The Concert Hall Killer

Jonathan Whitelaw £8.99 (Paperback) HARPERNORTH

Whitelaw is back with the third novel in the beloved Bingo Hall cosy crime series.

This time around, the award-winning author and journalist, who hails from Glasgow, centres the action around a TV crime drama series which is shooting in the Lake District.

Behind the scenes, however, relationships are tense – the director’s reputation precedes him, and the two lead stars are in the midst of a bitter feud.

When on-screen slaughter escalates to a real-life murder at the concert hall where the TV drama is based, the genuine police are as baffled as the TV detectives. It falls to Penrith Bingo Club’s amateur sleuth Amita and her out-of-work journalist, son-in-law Jason to find the truth and solve the crime.

I have to admit that this was the first book of the series that I had read, but I was delighted to find that just like Christie’s Marple and Poirot novels, readers can dip in and out, without having to read the others.

Like all good mysteries, there’s loads to get your teeth into here. Jonathan has a real skill for crafting characters, and while the who, what and the why of the murder kept me fascinated, it was the beautifully drawn partnership between Amita and Jason, which captivated me the most.

It isn’t often that you see a relationship between a motherin-law and son-in-law unfold on the page – especially not a working relationship – but the strange and unusual dynamics of this really work, creating an endearing crime-solving duo whom the audience can root for wholeheartedly.

Wonderfully witty, warm and fiendishly fun, The Concert Hall Killer is up there with the very best cosy crime novels.

With a cast of madcap characters and a gloriously vivid setting, this thoroughly entertaining book will keep you guessing, right to the very end. Highly recommended.

“Wonderfully witty, warm and fun” fiendishly