Sally is one of my Auto buys so was very excited to read this book.
Told in dual timelines told about two sisters one a beauty Queen called jane and her sister Zoe Kincaid.
Jane went missing after winning the beauty contest in the 1980s never to be seen again nobody knew what happened to her. Zoe is a reporter and they are having another contest in Sunshine sands she stays at the same place where as a child she stayed before with her sister and mother.
Dolly still owns the Forget me Not hotel and Zoe starts to dig around about what happened to her sister,
I really liked the Twitter Posts in the book.
I liked that some of the people from the past came back into the story.
I found this a gripping read the ending was brilliant i didn't see that coming.
Well done to the Author on another brilliant book can not wait for the next one.

Zoe returns to a hotel where her sister disappeared 40 years earlier after winning a beauty contest. It is a dual-timeline story told by both sisters and delves into what happened and gives plenty of twists and intrigue to keep you interested. It is a good story and one I enjoyed but there were a few flaws.

Many characters, long descriptions and at times a bit slow but overall it had the suspense and thrills you would want and kept me turning the pages (even though I skipped through some of the long-winded areas of the book). It is well written but just needed a bit of tightening up to make it a great read.

Thank you NetGalley and Joffe Books for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

This was the first book that I have read by Sally-Anne Martyn, and I must say that I look forward to reading more works by her. I could not put this book down. In 2022, Zoe travels to the same hotel/ destination her sister Jane had disappeared from after having won a beauty contest. Zoe sets out to find out the the truth about what happened to her sister.
Thank you Sally-Anne Martyn and Netgalley for my ARC copy.

The beauty queen by Sally-Anne Martyn.
I loved the cover and blurb of this book. This was a good read. This is my second book ive read from this author. I did like Zoe. I did like Dolly. Trevor i wasn't sure about. Twisty and gripping. I did guess who it was. I did like the ending.

Sally Anne-Martyn is a new author for me, and I was happy to read The Beauty Queen as the description really intrigued me. What a page-turner! It was not smart of me to start this book with a long to do list before the holidays as I could not stop reading this. The story switches between 2022 and 1982 as Zoe, now a journalist, visits the seaside town where her sister Jane disappeared after winning the Miss Sunshine Sands beauty contest in 1982. This is a psychological thriller with some deep and creepy characters, and it can bring the emotion out with the 1982 flashback chapters. Thanks to NetGalley and Joffe Books for the opportunity to provide review. All opinions are my own. I highly recommend this one! 5 stars Publication Date: Dec 18, 2024

Thanks to Netgalley and Joffe books for an early copy of this book!

What can I say? I did really like the cover, and the blurb, it was why I wanted to read The Beauty Queen in first place. And yes, I did enjoy it. And while it did have it's twists, the story also felt a little slow sometimes, at least for me. I also was not able to connect with the characters, Zoe and Jane, as much as I have been hoping to.

It was a good story overall, and I am glad I did finish it. It was just sadly not holding my interest as much as I have been hoping for.

2⭐️ Thank you to NetGalley and Joffe Books for an advanced copy of The Beauty Queen.

Zoe has returned to Sunshine Sands to cover the beauty pageant but she is also there to figure out what happened to her sister forty years ago after she won the pageant. Little does she know the lies and secrets she will uncover while she is there.

This book was so difficult to get into to. There were a lot of characters to keep track of and the writing style was not my favorite. The whole storyline was very confusing to try to follow. I was not a fan of this book.

I love a dual time line perspective and this book showcases how well this can work when telling a story over time. Slightly noir at times, there was an ominous sense of seediness around some of the pageantry and the way some of the characters engaged. I think this was very well written and cleverly done in terms red herrings and twists,

I really like Sally-Anne Martyn; this is never going to change.
 
We follow Zoe, a journalist investigating a years-long cold case of a missing beauty queen, who we very quickly realise has a kind of connection with Zoe. Listen, I didn't read the blurb because anything from Martyn is an auto-read, so I honestly was not expecting them to be sisters; I don’t know why. I think I was just very immersed in the writing that I didn’t see this key point coming at all, but I loved it anyways.
 
After we get a little bit more context of the story as we read between timelines of that fateful beauty contest and the present, I quickly caught on to what was going on. I realised who was responsible, and I kind of deduced what was the main reason for what had happened to Anne. Fortunately, I don’t care if I guess a plot twist of a book; if I really like the vibes, it’s a winner. 
 
This book is very Laura Palmer, Twin Peaks. Even though I have never watched that show, I do listen to the soundtrack and take scenes from that series as inspiration for some of my work; the vibes are immaculate. 
 
I can’t rave about this book enough.
Yes, 4.5 rounded down only because I think it’s a really good book, and I really think that people WILL like it, but I wouldn’t really reread it; that’s the only reason why I’m not giving this a full five stars. If you are looking for an absolute 5-star masterpiece, then may I introduce you to The Clinic by the same author? That book is just great; it is still at the top of my list from Sally-Anne Martyn. This author is always a great time.

Thank you to NetGalley for the copy of The Beauty Queen by Sally-Anne Martyn. It is 2022 and Zoe, a journalist, travels to the Forget Me Not Hotel in Sunshine Sands. Forty years ago, this was the last place her sister, Jane, was seen after winning a beauty contest. Zoe is hoping to uncover the truth about what happened to Jane in 1982. The story is told from two perspectives, Zoe from 2022 and Jane from 1982. It started out slowly, but the pace quickly picked up with lots of twists and turns. This was a suspenseful thriller that was a quick and easy read.

