The Starlet Letter

The Starlet Letter might well be one of my all time favorite reads. Right away you are drawn into the historical and social forces at work in the lives of the main characters, Vivian and Viola Van der Beeck. They are twins with delightfully different personalities. The mystery of the disappearance of one of their family's boarding house residents, Babs Le Roy, would never be solved without their dogged, courageous and creative involvement. And the ongoing questions and sometimes disturbing mysteries of their family history hinted at in an old diary continue to demand their attention. The characters in the story are carefully written with a compelling lighthearted understanding of the quirkiness of being human. I highly recommend this book. It is a wonderful read.

I really liked this and thought that the mystery was really good. And the story line was so good and original I thought. I lived the twins and can't wait to see what they get into next.
I just reviewed The Starlet Letter by Julie Mathison. #TheStarletLetter #NetGalley
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Wonderfully developed characters and a pace filled plot that keeps you guessing until the lady page.

The Starlet Letter is a mystery set in the 1930s. The main characters are teenage twins that love to sleuth. Their family has been hit by The Great Depression and they've opened their home to borders. One of the new borders is a famous Ziegfeld star that mysteriously disappeared from the limelight but has come back. The star is abducted and the twins make it their mission to find her... This was a fun book and full of history.

this was a really good! I liked the characters, and they were super well-developed. the plot was super cool and fun to read, and the writing was also smooth and easy to understand
highly recommend

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I found this book to be very interesting (even if I have never read The Scarlet Letter, I knew enough about it thanks to the movie 'Easy A') and rather enjoyable to read. I want to know more about what is going on as I enjoyed reading about the variety of characters in this book.

This quirky, light-hearted historical mystery is a perfect tonic for a snowy afternoon or rainy day.

The young protagonists have very over-developed imaginations and a rich sense of adventure. The reader needs a strong sense of whimsey and acceptance of the absurd, but the writer knows just what she is delivering. . . A light-hearted, romp through Manhattan during The 1920’s.

I have to admit, when I picked up this book, I failed to realise it is a teen and young adult read. Once I adjusted my expectations, it was a lovely, light mystery! The leading ladies are wildly different in personality and skill set but, circumstances require them to work together accompanied by new friends in order to overcome their enemies and stay safe! Love, mystery, adventure, and more, this book is jam-packed from start to finish. For the right audience, it’s a four out of five!

Content warning: an allusion to sexual conduct, otherwise clean romance

What a cute little mystery. Twin sisters Vivian and Viola Van der Beeck who are so different in many ways yet they can read each other like no one else. Living in their family home called Canary House along with their parents and a array of borders these twins seem to find trouble wherever they go. Now they find themselves looking for one of their borders Babs Le Roy.. Miss Le Roy is a Ziegfeld Follies star which the twins find exciting. Little do they know that Miss Le Roy has been hiding a little secret that gets her into big trouble. Even though the twins try not to get to involved with Miss Le Roy they cannot help it once she goes missing.
Vivian and Viola find themselves involved with trying to find Babs. There is a ransom which is paid but yet no Babs. The twins were not going to give up even when they meet up with a gangster or two, one who loved Babs. A broke theater producer and a sinister preacher. Throw in a few detectives and a love lorn police sergeant and you have the makings of a real who done it.
As I was reading this book I felt like I was in an old black and white style movie. The history behind the time period Canary House and the curse surrounding the Van der Beeck family made me want to keep turning the page. I love the characters of the twins. Being so different they could read each others minds and would do anything for each other. They were quite determined to find Bab's and tie up the mystery surrounding her secret.
I enjoyed this book and give it 3.5 stars. It was well written and the characters were very comical and interesting. Especially the characters of borders that lived in the Van der Beeck family home. Hoping Ms. Mathison will continue with this book as a series. I can see that Vivian and Viola could be solving many mysteries to come. I can also see a real love interest for one of them..
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC and Ms. Mathison for this little mystery. Looking forward to more adventures.

