Murder at the Beauty Pageant is the 12th Miss Underhay mystery and as far as I'm concerned, it the best one yet. Can you read this book without reading the previous books? Yes, but they are all so good, I recommend you read them from the beginning. Kitty and Matt have finally married and Kitty is bored. She doesn't have enough at their PI business to keep her busy, so Mrs. Craven has enlisted her to help with the committee planning events for the King's Silver Jubilee. She is working on the Beauty Pageant that is being held at her family's Dolphin Hotel. When the organizers and participants receive threatening notes, they visit the police station only to find out that there is a new Detective Inspector as, DI Greville has been promoted to Chief Inspector. The new Inspector is DI Lewis, a man they encountered at a murder in another area. He is now working in Torquay and he is not very flexible. He wants nothing to do with Matt and Kitty and ignores their concerns. When one of the contestants is found dead, he tries to backpedal about his lack of concern. Can they find the killer before anyone else ends up dead?

This was a wonderful Historical Cozy Mystery. I read this in one sitting, only stopping when I needed to eat or answer the phone. With Matt and Kitty working on their own case for Egyptologist Sir Vivian Hardcastle, they kept crossing over into the murder investigation that Lewis warned them to stay out of. Because Matt and Kitty live in the area and are friends with everyone, they will talk to them, but not the constables that Lewis keeps sending out. Uh oh. As more became known about the victim, the pool of suspects kept growing. This was a convoluted case that had more going on than meets the eye. Helena Dixon has written a well developed and plotted mystery with lots of great characters, some more likable than others. Did I guess who the culprit was? Not until close to the end when more clues were revealed. Matt and Kitty are a wonderful team working together to solve crimes and I am looking forward to see what they do next. Of course, I always enjoy Bertie, their little dog who is always up to mischief and now the addition to their home, a kitten they named Rascal. If you enjoy a good cozy mystery, especially one set during the 1930s, then I recommend you pick up any of the Miss Underhay books.

Murder at the Beauty Pageant by Helena Dixon takes place in 1935, just about the time of the King’s Jubilee. Since Miss Underhay is now Mrs. Bryant and no longer the manager of the Dolphin, but a partner in the private investigative business, she finds herself at loose ends as there have not been many new cases. She finds herself drafted by Mrs. Craven to be on the Jubilee committee for Dartmouth, particularly the beauty pageant as it is being held at the Dolphin. Of course, Mrs. Craven will not allow bathing suits so it is evening gowns, talent, and question and answer only. Things are going relatively smoothly until the disapproving, then, threatening letters start arriving. At first, they were just to committee members, but shortly moved on to the contestants. They kind of put everyone on edge. The new inspector isn’t taking them seriously and doesn’t like private investigators, so their previous excellent relationship with the constabulary is in jeopardy. Then, the evening of the pageant, one of the girls goes missing. After a search, they find her … dead. Then investigations really ramp up.

Miss Kitty Underhay and Captain Matthew Bryant married at the end of the last book, but they have been partners for years. Kitty is clever and people talk to her because she is not intimidating in the least and she has been part of the community for years. Matt can be intimidating but also sympathetic and easy to talk to. All the folks at the Dolphin are aware of their surroundings and pay attention to detail so they often have clues to pass along. This was a heartbreaking crime, especially when everything came to light. They followed the clues closely and would have solved it if they suspect hadn’t shown his hand in a particularly gruesome manner. All’s well that ends well and although the paying client didn’t pay up, the duo managed to help the police catch a murderer.

I was invited to read a free e-ARC of Murder at the Beauty Pageant by Bookoutre, through Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #Bookoutre #HelenaDixon #MurderAtTheBeautyPageant

Another Too-Good-To-Put-Down Mystery
This is the twelfth book in a series of unputdownable mysteries. While they can be read in any order, the reader will get more enjoyment when read in sequence. The backstory and romance continue through the series, but each book has a complete mystery. This series takes place in Britain between the wars and is historically accurate. These are clean mysteries with no gore, sex, or bad language. I have read the entire series and highly recommend any and all of these books.

My thanks to Bookouture for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘Murder at the Beauty Pageant ’ by Helena Dixon. I was also invited to take part in the publication week blog tour.

This is Book 12 in the Miss Kitty Underhay series of historical cosy mysteries set in 1930s Devon. As each book deals with a central mystery they can be read as stand-alones, though reading in order does allow for an appreciation of the characters’ development. However, Helena Dixon does well in providing enough background at the start for new readers. The titles in this series clearly indicate the venue for the central murder mystery.

Spring, 1935. Newlywed Kitty is settling into married life. The Dolphin Hotel is now being run by its new manager and while Kitty is listed as Matt’s partner in his private detective agency, she’s rather frustrated with the more mundane aspects of the job.

