Title: Brighton Belle
Author: Sara Sheridan
Series: Mirabelle Bevan MysteryAuthor: Sara Sheridan
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: * * * 1/2
Publishers: Kensington
(Mar 29, 2016)
Paperback: 256 pages
ISBN: 978-1472122476
FTC Disclosure: ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley
1951: In the popular seaside town of Brighton, it's time for Mirabelle Bevan to move beyond her tumultuous wartime years and start anew. Accepting a job at a debt collection agency seems a step toward a more tranquil life.
But as she follows up on a routine loan to Romana Laszlo, a pregnant Hungarian refugee who's recently come off the train from London, Mirabelle's instincts for spotting deception are stirred when the woman is reported dead, along with her unborn child.
After encountering a social-climbing doctor with a sudden influx of wealth and Romana's sister, who seems far from bereaved and doesn't sound Hungarian, Mirabelle decides to dig deeper into the suspicious circumstances surrounding the death. Aided by her feisty sidekick--a fellow office worker named Vesta Churchill ("no relation to Winston," as she explains)--Mirabelle unravels a web of evil that stretches from the Brighton beachfront to the darkest corners of Europe. Putting her own life at risk, she must navigate a lethal labyrinth of lies and danger to expose the truth.
First off, though I was pretty sure early on what the mystery was, the story was interesting enough to keep me reading. One other aspect of the story that was rather annoying was the different POVs. I often found myself going back to see who was actually talking which is rather jolting when reading. This is a plot device that I've never been fond of even when done right.
I'd hoped for a bit more of historical background. I love reading about the outfits and vehicles used during this time period. Mirabelle and her sidekick Vesta were charming and the mystery fast paced but I probably will not read any more in this series if alternating POVs are used.
