Miss Aldridge Regrets by Louise Hare: A review


Wait! What? Who? Miss Aldridge? 

The title of this book was guaranteed to get my attention. I used to be Miss Aldridge long ago. (Actually, long, long ago now, in what seems like another lifetime.) Ah, well, time marches on and so do I, so I read the book about this Miss Aldridge, and here's what I learned about her.

Lena Aldridge had hoped for a brilliant career in the theater but when we meet her she is reduced to being a nightclub singer. We are in London in 1936, so, fraught and disappointing times to begin with. Her married lover has just dumped Lena and she's wondering if anything is ever going to go her way.

Then, to make matters worse, her best friend's husband is murdered and her world truly seems to be falling apart. When a stranger unaccountably offers her a chance at a starring role on Broadway and a first-class ticket on the Queen Mary to take her there, she jumps at the chance without questioning her good fortune.

But then bad luck seems to have followed her on board when a fellow passenger is murdered in a strikingly similar manner to her friend's husband. Suspicion falls on her since she has now been in the vicinity of two murders during a short period of time. How can she extricate herself from this mess and maybe solve a murder in the process?

This was the first entry in what is dubbed the "Canary Club" mysteries, the Canary Club being the nightclub at which Lena performs. So it seems that more murders will follow, more chances for the nightclub singer to play detective. It was not a bad start. Lena is a sympathetic character and, of course, the late 1930s in London and in New York were interesting times, to put it mildly. There's plenty of material for drama there. It remains to be seen what Louise Hare will make of it.


 

Comments

  1. TomApril 24, 2023 at 2:55 PM

    ...I wish that somethings would have worked out better, but I have no regrets.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Lark April 24, 2023 at 4:34 PM

    I can see why you were drawn to this book! ;D And I've always wondered why more characters in this kind of mystery series aren't suspected of murder...especially when they're always finding bodies, and involving themselves in the investigation. Lena does sound like a character I would like...and as you said, it's a fun time period to read about.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dorothy BordersApril 24, 2023 at 7:16 PM

      She is a strong character on which to build the series.

      Delete
  3. CathyApril 26, 2023 at 2:02 PM

    I agree-- it will be interesting to see where the author takes her series.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Deb Nance at ReaderbuzzApril 27, 2023 at 7:59 AM

    How fun to follow a series with a central character who has your own name! I like that time period and nightclubs offer a lot of drama and conflict---a perfect setting for murder.

    ReplyDelete
  5. thecuecardApril 29, 2023 at 12:01 AM

    Aldridge eh? That was your name? Very cool then to find this mystery.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Poetry Sunday: Don't Hesitate by Mary Oliver

How about we share another Mary Oliver poem? After all, you can never have too many of those. In this one, the poet seems to acknowledge that it is often hard to simply live in and enjoy the moment, perhaps because we are afraid it can't last. She urges us to give in to that moment and fully experience the joy. Although "much can never be redeemed, still, life has some possibility left." Don't Hesitate by Mary Oliver If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy, don’t hesitate. Give in to it. There are plenty of lives and whole towns destroyed or about to be. We are not wise, and not very often kind. And much can never be redeemed. Still, life has some possibility left. Perhaps this is its way of fighting back, that sometimes something happens better than all the riches or power in the world. It could be anything, but very likely you notice it in the instant when love begins. Anyway, that’s often the case. Anyway, whatever it is, don’t be afraid of its plenty. Joy is no...
Read more

The Investigator by John Sandford: A review

Image
  I have read a few of John Sandford's books in the Prey series featuring Lucas Davenport. This book is a literal offspring of that series. It's the first in a series featuring Davenport's adopted daughter Letty Davenport. Letty is in her mid-20s and a graduate of Stanford. She works for a U.S. senator named Christopher Colles in a desk job but she's bored with her assignments. Then the senator offers her a chance to go into the field as a liaison between his office and the Department of Homeland Security.  In her first assignment in that position, she is sent to Texas along with DHS investigator John Kaiser to try to find out what is happening in regard to thefts of crude oil. The senator is not so concerned about the lost oil but wants to know where the money from its sale is going. Who is selling the oil and what they are doing with the profits? The suspicion is that a particularly nasty militia group led by a woman is involved. Letty and Kaiser head out to Texas, de...
Read more

Poetry Sunday: Hymn for the Hurting by Amanda Gorman

You probably remember poet Amanda Gorman from her appearance at the inauguration of President Biden. She read her poem "The Hill We Climb" on that occasion. After the senseless slaughter in Uvalde this week, she was inspired to write another poem which was published in The New York Times. It seemed perfect for the occasion and so I stole it in order to feature it here, just in case you didn't get a chance to read it in the Times . Hymn for the Hurting by Amanda Gorman Everything hurts, Our hearts shadowed and strange, Minds made muddied and mute. We carry tragedy, terrifying and true. And yet none of it is new; We knew it as home, As horror, As heritage. Even our children Cannot be children, Cannot be. Everything hurts. It’s a hard time to be alive, And even harder to stay that way. We’re burdened to live out these days, While at the same time, blessed to outlive them. This alarm is how we know We must be altered — That we must differ or die, That we must triumph or try. ...
Read more