Death on the Pier by Jamie West

Posted on 2 November 2022

I can’t help it, I love murder mysteries. Not the really dark thriller-type ones where it’s all too close to home and guaranteed to give me nightmares for weeks (where you spend hours before you go to bed checking every single window and door even though you don’t live on the ground floor). I love the ones that are a tiny bit comedic, a little less real and I can close my eyes without thinking there’s a killer lurking outside my door.

A murder mystery playwright turns real-life detective when, during one of his plays, an actress is shot and killed, while an unsuspecting audience watches on.

This theatrical murder mystery debut from Jamie West introduces Bertie Carroll, one of the most successful playwrights of the 1930s, and his old school friend Chief Detective Inspector Hugh Chapman. Together they team up to see if they can solve the mystery.

During the performance, the audience watches former Hollywood star, Celia Hamilton, as she is shot onstage, unaware that a real murder is taking place. It’s only when the curtain falls that the cast realise that something has gone horribly wrong.

Did someone swap the bullets in the prop gun for real ones, without anyone noticing? The actress who fired the gun doesn’t seem to have any reason for wanting her dead, but is she hiding something?

Together, Bertie and Hugh must unravel the clues as they interview their suspects. As they do, their own friendship is rekindled. But is there something from their own past that needs to be uncovered? Why did Hugh want to meet up after all these years apart?

The story is set in and around The Palace Pier Theatre in Brighton, which no longer exists. This “lost” theatre has been lovingly recreated in the pages of this book.

This novel, though it was definitely not comedic, had that old-world glamour about it, something that gave it a very authentic Agatha Christie feeling, and I am here for it.

Also, the fact that it was based in an area I am familiar with gave me a few reader thrills, such as when The Old Ship Inn was mentioned, and the various streets I spent many weekends wandering through as a child.

When old Hollywood actress Celia is murdered, right on stage, in front of a small audience, the only person it can possibly be is the young actress Jenny who was holding the gun at the time. Right? Maybe not. Could this whole thing be a complete misdirect? In the theatre, who knows?

The misdirects throughout were really well thought out, and really well written and I have to be honest, even with the clues that were scattered throughout the novel, every single page offering a little bit more, I still managed to miss the biggest one (had to reread, not something I was against at all).

It seems that despite the fact Celia was a well-loved actress, she was not at all liked by her cast, though they are very clever in not showing their hands. She’s a bully. She’s nasty. She has a huge ego, and though she gives off an aura of sweetness to those who don’t know her, she treats her co-stars as though they aren’t worthy of being on stage with her. However, when it boils down to it – is any of that enough to kill her? What about blackmail?

There were so many red herrings, and they were all very clever. But none of that can take away from the fact that this is very much an Agatha Christie-style novel written for a more modern audience. No era has been able to replicate the sort of glamour that thrived during the years between the two World Wars, and the glitz just oozes off the pages (much to my delight).

I enjoyed the way that Bertie and Hugh worked their way through the various suspects, questioning each one and discovering more motives. Because there were a considerable number of them, which initially surprised me because I was fooled by the facade Celia presented – forgetting that she was an actress of the highest calibre.

What Jamie West has here is incredible and the snippet of the next novel, to be released next year has me wanting to come back for more.

His leading man, Bertie Carroll, the playwright, knows his stuff. Bertie is both incredibly bright and astute, he knows people, and he knows murder, but he could never have predicted what was going to happen on his stage. He wasn’t the man I expected, but at the same time, he is exactly the person you need him to be, a great foil for the other characters. He had a massive presence but not so large that it overtakes the plot or the other characters, he’s not a distraction but you grow to care for him because you know he’s important. I cannot wait to learn more about him as the series goes on. Where is he going to head next? I am greatly looking forward to finding out more about him.

And of course, there is the relationship he has with police detective Hugh, charming, intelligent, friendly. The pair have a strong friendship, and play off each other incredibly well, but is there something more?

If you would like to hear Jamie talking about the book for himself I had the pleasure of talking with him on an episode of Being Bookish at the very beginning of October. We talked about all things theatre, I learned a lot about lost theatres and the method behind Jamie’s writing.

If you love mysteries I would definitely recommend you pick this book up, it’s a fantastic and really enjoyable read, and if you solve the murder, don’t spoil it!