A Very Lively Murder takes place during the filming of a country house thriller in the period following the Second World War, and the three Dahlias are three actresses of varying ages who have played, or as in Posy's case are now playing the part.
Posy is the youngest of the three, and has earned fame through appearances in advertisements. The eldest, Rosalind King, played Dahlia in the 1980's films of the books and this time is playing the victim, Dahlia's Great Aunt Hermione. The middle one, Caro Hooper, had played Dahlia Lively for 13 years when it was a TV series, and was the most well-known of the three.
The present cast includes some famous male actors, Kit Lewis, a black actor who is cast as DI Johnnie Swain, and Tristan Haworth, an aristocratic type, who Dahlia's wealthy Uncle Sol would love her to marry, which Dahlia has no intention of doing. Posy had also registered the presence of Dominic Laugharne, another well-known actor of the old school. A famous model turned actress, Keira Reynolds-Yang, has just arrived and is receiving a great deal of attention. She is cast as Dominic's much younger second wife.
There is a good deal of discussion round the table about whether the director, Anton, is planning to change the identity of the murderer in this new production and whether he is actually entitled to do that.
A failed murder attempt on Rosalind’s life is the start of a worrisome time. All three of the Dahlias are now very scared, as they are receiving sinister death threats through their letter boxes. But it is the following morning they discover that Keira has been killed by a hit-and run driver.
This is just the first in a series of killings to come. The three Dahlias realise that the murderer has to be one of the cast, and are determined to solve the case.
This is a truly entertaining crime novel in the Three Dahlias series, very much in the Agatha Christie tradition, and I hope this series will continue, which I look forward to!
Read Katy's fascinating article on CHARACTERS MATTERS