This was a very pleasant surprise! I definitely enjoyed this book, very engaging and a super fast read. Recommended!

I found myself captivated by both timelines in The Beauty Queen, though I was undeniably more engrossed in the past. The storyline there was layered with twists, and just when it felt like everything was about to be resolved, more revelations and complications would emerge. The unfolding mystery around Jane kept me hooked, especially as the truth came to light—she wasn’t murdered like the others, leaving readers to wonder: would she have been another victim if events had played out differently?

That said, the inclusion of an unrelated murder felt like an afterthought. It was the driving force behind one character’s peculiar behavior, yet it wasn’t explored with much detail, which left me wanting more depth. Similarly, the last victim’s husband disappeared from the narrative after fleeing, which felt unresolved. It might have been satisfying to see his reaction to the culprit being caught and justice being served.

Overall, The Beauty Queen was an intriguing read. While some sections felt overly detailed and drawn out, I found myself eagerly anticipating the final days of Jane’s life and her perspective. Despite its minor shortcomings, the book kept me invested until the very end.

THE BEAUTY QUEEN by Sally-Anne Martyn.
Release date set for the 18th of December.
You can't help but get drawn straight into this book from the very first chapter by the news article.
THE BEAUTY QUEEN is an engaging and a fast paced chilling psychological thriller.

The Beauty Queen by Sally-Anne Martyn focuses on the disappearance of pageant winner Jane 40 years ago in the early 1980s. Told in dual perspectives, the story’s other protagonist is Zoe a reporter and the missing contestant’s sister. Zoe continually tries to unravel the possibly nefarious circumstances surrounding Jane’s mysterious vanishing act so many years before.

The storytelling here is profoundly English, I found myself having to look up multiple phrases of British anachronisms and slang. This didn’t decrease my enjoyment, in fact it helped to cement the imagery of the small, crumbling seaside resort town that plays host to the book’s action. I did guess one of the novel’s mysteries, but there were still plenty of shocking incidents in store to thrill and chill.

Rich with quirky characters, The Beauty Queen gives us a spooky, twisty plot line teeming with thrills and underlying tension. I enjoyed this sharp, fast paced thriller and rate it 4.25 stars for smart dialogue and an equally intelligent storyline. A definitely recommend from me.

I received this advance copy audio from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review and feedback.

Definitely enjoyed this book. Some minor grammatical errors but otherwise it kept my interest. I kept trying to guess the ending but I couldn’t nail it down. The epilogue was great!

I have to admit I got a tad bored reading this book, I guessed who did what far too early. Luckily I was curious enough to want to know the “how” and the “why” so I kept reading. The story had potential but lacked depth, it’s still a decent read, but I’m not sure the author knew where it was going and if the reader will care by the time it got there.

This was an engaging read that shines in it's exploration of ambition and the pressures of perfection. The author brings her characters to life with relatable struggles and emotions. However, the pacing felt uneven at times, and some plot points lacked depth. While the story holds promise, it didn’t quite reach its full potential for me. Still, it's worth a read if you enjoy character-driven dramas with a touch of glamour.

This was a strong psychological thriller novel, it had that element that I was looking for and enjoyed the overall feel of this novel. It had that tension that I was looking for and enjoyed the feel that I was looking for, the characters were everything that I wanted and was engaged with the storyline going on. Sally-Anne Martyn has a strong writing style and was glad I got to read this.

1982 and teenager Jane is reluctantly entering a beauty pageant in a bawdy seaside town to please her pushy mother.
2022, and her sister, Zoe, is a journalist reporting on efforts to revive the flagging resort. Zoe is haunted by the disappearance of her sister on the night of the pageant in 1982.

This is an exquisite depiction of Northern British seaside life. It's a place peopled by sullen landladies, fortune tellers with roots that need retouching and faded photos of 70s comedians. Martyn has written a compelling mystery story with her signature camp horror vibes.
It's a place filled with claustrophobic misogyny. This is a layered plot that focuses on male violence, sexual abuse and, the objectification of women and how this can become normalised and accepted.

It’s September 1982 and seventeen year old Jane Delway has just been crowned Miss Sunshine Sands. A very pretty, but somewhat shy girl, Jane has been propelled into the limelight by her overbearing, over ambitious and frankly quite awful mother, Marion. Along with her little sister, the family have been staying at the Forget Me Not guest house in Sunshine Sands whilst the competition has been happening. Late the same night as the crowning ceremony, Marion and Jane return to Forget Me Not, which is the last time Jane is seen, the next day having completely disappeared.

Forty years later journalist Zoe Kincade is sent to Sunshine Sands to cover the new talent contest that the town is putting on. Staying at the Forget Me Not, Zoe is soon in the thick of things, trying to discover what did happen to Jane as well as doing her reporting job.

This story is told over two timelines and is an interesting if predictable read. I’m sure no one will be surprised at the ‘discovery’, but its execution and denouement are well done.

The final sentence in the epilogue will certainly raise a smile or two!

Thank you NetGalley and Joffe Books.