The Three Dahlias: A gripping, cosy country-house mystery full of twists
About this audiobook
Three rival actresses team up to solve a murder at the stately home of Lettice Davenport, the author whose sleuthing creation of the 1930s, Dahlia Lively, had made each of them famous to a new generation. A contemporary mystery with a Golden Age feel, perfect for fans of Agatha Christie and Jessica Fellowes - and Janice Hallett and Richard Osman, of course!
In attendance at Aldermere: the VIP fans, staying at house; the fan club president turned convention organiser; the team behind the newest movie adaptation of Davenport's books; the Davenport family themselves; and the three actresses famous for portraying Dahlia Lively through the decades.
There is national treasure Rosalind King, from the original movies, who's feeling sensitive that she's past her prime, TV Dahlia for thirteen seasons, Caro Hooper, who believes she really IS Dahlia Lively, and ex-child star Posy Starling, fresh out of the fame wilderness (and rehab) to take on the Dahlia mantle for the new movie - but feeling outclassed by her predecessors.
Each actress has her own interpretation of the character and her own secrets to hide - but this English summer weekend they will have to put aside their differences as the crimes at Aldermere turn anything but cosy.
When fictional death turns into real bodies, can the three Dahlias find the answers to the murders among the fans, the film crew and the family - or even in Lettice's books themselves?
Praise for The Three Dahlias
'An absolute treat of a read with all the ingredients of a vintage murder mystery: a country house, mysterious dead bodies and three actresses all keen to catch the killer. Perfect weekend reading!' Janice Hallett, author of The Appeal
'Celebrates and gently satirises Golden Age crime novels in a hugely entertaining country house mystery' The Times
'Dame Agatha would approve' Daily Mail
'A wonderful celebration of Golden Age crime. . . a read you can sink into, just like the perfect country house weekend. You will definitely love Dahlia in all her guises by the end' S.J. Bennett, author of The Windsor Knot
'I loved it - witty, engaging and hugely enjoyable. A must for fans of classic mysteries' Frances Brody
'An affectionate homage to the Golden Age of Detective Fiction and a wry nod to our continuing fascination with it. Great fun. Warm, ingenious and. . . lively!' L C Tyler
'A sprightly offering. . . a pleasant summer read' The Critic
'A pleasure to read from beginning to end' Shots
'A fun, 1930s style murder-mystery, which makes for perfect holiday reading' Woman's Weekly
'Perfect Holiday Read' Woman and Home
'Smartly executed with wit and a cunning plot' Peterborough Telegraph
'A cosy whodunnit told with modern flair' Yours
Discover more
About the author
Growing up in a family of murder mystery addicts, Katy Watson learned early to look for means, motive and opportunity. After studying English Literature - with a sideline in crime fiction - at Lancaster University, she set about teaching herself to write her own stories, while also experiencing enough of the world to have things to write about. Two careers, a lot of airmiles, one husband, two children, three houses and forty-five published books for children and adults later, lockdown finally gave her the means, motive and opportunity to create her own murder mystery. The Three Dahlias mysteries are the result.
JILLY BOND has recorded over 300 audiobooks and won four Audiofile Earphones Awards. She also regularly appears on stage, and has appeared at the National Theatre in "Island", at the Birmingham Repertory in "Jump!", Manchester Lowry in "Transmissions", the English Theatre of Hamburg in "Othello" and "Mrs Warren's Profession" and on the Edinburgh and London Fringes, including at the Finborough as human-rights lawyer Fethiye Cetin in "I Wish to Die Singing" which won the Best Play UK Studio Theatre Awards. She has recorded over 100 radio plays for the BBC, as well as playing Bridget in "The Archers", and TV work has includedDr Greene in "Doctors", Dr Jannatie in "Judge John Deed" and roles in "Comedy Nation", "People Like Us", "My Hero" & "Alastair McGowan's Big Impression".