The book immediately immerses you in this atmosphere of history and sends you on an adventure along with the main characters. This book captured me from the first page. It was very interesting to watch the development of the story and the detective line. The authors really managed to capture the atmosphere of New York in those years. If you like old detective stories that you probably read as a child and waited with enthusiasm for how the book would end, then you will enjoy this book. There was a wonderful atmosphere in the boarding house which I enjoyed very much. This story reminded me of one of my favorite series, Flavia de Luce's, that I have read. Vivian and Viola, twins, will try to find the answer to the main secret. They will search, they will guess, they will create absolutely incredible ideas and all this together. I really liked it. It seems crazy at times, but I still love it. I was also very intrigued by the allusion to the scarlet letter. Thank you, NetGalley for this book.

The Starlet Letter is a departure from Mathison's previous styles but is still a great read. Fans of Enola Holmes and Nancy Drew will appreciate the Van der Beek twins. Set in New York's post-depression era, 18 year old upper-class twins Viola and Vivian live with a twisted family history and an eclectic mix of tenants. When their latest tenant, a washed-up Ziegfeld Follies star goes missing, the twins are on the case and are joined by a sergeant who takes a keen interest in Vivian.

The writing does jump around a lot between the Van der Beek's family history and each twin but it doesn't detract from the engaging story. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC!

I always love to get in on the first book of a series and so I did with this book. I also loved that it is described as a 'Tongue in Cheek Historical Mystery Series'.

A Follies star (washed up star) goes missing, two young girls (twins) try to crack the case and find answers but things aren't always as easy as they might seem. And these two young girls make for an interesting read. This is a whodunnit, mystery with many suspects, the historical aspect and setting is wonderful and the story flows well and kept me reading.

I loved that it wasn't a dark mystery and had some fun and humour in it without making it drab and silly. Yet it is quirky and has all the mystery, intrigue, clues and twists that you want from a book like this. Overall I really enjoyed this book and look forward to seeing what comes next.

An Intelligent and Entertaining Read!

Set in New York in the years following the Great Depression, 17 year-old twin sisters Vivian and Viola Van der Beek live in a large boarding house owned by their parents and filled with a cast of zany boarders. The house, a salvaged remnant of the now poor, but once rich and socially connected family, is their only means of shelter and income. Despite being categorized as a YA read I was interested based on the cover, title and premise. With all of my historical cozy mystery boxes ticked I agreed to receive an ARC (Advanced Review Copy) from NetGalley so I could provide my honest opinion. The mystery premise features a missing Ziegfeld Follies dancer who is a current boarder at the Van der Beek home, Canary House. The creative plot, characters and setting did not disappoint. However, from the beginning the story was a bit hard to follow because it would sometimes introduce an element before giving the reader background. Like when Vivian refers to Viola as Lala but doesn’t allude to why. The author also chose to weave a lot of elements into this first installment of the series. First, there is the connection between The Scarlet Letter written by Nathanial Hawthorne and one twin’s obsession with it. Then, there is the undercurrent of the history of the relatives in the Van der Beek family, their servants and their borders; followed by the relationship of the twins themselves. It is this slightly irreverent bouncing around that almost mimics the eclectic nature of the boarding house itself. Personally, I believe the correlations between The Scarlet Letter and its characters were unnecessary. I felt the book would have benefitted from a glossary of terms or historical references. For example, I doubt many young adults know who Walter Winchell is, but as a middle-aged woman I know that he was a very famous American gossip columnist and radio commentator from the 1930s and 1940s. I’m glad I hung in there though, because the more I read the story the more I became invested in it. I enjoyed the storyline when it centered around the close bond of the twins being tested by their developing relationship with the police. This book is an intelligent and entertaining piece that does not speak down to young readers or adults. I would definitely recommend it! If in the beginning you start to feel a little lost, hang in there, the book gets even better the more you read it.

I will never get tired of books about the 1920/1940 era,with all their Ziegfeld girls,prima,luxury and the general sense than the life would be more and more better. This books wasn't a exception,and it really have now a place in my heart as one of my favorites ! Really enjoyed and loved the aesthetics,the plots and the write. I'm totally sold to this series !

This was surprisingly fun! The mystery was really interesting, and the twins are charming. And VERY different, which made it really interesting to get their different takes on events. I loved that their house, and its boarders, was really a character unto itself. I look forward to the girls’ next adventure!

