Murder Most Fancy – Kellie McCourt

Accidental socialite sleuth Indigo Daisy Violet Amber Hasluck Royce Jones Boomberg is back!

I haven’t had the chance to check out the first installment in her adventures, Heiress On Fire, as yet, but I couldn’t wait to check out the latest – Murder Most Fancy. The amazing team at Harlequin Australia (Harper Collins AU) were kind enough to send me a copy for review.

Indigo still hasn’t lived down the scandal that saw her investigated for the murder of her husband. She has every intention of keeping a low profile… but then she stumbles over a corpse in her grandmother’s back yard. She’s dragged kicking and screaming back into a life of amateur criminal investigation, and her trusty sidekick Esmerelda is more than happy to help find the killer.

It was a pleasant surprise to read a “glamorous” cozy mystery set at home; usually, these stories are set in Los Angeles or New York, but Murder Most Fancy takes place in more recognisable locales like Vaucluse and Darwin. McCourt also gets bonus points for crafting a clever murder mystery that “doesn’t commodify sexual violence against women or children” (which was her intention, as per the author’s dedication).

Unfortunately, I didn’t quite jive with the pacing of this one. I also think I would have been better off reading the original Indigo novel first – there was enough exposition for me to get the gist, but it still assumed a level of preexisting affection for and familiarity with the characters.

Still, if a Sex And The City-with-murder vibe sounds good to you, you should check out Murder Most Fancy (just be sure to read Heiress On Fire first!).