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The Picture House Murders

Miss Clara Vale, Book 1

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The Picture House Murders

By: Fiona Veitch Smith
Narrated by: Hannah Genesius
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Summary

 Murder is no occupation for a lady... or is it?

1929: Miss Clara Vale is a woman ahead of her time. Rather than attending Oxford to bag an eligible Duke (as her mother, Lady Vale, so desperately hoped), she threw herself into a degree in chemistry, with aspirations to become a scientist in her own right.

But the world isn't ready for Clara. Unable to land a job in science because she's a woman, she is stuck behind the desk at a dingy London library. Until her estranged Uncle dies suddenly, leaving her his private detective agency, and laboratory, in his will.

Clara couldn't become a detective, could she?

The decision is made for her when one of her uncle's old clients comes to her for help with a case surrounding the local picture house and invites Clara to see the latest show, before they discuss the details.

But during the film, a fire suddenly engulfs the picture house, with tragic consequences. It seems at first an accident, but Clara soon begins to question if it was in fact a carefully orchestrated murder.

She's suddenly in the middle of a deadly mystery and will discover her scientific skills make her a sleuth to be reckoned with... Can she catch the killer before they strike again?©2023 Fiona Veitch Smith (P)2023 Bonnier Books UK Cosy Detective Historical Mystery Private Investigators Women Sleuths Fiction Crime Murder
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This book got me interested from the beginning. Well drawn characters and a great portrayal of the time between the wars when women were just starting to be recognised as individuals in their own right. Very little ‘presentism’ inflicted on the reader for which I am grateful. There was one glaring error when Clara said she hoped her brother would reply by first class post - the two tier system wasn’t introduced until 1968. The narration was excellent apart from one niggle - the pronunciation of leverage. It was pronounced the American way with a short ‘e’. This would definitely not have been how it was pronounced in 1929. It should be with a long ‘ee’. In fact, if you’re English it should always be pronounced in this way. Still deserves its five stars, though. I’m. Looking forward to the other books in this series. The author’s Poppy Denby series is also worth a listen.




An enthralling listen

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So enjoyable and historically fascinating, an excellent mystery/ murder tale and an introduction to the well educated Miss Clara Vale and her first steps into becoming a private investigator in 1920s Newcastle.
I hope there will be many books to follow.
I am already a major fan of this writer under her nom-de-plume, Sophie Holloway and her superb Georgian romances - as good as Georgette Heyer.

So enjoyable and historically fascinating…

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I thought I would try this as I enjoyed the Poppy Denby mysteries but was a little disappointed. The story is interesting but just too slow for me. It seemed to recap again and again and I just about made it to the end. I don’t think I’ll be joining any other Clara Vale adventures.

A good story but too dragged out

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This book is well written with likeable main characters and interesting historical information. I was hoping this would be the start of a new series for me. But, after lots of background, clues, red herrings and maybes, the ending came out of nowhere and hit me like a thunderbolt. I had to keep replaying it at that section to work out what was happening. Yes, it made sense for the killer to be who it was and the explanation was good but it was all a bit clumsy. I will definitely listen to the next in the series as I enjoyed the story but if it’s another clunky ending that may be the last one for me.

Weak ending

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Although part of the retro golden age detection genre, the books are so well written and narrated, that I don't mind. They're good fun.

Great narration

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