this month – You Are Fatally Invited was fun, but other than that and a Paul Doherty re-read… There have been a few non-finishers too, and I don’t review them, but this one was the first book in a while that really grabbed me.

It’s a fun set-up, and the three leads are nicely distinct, gelling well together. The pacing of the story is done well too. There are three sections, each focussing on one of the three Dahlias, but some of the plot developments are dealt with earlier rather than later, naturally progressing the plot. The suspects are a decent selection and while it does use a rather obvious trick – Brian Flynn used it twice – and there is perhaps one too many reversals at the end, it’s a fun read, and a real page-turner.

I’d be curious to see how the series progresses. I think it’s a bit questionable how well clued this book is – although there are clues here – and the killer becomes a bit obvious a little too soon before the reveal, there’s a clear intent to be emulate the traditional mystery structure. There’s a lot to like here and the series (currently at four books) has got some real potential, provided that Katy Watson can keep coming up with reasons for the three Dahlias to get together.