Murder Offstage: A Cozy Historical Murder Mystery (The Posie Parker Mystery Series Book 1)

Murder Offstage is a “fun” read. I liked Posie Parker immediately; her personality and antics kept me interested from the start.

Loved this story! Posie was a worthy heroine! The plot keeps the reader on their toes full of surprises! I recommend this first entry in Posies' adventures and look forward to reading the entire series!

This is my first time reading a Posie Parker mystery, although I see that there are four entries in the series. Since this one was fun and moderately priced, I'll be reading more. However, the set-up of the main character of the series isn't especially unique. This Posie Parker is like a less angst-ridden Maisie Dobbs of Winspear's series set in about the same time period.Posie is a young woman whose brother and fiance were both killed in the Great War. Posie herself was an ambulance driver during the war and now, after the death of her rector father, is alone in the world and decides to set up a private investigation agency on her own. Unlike in the Maisie Dobbs stories, here we don't spend much time at all worrying or brooding over traumatic events of the war. The characters here are fairly interesting and likeable but not drawn very deeply.But that's OK b/c it makes for a breezy, fast, escape read. Fine to take you away for an hour or two of fluff in your life. In this first episode of Posie's adventures, she isn't being very successful at all with her agency and is thinking to give it up until the day a man walks in and offers his son Len as a partner for her, since he, the father, is retiring from their investigative business. Len, the son, is a successful "shadower" but needs a better office in a better location. Posie needs business, so they collaborate.Well, this story brings Posie into the investigation of murders, a stolen diamond ring with a curse on it, mysterious people involved in a London theater, an underground nightclub that few know the location of but has hundreds of clients at night (Go figure that one out, if you can), international crime, and even cat abduction. There's also a very low-key, budding romance between Len and Posie.As I said before, this is enjoyable as escape fiction. Don't analyze the mystery and facts within too closely and don't read this as being 100% historically accurate to the time period and you'll have a lot of fun. I'm off to read the second story.

I found this book, 4+star, to be captivating because after I made it through a slow start; I could not lay it down until finished: would you believe 3am? Even though jagged in some areas the story moved right along and you will tend to overlook some holes; for example running around in a snow storm in high heels a gown.There are quite a few characters and part of the challenge is to spot the entire cast of shady characters. There are several on the dark side and few on the good side. Several times I thought I spotted the villain only to find out that they only were sporting characters for Posie’s villain. As the curtain falls on this production, all the supporting characters take their place in the curtain call.Before the final curtain, I would like to comment on another mystery that occurs in the background; Posie and Len’s romance; aren’t all romances a mystery when viewed from the outside. The author handled this romance without moans, groans, and sweaty bodies.This leads us to the last, and unsolved mystery, which really sent those flowers to Posie; Len or Posie’s love sick villain admirer? She did not look at the card.Did the card say, “Yours, my love. Soon XX”or “I WILL COME FOR YOU. I AM YOUR NEMESES.”

This Golden age mystery was not a tricky whodunit like most I read, but the plot moved quickly along which I enjoy. I enjoyed the protagonist, she was a likable character. The only negative was the need for better description of settings and characters which I enjoy in my historical fiction. I didn't notice any historical inaccuracies in the description of the surroundings or the characters. Hopefully the characters development will expand in the next book,and that lack of developed characters is why I gave it 4 stars.

Someone compared this first Posie Parker mystery to Agatha Christie and Downton Abbey. While I won't go quite that far, I will admit the book - "Murder Offstage" - has a certain charm and otherworldliness. London in 1921 is close enough to our current day to be recognizable, but Ms. Hathaway's characters definitely know the slang and jargon of their era, of the theatre world as well as the underworld. London was still recovering after the Great War but change was on the horizon. I definitely wanted to pick up the book again to discover what happened to Lucky Lucy, if the dashingly handsome Count della Rosa would be captured and would the curse of the Maharajah diamond be proven true once again? The heroine, Posie Parker aka Rosemary Parker, Private Investigator, is intelligent without being brilliant and attractive without being drop dead gorgeous. She's likable and so is the supporting cast of Inspector Lovelace, Len Irving, Dolly Price and Mr. Minks. The villains are just oily and shrewd enough to be the bad guys but not the evil creeps we see in so many reads nowadays. I ordered Volume 1 and 2 in the series and now plan to order the rest. Enjoy!