Yet Kitty has been asked by former Dartmouth Mayoress, Mrs. Craven, to join the committee organising the Miss Dartmouth Jubilee pageant at the Dolphin Hotel. While Kitty is not that keen on being bossed around by Mrs. Craven, she is excited about the glamorous show being held in honour of the Silver Jubilee of King George V and Queen Mary.

However, threatening notes have been sent to members of the committee and later the contestants also receive them. Then one of the contestants goes missing during an interval and shortly after her body is discovered. Kitty and Matt are naturally keen to discover if there is a link between the notes and the murder. No further details to avoid spoilers.

There certainly are many changes taking place in Kitty’s world. Along with her marriage she has adopted a sweet new pet. I have to admit that it may take me a little while to get used to Kitty being addressed as Mrs Bryant.

In addition, their ally in the local police force has been promoted and a new Inspector appointed. He’
is rather full of himself, believes in strictly following procedure, and strongly disapproves of private investigators and more so lady detectives. Oh dear! I foresee plenty of clashes ahead though I was confident that Kitty and Matt would run rings about him.

As always Helena Dixon has produced a lighthearted historical cosy mystery that sparkled with wit and proved an intriguing whodunnit.

Overall, I consider ‘Murder at the Beauty Pageant’ a perfect light read for the Coronation weekend (and beyond) and an excellent addition to the series.

Highly recommended.

April 1935 To celebrate the Silver Jubilee of the King, the town is holding a Beauty Pageant at the Dolphin Hotel but before the end of day one of the contestants is found dead. But what could be the motive behind the death of a young female. The new Inspector Lewis heads the case but objects to the Bryant newlyweds own investigation. Will the crime be solved before another death and by whom.
An entertaining and well-written historical mystery with its likeable main characters. Another good addition to this enjoyable cozy series.
An ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Dolphin Hotel was hosting the beauty pageant and Mrs Craven was in charge of organising it all. She had Kitty Underhay (now Bryant) running around after her and Kitty's Grams was sympathetic to Kitty. With the change rooms organised for the young women, she was shocked to open the locked door to find a nasty, threatening note. It wasn't long before everyone connected to the pageant had received the letters, but the new police inspector wasn't interested. It wasn't until one of the contestants was found stabbed to death that he decided to investigate, but told Matt and Kitty to stay out of it - it was police business.

Kitty and Matt continued to interview people of interest and it wasn't long before they discovered a few secrets which would give motive to a select few. But would they discover who the killer was?

Murder at the Beauty Pageant in the 12th in the Miss Underhay series by Helena Dixon and once again it was fun and entertaining. I love mischievous Bertie, and his new friend Rascal. Life is a little different for Kitty now she's not living at the Dolphin, but her new life with husband Matt is an exciting one. Highly recommended.

With thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

Kitty Underhay is a Newlywed and is enjoying married life. She has been invited by Mrs Craven, her old nemesis, to help with the Miss Dartmouth Jubilee beauty pageant. The pageant is being held at the Dolphin Hotel. Kitty accepts the invitation and it isn’t exactly what she expected. Mrs Craven hasn’t changed a bit, she is still as condescending and bossy as ever. But when contestant Peggy Blaine is found dead, Kitty notices that the other constants are unaffected by the murder. Kitty decides to do some of her own investigating and when she discovers some threatening notes sent to Peggy, she needs husband Matt to help her solve the murder. The contestants don’t make it easy and seem to never be available to answer any questions. Kitty and Matt must hurry up and catch the murder before another contestant is eliminated.

Murder at the Beauty Pagent by Helena Dixon, is the twelfth installment of A Miss Underhay Mystery Series. I enjoyed this cozy mystery from beginning to end. The plot twists and turns in this story kept me on the edge of my seat. Just when I thought I had it all figured out, there was a plot twist that kept me guessing. This rapid page turner will keep you guessing to the very last page. This can be read as a standalone, but don’t pass up this great series. I loved it and I definitely recommend it.

Kitty Underhay is now a newlywed
So she's Mrs Bryant now instead!
She's been set on by Mrs Craven to aid
As plans for a Beauty Pageant are made.

This isn't the wedded bliss she'd thought ahead
As Mrs Craven bosses her around instead.
Kitty would rather work with husband Matt
Investigating mysteries and all that!

What none had anticipated were a letter
Suggesting those involved in the Pageant should know better.
There are hints of danger to come, too -
What should they all do?

A murder, mystery and an Inspector they knew,
All give Matt and Kitty lots to do.
The perpetrator they want to discover,
But secrets first they begin to uncover.

A story full of twists and danger
Is it someone they know or a total stranger?
Finding out more about the victim's life
Shows she's caused others lots of strife!

