"A Curtain Call to Murder" by Julian Clary

"A Curtain Call to Murder"

One of my Christmas books was "A Curtain Call to Murder" by Julian Clary. Lucy read it last year and loved it so much that she promptly bought me a copy for Christmas.

Full dislcosure, I love Julian Clary, every year we go and see the pantomime at the London Palladium and he makes us howl with laughter. So I picked this book up, being pretty sure I was going to enjoy it.

Julian Clary's "Curtain Call to Murder" is a delightful blend of humor and mystery, set against the vibrant backdrop of London's theatre scene.

The unlikely hero is Jayne, a dresser to the stars and a true crime enthusiast, who finds herself at the centre of a real-life whodunnit.

Jayne gets a job on the touring production of a play called "Leopard Spots", the cast all hate each other, the writer hates the cast and theatre critic Ken Thomas is actively trying to destroy the play. Despite all of that, the play is a huge success and transfers to the London Palladium for a West End run.

It's then that tensions REALLY boil over and it results in murder. A mixture of red herrings and incompetent policing means that Jayne has to step up to save the day.

The novel has a unique structure, and is told through a series of diary entries, WhatsApp messages, newspaper headlines, blogs, Popbitch entries and Clary's own commentary as the narrator, which I loved, because you could really hear his voice telling the story. Lucy listened to the audio book and Julian Clary narrates it, I might have to listen to it, just to hear his take on the characters.

"A Curtain Call to Murder", is a joyous and engaging read, it's beautifully bitchy, gloriously glamorous and very funny, it really appealed to my sense of humour. It also kept me guessing as to who had done it. I hope Jayne reyurns to solve more crimes, accompanied by a Greggs Vegan sausage roll and Julian.

I give "A Curtain Call to Murder" 9/5 out of 10!

Have you read it? What did you think?