This review is written with thanks to Pigeonhole for the opportunity to read and review The Case Of The Singer And The Showgirl.

Blurb:

Murder and scandal in the heat of 1950s Las Vegas: can Lily Jones stop a murder that happened before she was born?

Lily Jones can’t forget her incredible time-slip adventure back to the Golden Age of Hollywood and the friends she made there – especially a handsome barman by the name of Louis, with whom she felt such a strong connection.

Back in 2020, life isn’t going so well for her and Lily is idly googling when she is horrified to discover that Evelyn, Louis’ ex-girlfriend, is brutally murdered in 1953.

She is compelled to go back to the 1950s and try to save Evelyn’s life, but this time it isn’t just the gilded stars of Tinseltown she will have to contend with, but The Mob as she finds herself in the seedy glamour of Vegas and learns that Evelyn’s future depends upon her first solving the murder of a Vegas showgirl.

Thankfully she has Louis and his sister, Tilda, to help her, but her own life is in danger as she tries to find the killer and change Evelyn’s fate.

What will she risk to save a life?

A page-turning, inventive time-hop mystery perfect for fans of Stuart Turton and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo.

Review:

The premise of The Case Of The Singer And The Showgirl is fascinating and I really wanted to know how Lisa Hall would make it work. It is this that drew me to read this novel and I was not disappointed! Lisa Hall has researched the period of time about which she writes in great detail and incorporates people and events from the 1950s that are commonly known with some very imaginative fiction, which is a technique that I found extremely clever. It makes it particularly easy for the reader to be drawn into the world of the novel and I found myself completely engaged from beginning to end. 

I did not realise until part way through reading this novel that it is actually a sequel. The Case Of The Singer And The Showgirl can be read and easily understood as a standalone, but several of the characters are returning characters and I do feel that I would have benefited from the background knowledge that I would have received if I’d have read the stories in order. The protagonist of The Case Of The Singer And The Showgirl is Lily Jones and I enjoyed getting to know her, particularly as she tries to make sense of her separate lives. 

It becomes clear fairly quickly that the plot of The Case Of The Singer And The Showgirl is a race against the clock, and this creates tension in the story from the very beginning. I was gripped, wondering if Lily and her friends would be able to resolve the case in time and I found the action very exciting. There are some occasions where the story seems slightly far fetched but I can definitely forgive this as my overall enjoyment of the novel was not spoiled.

The Case Of The Singer And The Showgirl is the first book by Lisa Hall that I have read, but I would definitely read more, including the prequel to this novel.

The Case Of The Singer And The Showgirl is available from Amazon.