I'd heard good things about Louise Hare's previous book, although not read it myself. So, I didn't know quite what to expect when I started Miss Aldridge Regrets. What I found was a very enjoyable and well written read. The book starts out in 1930s London and Lena Aldridge is a woman whose luck is running out. Her father has recently died, her best friend husband has just been poisoned and her landlady tells her to move on. So, the offer of a starring role on Broadway seems too good to be true. When Lena agrees to her bright new future, she gets to travel to the US first class on the Queen Mary, but amidst the decadence of first class, all is not as it seems.

The book has echoes of an Agatha Christie mystery, but with an air of sophistication and, at times, desperation throw in for good measure. Overall, it was a very readable and well-plotted book and it might now be time to also read The Lonely City.

3.5 rounded up.

When the owner of the Canary club Tommy Scarsdale dies right in front of her, mixed race singer Lena Aldridge decides to accept the offer of a lifetime role in a Broadway show. What has she got to lose? She has no job, her beloved father Alfie has recently died and she’s all alone bar best friend Maggie. Before she knows it she’s aboard the Queen Mary bound for New York, little realising the play has already begun and the curtain is raised as she plays the role of a lifetime. The story is told in the present aboard Queen Mary and backtracks to the previous seven days from the events at the Canary club.

There’s a lot to like in the latest novel by the talented Louise Hare. The setting aboard the Queen Mary is excellent and there is a real clarity conveyed in the differences between those in the luxury of the upper decks and those below. Central to events on the liner is the wealthy Abernathy family who Lena meets on the first night on board the luxury ship. The dynamics between the family are vividly portrayed and we have everything from wealthy gilded cages to philandering. There are scenes where the atmosphere is both strange and strained with a lot of subtext to spot and plenty of uncomfortable machinations especially as we get further to New York. The characterisation is very good especially of Lena who trades to worlds with her mixed race background. She is extremely likeable, intelligent, pragmatic and is growing in self-awareness especially of her situation. The historical context is well done especially the values of the time, the almost casual institutional racism and the rise of Nazism is there in the background. The events on the liner present us with a ‘locked liner mystery’ and parts of this are very good and feel very Christie-esque which fits nicely with the 1930s timeline.

However, I think that it gets a bit over the top but most importantly this also allows you to perceive who is behind proceedings. I’m also not sure you need the inserts between Lena‘s narrative from this character as it jars with me, striking a false note and it breaks the flow of the novel.

Overall, though despite these reservations I do enjoy this book as it has a lot more depth to it than other books in this genre. I love the cover to which is stunning.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to HQ for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

This is an excellent story, a cut above many so-cally cosy detective stories harking back to the golden age. There is a mystery, and a young woman, Lena Aldridge who finds herself having to investigate it, but beyond that this book escews stereotypes and goes on to address very current concerns about race and identity, albeit in a historial setting.
Louise Hare does an excellent job of taking us back in time to Soho, London, as well as recreating the 'locked room' of a cruise liner where several murders take place. Protagonist Lena Aldridge is a singer in a seedy nightclub when she is offered the chance of a lifetime to go to New York and feature in a Broadway show. We join Lena as she makes the journey, meets new people on board ship, and uncovers secrets about her own past.. The cast of characters Hare creates are authentic and compelling, and sometimes comic.
It's hard to write more without spoiling some of the key lelements of the plot: secrets unfold throughout this book as we learn more about how the characters are connected. Hare keeps on surprising her readers with new revelations right up to the end. Well worth a read.

I really enjoyed this book set mainly on the Queen Mary travelling to New York. Miss Aldridge is striving for a better life but keeping herself and those around her safe proves to be too great a task. I didn't predict the grand reveal at the end and was left with a sadness about some of her choices and a curiosity about the next stage in her life. If a follow-up were to be forthcoming, I'd be interested to read it.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I was a massive fan of Louise Hare’s debut novel, and I was eagerly awaiting a new book by her! I was not disappointed. Lena Aldridge is waiting for her chances for a big break on New York’s Broadway, far away from the seedy nightclub in London where she sings every night. She is also escaping some unpleasant events, mainly the death of the owner of the club, who happens to be her best friend’s husband. She is offered a first-class ticket on the Queen Mary, where she has a chance to mingle with the rich, who can help her career. But then a murder is committed on the ship, and this can jeopardise her future.
The story follows two timelines, and the author also discusses themes of racism, prejudice and class as well as the situation of women in 1930s. Lena is a mixed-race woman, raised by her Black musician father, so she knows she must fit not only into the world of rich and influential people, but also into world that treats Black people as a second-class citizens. She can pass as a white woman, but her situation is precarious, and depends on her concealing her true self.
With a wide cast of characters and glitzy setting, “Miss Aldridge Regrets” is a fun and engaging locked room mystery. I enjoyed trying to guess who the culprit was, and although I managed to guess some twists, the ending was a surprise to me. There might be some unbelievable moments, but I was to draw into the book to care. I am already looking forward to another instalment of Lena’s adventures, and I am off to look for some more good old-fashioned crime novels.

This book chart Lena’s passage across the Atlantic in a liner, tagging along with a rich American family. A fish out of water, she is not sure she fits in or why she is there, so imposter syndrome aplenty.

As the journey unfolds, the reader gets flashback of the weeks before in London that set her on this course and the family secrets get revealed. What’s starts out as coincidence quickly becomes anything but.

I really enjoyed This Lovely City but I'm afraid Miss Aldridge Regrets was a bit of a let down for me. On a positive note I found the setting and era really well described and very evocative. However, I found the skipping between the present and the past in the narrative jarring and not naturally weaved into the plot. The mystery felt unrealistic and whilst it reflected interesting themes surrounding misogyny and female oppression this wasn't enough to make me enjoy the reveal.
With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this digital ARC in exchange for this honest review.

Although this is a mystery, and set in the past, it is also about choices, and identity. The setting is lovely, the characters are pretty well drawn, and the main character appealing if a bit naïve in spite of assurances that she is not.

It was also pretty clever to have Lena have different nicknames to different characters, as it emphasised her shifting identity depending on the viewpoint.

A good read.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58405118-miss-aldridge-regrets

Thought this book was a really good read. Made me try to guess the puzzle and I would definitely read more. Good story. Good flow if the story.

Great murder mystery in a very tense locked room setting. Haven't read a book that covers "passing" in a really long time and it made me stand up and take note. Interesting setting and it really worked. A thrilling read.