Three Sisters (Emily Castles Mysteries) [Kindle Edition]

Right from the first page, Helen Smith's story glows like a roman candle: bright, colourful and full of surprises. This is a perfectly formed mystery in every way; each necessary clue is present and followed up, though as you would expect from a well-constructed mystery, there are plenty of false clues and blind alleys. This story is delightful to read on several levels: first there are the descriptions of the guests - Helen's vignettes of bonfire night party-goers are poignantly hilarious; then there is the succession of encounters you might expect at a busy party on bonfire night, where avant garde entertainment is included; and thirdly, the unfolding of strange coincidences and occurrences leading to the 'whodunit'. Even there Ms Smith has introduced an extra twist. This story is a real corkscrew of events, intertwined lives, relationships and clues that will keep you guessing to the end.

The Emily of the subtitle is bruised from having recently lost her dog to old age. Yet the faithful creature somehow seems to stay by her side. Whether a supernatural presence or simply a fond memory, we are never quite sure. In either case, Jessie is as much a part of the mystery and its solution as anything else.

This tale takes a different tack to Helen Smith's previous novels, being a short story of around 17,000 words. Humour is such a personal thing but in my opinion this one has the most intensely funny moments so far. I found myself laughing out loud at the descriptions of some of the characters. There is certainly a wealth of characters here to enjoy, from the smoulderingly attractive to the condescending and, of course, the thoroughly eccentric.

The story is set in one of the many Georgian and Victorian suburbs that exist in London and is most evocative of a life today which is sedate but so often insular. I didn't intend to read the whole story in one go but it was so entertaining and so intriguing, I was unable to put it down. Definitely one to read more than once. I sincerely hope this is the first of many and that Emily Castles will be back to entertain us again soon.

This (longish) short story is an introduction to amateur sleuth Emily Castles, who will be featuring in a mystery series.
In this story Emily is going to a Bonfire Night party at a neighbouring house, hosted by the inhabitants who are performance artists of various sorts. Emily is mourning the recent loss of her dog and sees the invite as an opportunity to socialise, but in the course of the evening she finds herself investigating a murder that may or may not have occured.

While we don't learn a huge amount about her background Emily is an interesting, quirky character and I'm sure we'll gradually discover more in the series. Despite the mention of a boyfriend he's possibly in the past, and although she knows her neighbours it is in a typical suburban passing kind of way. She comes across as a slightly solitary but very inquisitive individual. The other characters range from the harassed mum of three to the doctor of ethics via Hungarian performers and form a colourful cast.

From the beginning I was amused by the imagery used, for example describing fireworks as "like Midget Gems suspended mid-rinse in a toddler's open mouth" Comical but very graphic. I was also very pleased to see how well formatted and proofread it was - some of my recent kindle reads have been somewhat lacking on those fronts. I found myself laughing often, and the darker humour as the story progresses is the sort of thing I enjoy but may not be to everyone's taste. Emily's wanderings round the house and gardens as the story developed really drew me in and when I had to take a break from reading I found myself weighing up the story so far and debating with myself about what might happen. In short I thought this was a great read from start to finish and will be looking out for the series.

I really MUST preface this review with a proud proclamation: I am a huge Helen Smith fan! I have read Alison Wonderland and Being Light and The Miracle Inspector, and I loved each book. I loved Three Sisters, as well.

In Three Sisters, we're introduced to Emily Castles, a perfectly normal woman who just happens to pay a little more attention to what's going on around her than most. This interesting trait leads Emily into the world of sleuthing, and the reader can't help but follow on her heels--wondering all the while what danger she might be getting herself into.

Helen Smith's descriptions are clever, creative and richly-textured, and her dry, understated wit never fails to bring a smile to my face.

I look forward to more Emily Castles adventures!