An enthralling read, with great characters and plot
A historical cosy crime series I like such a lot!
I have no hesitation highly recommending it to you
I say thanks for the book, hope you enjoy my honest review!

Spring, 1935. Newlywed Kitty Underhay has been enlisted by Mrs Craven to help organise the Miss Dartmouth Jubilee pageant at the Dolphin Hotel. But a threatening note is found in the dressing room, then the organisers each receive a note & finally just before the contest each competitor receives a note. Things are going well until one of the girls goes missing during the interval & Peggy Blaine is discovered dead in the nearby bandstand. Kitty & husband Matt set out to find who’s scaring the competitors & who killed Peggy.
This is the twelfth book in the series & it could be read on its own, however I've loved the series seeing how the characters have developed, how relationships have grown & changed. Matt & Kitty are now happily married with Bertie the spaniel & they welcome a new addition to their family – Rascal the kitten. Kitty has taken a step back from managing the Dolphin Hotel but is feeling a bit at a loose end so volunteers to help with the Jubilee celebrations. When there is a murder she comes alive & is eager to investigate but Inspector Grenville has been promoted & the new inspector is Lewis who Matt & Kitty met in Yorkshire the previous year & they lock horns again – it will be interesting seeing Kitty ‘tame’ the Inspector! There are plenty of suspects, red herrings plus twists & turns before everything is revealed & once again Matt & Kitty are in danger. Another well written, well paced book, which I thoroughly enjoyed & for the first time I guessed correctly as to who the villain was.
My review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

I received a copy of this title from the publisher; all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own. Murder at the Beauty Pageant is the first title following the marriage of Kitty and Matt. As part of silver jubilee, Kitty and her grandmother have agreed to have a beauty contest held at the Dolphin hotel with the money being used to fund a children's jubilee party. Threatening notes are received by the participants but the pageant goes forward. After a break, one of them fails to return and is found dead in a nearby park. The victim had some secrets that make discovering the murderer more difficult for Kitty and Matt, but Kitty is determined to have justice for the young woman. I really enjoyed getting to see Kitty find her footing as Matt's official partner and found the mystery to be engaging although I was able to solve it pretty quickly. I am looking forward to future titles as Kitty and Matt continue to find their footing as partners in life and work.

You can not go wrong with Kitty Underhay this is a cute series with character that grow on you Kitty is once again on the case and mayhem follows Beauty pageant at the hotel and Mrs C is heading up the pageant What could go wrong ?

Exciting installment in this cozy mystery series.

It's springtime, 1935, and newlyweds Kitty and Matt are settling in to married life and their joint detective agency operations. Despite her protestations, Kitty is busy helping Mrs. Craven organize a beauty pageant for the royal jubilee celebrations when she and Matt are asked to investigate a particular friend of the stepdaughter of a famous Egyptologist. On the day of the pageant, one of the pageant contestants is found dead -- but no one seems too broken up about it. Seems that no one really cared much for Peggy Blaine. Why? As revelations about the young woman's behavior and character come to light, there is no shortage of suspects. Kitty and Matt involve the police and find out more, and there is another death -- yet another of the pageant competitors. What is going on?

This was one of the more exciting episodes in this great series that I have followed since the beginning. Drugs, theft, blackmail, romance, sex, pregnancy -- dripping with scandal. I highly recommend all of the books to anyone who enjoys a solid historical cozy mystery. It has great characters with juicy stories and lots of period detail. Definitely you'll want to start from the beginning as the installments really aren't meant as standalones. Looking forward to the next one!

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for this e-book ARC to read, review, and recommend.

Book 12 in The Miss Underhay Mystery series, all of which read well as stand-alone’s, and this time Kitty Bryant (née Underhay) is helping arrange a beauty pageant to raise money for a children’s party to celebrate the silver jubilee of King George V and Queen Mary. Kitty and her husband Matt are partners in Torbay Investigation Services, as well as living in, and being involved in, running The Dolphin hotel. A well written and engaging historical cosy mystery set in Dartmouth in May 1935.

Briefly, when the organisers of the pageant and then the contestants all receive threatening letters, all with biblical citations, security is increased at the hotel, where the event is taking place. Meanwhile, Egyptologist Sir Vivian has hired the PI’s to investigate his stepdaughter and her friends who he believes are a bad lot. On the night of the pageant contestant Peggy Blaine goes missing and her body is discovered in the park. Following Inspector Greville promotion to Chief Inspector his replacement Inspector Lewis is in charge of the case and he is not amenable to Kitty and Matt being involved, in fact he isn’t amenable at all!

