There’s no denying it, I love cosy mysteries. Everything about them, from the setting to the crime and especially the lead protagonist.
In the case of Gin Palace by Tracy Whitwell, our lead protagonist is Tanz, a not-so-successful actress who has already encountered the supernatural in a previous outing which I hadn’t been aware of before I read this book.
So, what’s it about exactly?
After a fast-paced introduction to the world of clairvoyance, ghost busting, mystery and murder, Tanz is currently hiding in bed, having nightmares about a suicidal psychopath, drinking red wine, irritating her cat and waiting to be evicted.
Life as she knew it seven months ago has turned on its head and only the prospect of a new TV job in Newcastle and a month with her best friend Milo can help pick her up off the floor. But when she gets home, the Newcastle of more than a century before decides to haunt her bringing all kinds of spooks and horrors with it and she also finds that her new job involves more than it’s own share of intrigue and humiliation. Then it’s a case of six of one and half a dozen of the other, as Tanz, along with her dead friend Frank, attempts to expose a brutal murder that nobody even knows about.
Well, Tanz has finally had a bit of an acting break; she’s won a role in a TV drama that is filmed not too far from the place she grew up in Newcastle. Sounds great so far, right? However, when she arrives in the city she starts to sense a dark presence. After her encounter with a psychotic killer in the first book (which I have now purchased), she is far more sensitive and the spirits in her head, especially Frank an old school friend, start to warn her that this new ghost is one not to be trifled with.
I have to be honest, I went into this expecting something a little bit spooky, and incredibly light, as per my previous experience with cosy mysteries (of which I have a lot), but Tracy Whitwell dealt me a double whammy with Gin Palace, that’s for sure.
What I got with this book was a cosy mystery with a massive dose of danger and darkness. There were moments when I was reading the book that I knew I wouldn’t be able to put it down until I had found out the motive behind the haunting. What was this dark spirit after? Was he powerful? Why was he after Tanz?
As I said, I enjoyed this book so much that before I had finished it I went right onto my book app and bought the prequel, The Accidental Medium. I also found myself wishing there was a third as soon as I had finished it.
The characters, especially Tanz and Gladys are wonderful. Tanz wasn’t who I had expected, she’s sort of a combination of Agatha Raisin, Buffy and Jessica Fletcher, while Gladys reminds me so much of a cuddly granny who would just feed you fruit cake and fizzy drinks until you exploded.
I also loved the relationship that Tanz had with her mam. Initially, I got the feeling that there would be some awkward encounters between them, but when she’s finally introduced she’s just this warm woman who occasionally says things that you know you’d hate to hear your own mum saying as part of normal everyday conversation. Her dad is something of a shadow – though not in a bad way…but her mam is glorious!
I really enjoyed this book and I can’t wait to learn more about Tanz and all her friends and maybe meet some new ones.
Two thumbs up and 4 stars for this really fun and at times dark read that kept me on my toes.
Pros
- Likeable characters, even the enemies (barring that one evil spirit) aren’t so bad I wanted them gone
- Great sub-plot – the interactions on set while Tanz were filming had a point
- It was not all sweetness and light…the evil spirit really had some evil to him, he wasn’t oversold.
Cons
- This cannot really be read as a standalone, there are moments where I wished I had read the first book…so I now have it!