I enjoyed this book quite a bit. The writing is a little choppy in places, but gets smoother as it progresses. I am hoping for more character development in the next books in the series. Definitely one of the best Kindle Unlimited entries I've read!

This one caught me out, as the description mentions being 'worthy of Agatha Christie' and being 'set during the Golden Age of Crime', but it isn't a contemporary story, it is a modern writer setting her detective story in the 1920's/ 30's . I like Golden Age of Crime novels and found that this book jarred as the details weren't right, the language wasn't right and the behaviours weren't right. This ultimately made the story unconvincing for me.

The author kindly leaves a reference section at the back.. shame she didn't actually finish her research prior to writing. Stars removed for the inaccuracies. Leaving those aside it's still no more than a mediocre read.Tuxedo.. dinner or evening suit.. unforgivable Americanism.Under the radar.. The term RADAR was coined in 1940 by the United States Navy as an acronym for "radio detection and ranging". Making the phrase historically inaccurate and, frankly, ridiculous in a book set in the 1920's.I do also wish writers would ensure they have a good grasp of the period, including the currency, when writing. To keep referencing a few coins instead of the pounds, shillings and pence (l-s-d) of the period is poor.. using the correct coinage, with its ha'penny bits, thruppences and bobs, those are one of the best ways to keep your readers aware of the historical narrative..1920's.These aren't the only irritating issues but they are the worst. The story is nothing new. The quality is not anywhere near the works of Agatha Christie and to suggest it is is laughable. Christie wrote with precision and flair, this has neither.

Fantastic series for anyone who is a fan of Agatha Christie and traditional English period mysteries. I have now read 5 out of the 6 novels in the series, and as soon as I have finished one, I am picking up the next one. They are so easy to read, at a pace that bounces along enjoyably, that I just flew through each book and didn't want to put them down. As much as I am enjoying them, I am dreading getting to the end of the sixth book and having to wait for a new instalment. Although thankfully there is a Christmas novella set in-between books 5 and 6 to help delay the inevitable!I found the setting, with Posie Parker Private Detective in the 1920's, a similar read to M.C. Beaton's series of 4 books of period murder mysteries with her amateur detective of the same era, which I also thoroughly enjoyed, and I am so glad I took a risk to order the first of the Posie Parker books, as I was what I hoped it would be, and more! Really enjoyable plots and twists, and I'm constantly changing my mind as to who the murderer is throughout. Loving the series!

This is no cosy read and all the better for it. Posie gets herself into some tight spots but manages to survive. Very resourceful she epitomises the intrepid heroine. I would say this book and the following ones I look forward to reading could easily be made into a TV series with twists and turns in the plot to keep one enthralled. Posie has something in common with other books in this genre of a clever girl who finds herself critisized but the law for her independent thinking then goes onto impress them. However unlike some books is no titled lady with giddy friends. In fact we know very little about her background. I look toward to the next book in the series.

I liked this book but find Posie a bit irritating, she is a naive idiot at times, has no idea how to behave in a confrontation ie she continually provokes the Count by telling him he doesn’t scare her but it doesn’t seem to occur to her that he might hurt her friend or her beloved cat instead of her. I can’t believe her first option on finding the Count’s address was to storm the place with a professional crack team! I mean, did they even have such a thing in the police in 1921. Quite apart from the fact that she had no confirmation of any wrong doings there and should have sussed it out first. I also cannot credit that a Scotland Yard Detective Sergeant would agree to go the gentleman’s club with an armed team against his better judgement and in the absence of his superior officers because he felt intimidated by Posie Parker! If you can overlook these irritations it’s not a bad read.