When a pantomime turns deadly, Iris investigates a cast of killers…
Christmas, 1923.
When reporter Iris Woodmore is sent to cover the Prince of Wales’ visit to historic Winchester, she discovers more than just royal gossip.
The leading lady in Winchester Cathedral’s charity pantomime is found dead in mysterious circumstances. And the chief suspect is Cinderella’s handsome prince, played by Percy Baverstock’s younger brother, Freddie.
For the sake of the Baverstocks, Iris must investigate the murder, even though it means confronting an old enemy. And as the line between friend and foe blurs dangerously, she’s ensnared by someone she hoped she’d never see again…
Everyone's favourite amateur sleuth returns for a Christmas mystery, perfect for fans of Verity Bright, Claire Gradidge and Emily Organ
Purchase Link – https://mybook.to/christmasclosesocial
Iris is back with a bang. Unfortunately, so are two of her enemies. It isn’t often that I genuinely dislike a villain and find them actually threatening, but in the returning antagonist I’ve added another to that short list. Although Gordon Tolfree is dead set against Iris and her friends, he strikes me as being by more akin to a stereotypical wealthy man of the era, used to power and lashing out when that power is threatened, particularly by those he considers his social inferiors. However, whilst I find him and his views distasteful, he never feels like anything more than this.
The other person, on the other hand, feels like a genuine threat from the moment they are introduced. I didn’t like them first time around. This time I loathe them. Not only are they incredibly mysoginistic, but like many men who are involved in domestic violence and coercive control, they are outwardly charming, making it incredibly difficult for their victims to convince people of the threat they pose. Fortunately for Iris, she has a network of people who know this person’s true nature but that is not enough to stop them worming their way into the Walden community.
Although the main plot is nicely resolved by the end of the book, there is a definite sense of threat and menace looming over Iris in the closing pages and I can’t wait to see what Salter has in store for her heroine in the next instalment.
This is a clever plot with red herrings left, right and centre and I had no idea what the resolution was going to be, but when it came it was perfect!
I obviously thoroughly enjoyed this and can’t wait for the next book. I’ve loved Iris from the first book. I predicted then that she would become a firm favourite in my reading pile and nothing in the series so far has made me change that opinion!
Michelle Salter writes historical cosy crime set in Hampshire, where she lives, and inspired by real-life events in 1920s Britain. Her Iris Woodmore series draws on an interest in the aftermath of the Great War and the suffragette movement.
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