Thank you to Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books for a copy provided for an honest review.

This story takes place in 1939 Hollywood and follows actor Victor Marvel who has been cast along with his boyfriend, Griffin, and their friend, Eve Spellman, in a film directed by Orland Orcott. In the opening, the director very quickly displays his odious nature in such a way that I wanted to murder the man preemptively. During a house party attended by the cast, family, and a who’s who in the business, Orcott’s body is found locked in his study. The police surmise the death to be a suicide, but Victor and his cohorts aren’t convinced, and they have a houseful of party guests for suspects.

This is my sixth read by this author. I find his historical mysteries to be consistently entertaining. Hollywood seems to be a reading theme for me this year although it’s not normally a subgenre that necessarily appeals to me and perhaps that bias is why I didn’t care for this one as much as some of the others. I found it to be a clever (and literal) “locked room” mystery with plenty of suspects and motives. The writing is dialogue heavy with a formal cadence apropos of the time period but can read a bit stiff.

Recommended to serious fans of historical locked room mysteries and the Golden Age of Hollywood.

This read almost like a novel from the 1930s, which could be good or bad depending on what you like. There were a few moments when I wondered whether certain characters' attitudes were too modern, but not as often as for many novels lately. There was something about the pacing or the tone, that made it seem a bit flat, even during the dangerous, dramatic moments. That said, though, I thought the characters were individual, the setting was interesting, and the mystery was fine. Read if you like vintage mysteries.

Fabulous as always, darling!

At an all star event in Hollywood, 1939, Director Orland Orcott is found dead in his study. This looks like suicide, but with plenty of people in attendance who also have motive for murder, film star Victor sets out to discover the truth.

I always enjoy David’s stories because they are always delivered with such elegance you can only get for the periods they are set in. This one, holds true to all the glitz and glamour of Hollywood in 1939, and the characterisation of everyone fits profiles and manners of the period so well. Victor was a most curious fellow but smart too, and he was putting together the pieces so quickly he knew Orcott had been murdered right from the start. With his boyfriend, Griffin, and friend and costar, Eve helping out, they want to know what happened but secretly they are glad that Orland is dead.

They themselves almost had a motive for the way he had treated them. I quickly ruled them out as they did themselves because there was no way they would have done something like that then wanted to investigate. And for once I suspected the right person, but only because Victor and his friends were finding the clues and I agreed and followed their logic and reasoning. Victor was thorough in exploring and explaining his theories for each person who could have been the suspect and then the one at the top of this list, but there was always a hint of humour surrounding their discussions and theorising that made this even more fun.

I had a great time reading this and can’t wait for David’s next story.

Readers who enjoy the golden age of Hollywood, should pick up David S Pederson’s new mystery A Marvelous Murder.

It’s 1939 in Hollywood, and notorious film director Orland Orcott is found dead in his locked study. Police quickly rule the death a suicide, but despite their dislike for the man, movie star Victor Marvel and his costars aren’t convinced. Orland was a powerful and ruthless director with many enemies. The three begin an investigation into Orland’s life and turn up suspects and motives at every corner.

While the mystery here is straightforward, the number of possible suspects is so large that readers could make their own murder board to keep track of this intricate and detailed plot. The setting of Hollywood in the late 1930s adds a layer of glamour to this story. Things might be shiny and beautiful on the outside, but all it not as it seems––there are many secrets in Hollywood.

Movie star Victor Marvel, his boyfriend, Griffin, and Eve Spellman, Victor’s young costar are a wonderful sleuthing crew. Each is smart and thoughtful in their own way, and the affection they have for each other shines through. The story is driven by smart dialogue, so readers need to give themselves time to settle into the story and get to know the characters.

This is a smart mystery, and readers who enjoy thoughtful details and puzzles in an historic setting should pick this up.

It was a pretty enjoyable read. The first chapter, however, had me worried, as it just dragged on and on. I understand that the author was trying to set up the murder motives and possible suspects, but chile, I was ready to throw in the towel.

I wish there had been more romance wise, as Griffin often felt like a very very secondary character(which I guess he was). I love strong women characters, but Eve was truly insufferable with the way she treated Sheila. And Victor was just there watching and not saying anything, ugh.

A vintage murder mistery with queer representation,

Actors
Drama
Gay rep
Classic movies .

This book is a short book about what happen when a producer appear death and the actors need to try to solve the mistery . The plot is kinda easy to predict and you can guess what’s gonna happen next . I feel this book as an introduction for a series and I hope to see more of the characters .

A Marvelous Murder has a great vintage Hollywood vibe and I really appreciated the LGBTQ+ representation in a 1930s setting. The mystery itself is clever with plenty of suspects, but I found the pacing quite slow in the first half, and the dialogue sometimes felt a bit too heavy-handed. The characters didn’t fully grab me either, which made it harder to stay engaged. I liked the concept more than the execution—solid, but not a favorite.

The bones of a pretty good story are there, the premise is entertaining and the cover grabbed my attention.

The writing craft still feels like a work in progress. The dialogue sat uncomfortably. All the concepts were there in the communication, the information contained in the dialogue was important, and as far as "show, don't tell" the discussions between the characters did serve to move the story on, but it just didn't read as natural and flowing dialogue. I'm not an editor, so I can't put my finger on what was missing or how to fix it, but it was uncomfortable enough for that to be the strongest impression of the book.