I received a copy of this book from the author through NetGalley.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Starr Creek Press for "The Starlet Letter" by Julie Mathison.

Mathison did a phenomenal job at capturing a time period, and setting up a mystery. The author even managed to capture the detailed, and dialogue heavy writing style that I've seen quite a bit in older texts when author's started to shift to more realism and the everyday life focus in writing.

This mostly definitely was a convoluted mystery that kept me guessing - definitely not what I was expecting (in a good way). This is marketed as YA Mystery, and I'm always on the lookout for a good mystery. I have so many students who are fans of the genre... but I feel this one may have missed its mark on a younger audience.

As an adult reader 4/5

My favourite part about this book was the writing style. It reminded me of early 20th century children's literature in the best way possible, the sense of nostalgia I got from it was the best. Because of this it honestly did not feel like a modern YA-ish book, which was actually kind of fun. I kept forgetting it was a 2023 release until Vivian starting describing the sergeant's forearms (and the like). However, I'm also very much a YA fan, so this was not a downside. I really liked the twins, especially Vivian. And Sergeant Kowalski/Adam/Adi was a highlight too.
My actual criticisms are with the other parts of the book. The side characters were interesting, however it was quite a large cast, which is always difficult to ensure everyone gets enough attention without it being confusing, and it was a little confusing. The mystery itself was not that compelling to me, but it may have been because it took me a very long time to read this book (which is not the fault of the book, I just had other things I had to read in between that were more time sensitive), so perhaps if I had read it in less sittings I would have actually understood the mystery. The other problem, which was also a me problem, was that since I have not read The Scarlet Letter, I missed many references to it, which I'm sure would have enriched the experience. And I don't think not knowing the references made it worse, I am just sure they would have made it better.
The main result from finishing this is that;
1. I want the sequel
2. I want to read more detective/mystery books again
3. Maybe I should get back into historical fiction

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

The Starlet Letter is a fun and twisty story with delightful characters and great atmosphere! I think it's perfect for a YA audience and that Violet and Viola are relatable young heroines. I would have liked a bit more in the way of worldbuilding and greater detail in the settings, but that's personal preference; I don't think the extra details could have been included without slowing the pace of the story.

An excellent historical mystery that brought me back in time as the style reminds me of the golden age writer.
A solid plot, likeable characters, a mystery that kept me guessing.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Julie Mathison for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for The Starlet Letter coming out June 6, 2023. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

When a former Ziegfeld Follies star goes missing, can the Van der Beeck twins crack the case without losing their necks?

It’s 1931, and the once grand, always eccentric Van der Beecks have opened up a boarding house to stay afloat. Canary House, their rambling Upper West Side mansion, boasts six tenants: a pianist, a poet, an erstwhile diplomat, a psychiatrist, a bootlegger, and a philanthropist who is always short on cash. Life has never been more fascinating until a seventh guest checks into the turret room. Babs Le Roy is an old Ziegfeld Follies star with more than one secret in her cluttered closet.

Nearly eighteen, the twins only look like angels. Vivian has a nose for trouble and Viola has her nose in a book, but between the two of them, the villain doesn’t stand a chance – if only they can find one to spice things up. Then Babs goes missing, and one ransom note, two gangsters, and a handful of red herrings later, the twins find themselves confronted with more criminals than they bargained for. Throw in a detective, a handsome sergeant, and a houseful of tenants graced with more whimsical personalities and you have the makings of a mad-cap mystery that will keep you guessing till the end.

This is the first book I’ve read by this author. I loved the mystery and time period! I enjoyed the references to the Scarlet Letter. The twins were a little hard to tell apart at times. I think their personalities were similar at times, but I thought the book was fast paced and fun. The dialogue was really fun. They were definitely eccentric characters. I’d love to check out more books in the series.

I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys old Broadway vibes and 1930s mysteries!

Thank you, Starr Creek Press and NetGalley for the chance to settle in with this ARC!

Adjectives that came to mind immediately, as I read this novel: delightful, frothy and quirky! I loved the premise of “The Starlet Letter.”. I look forward to sharing more adventures with the twins in future installments! It’s off to such a compelling start.