Another very pleasurable read in the mould of Agatha Christie, although it’s certainly not trying to emulate her writing, just a similar vibe. As a massive animal lover I’ve always enjoyed Bernie’s part in the books and now we have cats and dogs as Kitty rescues a kitten and Rascal joins the Bryant family. A few red herrings gave me a few false leads in my search for the killer and Kitty and Matt were similarly wrong footed. An enjoyable and entertaining cosy read.

Now settling into married life, Kitty and Matt may hope life quietens down a bit but when Kitty is roped into helping organise a beauty pageant she should have guessed what would happen. A couple of dead bodies later, some dodgy drug dealing, and with a whole heap of suspect, Kitty is soon desperately trying to save Matt's life...

Regular readers of this wonderful series, fear not, Despite the changes in our couple's lives, this is another excellently readable crime mystery. There are some new characters to pep things up a bit, which is a great addition to the books. And there's a cheeky wee Rascal who will steal everyone's hearts.

Wonderful escapist historical crime, long may this series continue.

(With thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this title,)

If like me you have been with Kitty since the beginning then it is a delight to see that she is embracing married life with Matt Bryant and getting more involved in the private investigations.

However that doesn’t stop her being involved with The Dolphin hotel now being run by a manager. To celebrate the Silver Jubilee of the King, it is up to the hotel to stage a Beauty Pageant, what could possibly go wrong?

Well poison pen letters, some strange looking characters and then a couple of dead bodies, it seems this is going to be a beauty pageant that Dartmouth will not forget for a while. But the new inspector, who Kitty and Matt have encountered from previous cases thinks there is nothing amiss and it is all straightforward and the culprit will be easy to catch. Especially if the amateurs do not assist.

But that is okay because Matt and Kitty have been hired to look into Victoria, stepdaughter of Sir Vivian, a well known Egyptologist. He thinks she has fallen in with a bad lot and there is mention of drugs which doesn’t seem to bode well for Victoria. Trouble is Victoria is down to be in the beauty pageant and it seems this private case and the one the police are working on are connected and they are going to have work together.

Although we are on book twelve of this series, as our main characters have now got married there is a shift in the tone of the book, as they enter the next part of their life. Plenty of familiar characters are still present and I hope we get to spend more time with the delightful Alice and members of her family whoa re we getting to know more about. Then of course there is Kitty’s grandmothers close friend; the formidable Mrs Craven who seems to remain Kitty’s thorn in her side and got her into this beauty pageant in the first place!

I look forward to seeing where Matt and Kitty end up next, and whether they can possibly solve a case without putting either of their lives at risk!

Kitty, Matt and Bertie are at it again! The first book after the pair got married, with Bertie the dogs permission of course, finds the couple in more danger than ever. With the ever dependable and brave Alice in tow, I'm very happy to report that all is well in the world of the queen of the Cosy Murder Mystery.
Put this one at the top of your TBR pile, if that's your favourite genre, you won't be disappointed.
My thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC copy.

This series is so enjoyable, and each book is unique and captivating from start to finish. In this book, Kitty is helping to organize a Beauty Pageant, when a threatening note appears in the dressing room. When the body of one of the contestants is found, Kitty and Matt work hard to find out who is responsible. But, there is a new Inspector that doesn't seem to want or appreciate their interference. Can they find the killer before anyone else gets hurt, and without upsetting the police?
I love Kitty and Matt, and this latest mystery had just the right amount of twists and turns to keep me guessing. Always a great read, and I am already looking forward to the next in the series. Highly recommend.
I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I have read every book in this series, so was delighted to be able to read it before it was released (I have it on pre-order!).

This story starts sometime after the last book, where Kitty and Matt had married, and where the plot around Kitty's mother's killer was wrapped up.

We join Matt and Kitty as a newly married couple, where Kitty is still finding her feet after being used to running a hotel, to having so much more free time on her hands. Consequently, she gets roped into being on the Beauty Pageant committee with Mrs Craven.

Needless to say, a dead body is found, and Kitty and Matt do their thing. With their friend promoted, they also have to deal with a new police inspector, who doesn't like private investigators and thinks women belong at home!

On the whole, it's slow to start, as it is a new chapter in the story and lives of the characters, but then moves along nicely to the usual conclusion. It's going to be interesting to see how this new dynamic continues with Inspector Lewis.

Overall a good book and I'll be pre-ordering the next one, which the author is just tweaking before it goes to her editor according to Twitter. Can't wait!

Thanks to Net Gallley and Bookouture for this ARC. Another great story in this series from Helena Dixon. I love that even after a dozen books there is still good material and great characters.

Mr and Mrs Bryant are now in business together but married life is already full of mystery and murder for Kitty and Matthew.
This time it is set around a beauty pageant with a number of suspects who have taken it on themselves to kill a contestant who is not as nice as she should be.
A dramatic climax with the usual clever plots and lovely characters.