There was also odd collections of things that seemed like anachronisms, and sent me down search engine rabbit holes to try and confirm. I didn't even find anything that was actually the wrong date, but nevertheless the fact that it was things that were close (like radios in cars which were available in the year prior to the book). I will fully admit that this may be more evidence of my lack of familiarity with the era, than an issue with the story telling.

I really wanted to like this, and the first chapter had me excited for both the murder of a WILDLY inappropriate man as well as the solving of said crime. Unfortunately, things quickly took a turn into underdeveloped suspects, predictable motives, and the most stilted dialogue I have ever read. Every character sounded exactly the same no matter if they were talking to a stranger or the love of their life. That is, unless two or more women were gathered. Then all of a sudden everyone was acting real catty like we're on the set of Desperate Housewives. What adult woman is going to care if another adult woman wears heels or not? Eve is supposed to be someone we root for and yet the way she mercilessly went in on Sheila was too over the top. And if that wasn't enough, we get this from good ol' Eve: "I'm not just a pretty face with big boobs and a nice behind." LITERALLY WHAT WOMAN TALKS LIKE THIS???? Speaking of ridiculous dialogue, don't forget when our guy Victor is talking to a police detective who is talking about how difficult the job is, and Victor says (as out of touch as a movie star can be) "Believe me, being a movie star isn't all it's cracked up to be, either." NOBODY ASKED YOU, VICTOR.
I love things set during the "Golden Age" of Hollywood, yet it felt like it was only utilized for random and disconnected name drops. Where are my random cameos from Joan Crawford or Errol Flynn? I needed more!
Overall, I'm glad I gave this book a shot, but I will not be picking up any others from this series unless some serious differences are made.
Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the advanced copy!

Historical tones, plenty of mystery and detective work, a nice setting of Hollywood circa 1939, a background of homosexual relationships and the cover up that was so necessary at the time make up for this easy going read.

Set against the enactment of a film, the obnoxious director disliked by all even his girlfriends whom he has forced into bed with him is found shot in a room in the classic all doors windows locked. The police detectives are quick to rule it as suicide though many are skeptical how such a selfish man could do such a thing. Victor Marvel an almost has been takes it upon himself to investigate further and brings a trail of suspicion on him. Unearthing clues as he goes along, he solves it and presents it to the Police as a fait accomplie.

Detailed and descriptive this was a pleasant read.

A Marvelous Murder, set in 1939 Hollywood, is awash with studio intrigue, gossip columnists, lecherous directors, closeted movie stars, a heckuva closed room murder and a robust cast of suspects.

Victor Marvel, a movie star gracefully aging into co-starring roles, his handsome boyfriend and leading man, Griffin Fenwick and fellow actor, Eve Spellman (think Carole Lombard) are all cast in Icon Pictures' latest picture The Lady Screeched, directed by Orland Orcott, the lecherous director found murdered in the locked library in his estate during a star-filled party.

Author David Pederson gives us the elegance of a midnight black double-breasted tuxedo and lunch at the legendary Brown Derby as well as the seedy underbelly of studio gossip and casting couches as Victor and Eve try to solve the mystery.

The setting of this novel is well-researched and described in detail. Although at times character dialog is a bit stilted and unfocused, and I would have liked more character development for Griff, the end product is a mystery that is entertaining and enjoyable. 4 stars.

A Marvelous Murder nails the vintage Hollywood setting and queer sleuth dynamic, but the pacing drags and the dialogue leans too heavily on exposition. It's a fun concept with uneven execution.

This is a queer historical mystery set in Hollywood during the Great Depression. While I'm fond of the genre, I did not particularly enjoy the book and was close to DNF-ing it several times. Throughout the book, the characters have conversations whose main purpose seem to be providing backstory or exposition to the reader, in a way that feels unnatural.

The pacing was also odd - the murder does not take place until 35% of the way through the book, after it has been thoroughly established how awful he has been to the main character, his entourage, and practically everyone else. The movie star MC's interest in the case seemed flimsy, and I kept reading mostly out of mild curiosity as to the murderer's identity. Perhaps because I was not strongly emotionally invested in the story, the resolution felt unsatisfactory and the characters stayed somewhat flat. If you aren't bothered by the dialogue style and pacing, you might find it all more satisfying.

Content warnings: homophobia, ableism, misogyny, sexual harassment

Okay, and historical murder mystery with queer detective? MINE! I quite like this book. Yes, it’s not perfect, but the mystery is good, the action is good either and the romance is amazing.
So I definitely recommend this one and hope there will be more adventures for the two main characters!

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the arc.

I'm not sure whether I've gotten fussier or this author has gotten sloppier, but either way, I think this will be the last book of his I read. I love historicals, and I love mysteries, so this should have been 100 percent my cup of tea, but... from the opening scene in which I found pretty much every character intolerable through the interminable "As you know, Bob" dialogue to the uninspiring wrap-up (with some weird head-hopping along the way and far too little interaction or sparks between the MCs), I kept asking myself why I was reading this. The author clearly does his research, but at this point I'm forced to accept that his style is not to my taste. Oh well!

My thanks to the publisher/NetGalley for an advance copy of this book.

I didn’t know if I would be a fan of a historical murder mystery, and it turns out I absolutely am! This book was so much fun to read- it was my first by this author, and it certainly won’t be my last!!