Also? The Art Deco-inspired cover art! “The Scarlet Letter” references? Fabulous, indeed.

I would shelve this alongside the “Her Royal Spyness” series by Rhys Bowen, as they feel like cozy, mysterious 1930s counterparts featuring clever leading ladies!

A fun YA mystery that’s good for adults too…

I hadn’t realized that The Starlet Letter was a young adult mystery when I requested a review copy. But that didn’t really matter too much – it was still a fun mystery with an engaging pair of protagonists, and a really nicely developed historical background. Vivian (Viv) and Viola (Lala) are twin daughters on the last remaining branch of the Van der Beeck family tree – a family that has always had a bit of an odd kick in their gallop. Not for the Van der Beeck family a sedate mansion on the Upper East Side – instead they have Canary House, at 63 Central Park West, and, even worse, it’s been turned into a rooming house due to the Great Crash of 1929.

Which is all well-and-good until their newest boarder, former Ziegfeld Follies dancer Babs Le Roy, disappears, and Viv and Lala decide to take a role in the investigations. Although Viv and Lala are identical in appearance, they are far from the same in personality. Lala is the bookish one, constantly viewing the case as a riff on one of her favorite books, The Scarlet Letter, while Viv is regarded by Lala as the outgoing one who knows everything. But luckily, their skills seem to mesh, and although it’s a close-run thing at the end, they figure out what happened and why.

All-in-all, this is a fun YA mystery, and is actually not a bad cozy mystery for anyone, young adult or not. And, as I mentioned way back at the beginning, the author, Julie Mathison, has done a fine job of the historical background too, with a nicely drawn portrait of the not-quite-yet-post-Depression era. I try to keep star-flation in check a little bit and only give five stars to really top reads – books that I will go back and re-read, and re-read again. And The Starlet Letter isn’t quite that. But it is a great read, so it gets four stars - which in my schema is still a strong recommendation to read the book, especially if you’re in the mood for a light-hearted, clean, cozy mystery. And it definitely was enjoyable enough that I’ll also be keeping an eye out for the next in the series, which hopefully is on the way, since there are a few little hooks left that need resolving! And finally, my thanks to Starr Creek Press for the advance review copy!

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a great mystery. I enjoyed it a lot!

Vivian and Viola Van der Beck are identical in appearance and polar opposites in character. Much preferring the world of facts and logic, Vivian often despairs at Violas whimsical romanticism. Especially when there is such a captivating mystery to solve. And although Viola would much rather spend her time with her nose buried deep in a book, she is bound by the twin code of honour to assist her sister in her newest object of intrigue.

When rising Hollywood star and tenant to the Van der Beeck household, Babs Le Roy, goes missing in the middle of her newest show, there is quite an intrigue to be had.

Set in 1931 New York, this exciting debut to the ‘Canary House Mysteries’ series takes us on quite the adventure, filled with quirky tenants, flamboyant stars, dubious criminals, sinful priests, handsome detectives, family mysteries and the witt and whimsy of the Van der Beeck twins.

Upon first opening this book it became immediately obvious that there would be references made to the work of US American classical literature ‘The Scarlet Letter’. With a heavy sigh I closed this book and picked up a copy of ‘The Scarlet Letter’, determined that I would understand all the references made in ‘The Starlet Letter’ when I began to read that (I am not American so I never had to read this classic as part of my school curriculum). Unfortunately for me, but fortunate for the readers to come, this arduous and sometimes painful task was not necessary. ‘The Starlet Letter’ does a brilliant job of explaining the quotes and references to the reader in such a way that no previous knowledge of ‘The Scarlet Letter’ is necessary.

When I finally picked up this book for the second time, I instantly fell in love with the authors style of writing. The humour and choice of words captivated me while the authors description of places and past events allowed me to sink deeply into the story itself in a way that very few other books have. I was highly intrigued by the way Julie Mathison meshes together the perspectives of Viola and Vivian, illustrating the closeness of their bond, while also making it immediately clear from whose perspective the story is being told, through the use of small quirks and sentence structures. I will most definitely be following along as the series continues, and look forward to reading some of Julie Mathisons other works in the mean time.