I requested a copy of The Art Fiasco for review because the cover struck me. Also, I’m a longtime fan of 1920s and 1930s murder mysteries from the likes of Agatha Christie and Georgette Heyer, as well as their more modern counterparts like The Drew Farthering Mysteries by Julianna Deering.
When I opened the book, I found it is actually the fifth book in the Poppy Denby Investigates series. A little investigation of my own showed that the first two books in the series series were on sale on Kindle. So I bought the first book in the series, The Jazz Files, devoured it, and bought and read the second, The Kill Fee (I’ve now bought book three as well, The Death Beat. Unfortunately, The Jazz Files is now full price again, so the paper version is cheaper than the Kindle version).
The Jazz Files opens in 1920.
We are introduced to Poppy Denby, the daughter of a northern clergyman. She moves to London to live and work with her paraplegic aunt, but she gets a job at the Daily Globe newspaper. She makes good use of Aunt Dot’s contacts … and gets involved in solving a murder. The Kill Fee follows Poppy navigating London nightlife in her job as the arts and entertainment reporter, along with another murder, and Russian immigrants and Faberge eggs.
What I liked about The Jazz Files and The Kill Fee were the way Poppy’s murder investigations tied into some of the major events of the era. The Jazz Files incorporated the suffragette and their fight to procure the vote for women in Britain. The Kill Fee was set in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution, and the political differences between the White and Red Russians. Both were excellent murder mysteries enhanced by a fascinating historical backdrop.
The Art Fiasco is set in Newcastle-on-Tyne in 1924.
Poppy travels north to visit her parents and to attend the opening of an art exhibition. But her plans for a nice family holiday go astray when she is the sole witness of a woman’s death … or murder.
The story took a long time to get going. While there was a death in the Prologue, this wasn’t the main murder, which I didn’t work out until the main murder occurred at around the one-quarter mark. Also, there was a lot of backstory, and it wasn’t always clear how it related to the main story. That slowed the story down for me.
I didn’t enjoy The Art Fiasco as much as I enjoyed The Jazz Files and The Kill Fee.
It did have a historic crime that linked to the present (well, 1924) crime, but I didn’t think it had the same level of insight into the issues of the day. Yes, it was interesting to see some working-class characters and see how the class divide operated a century ago. Yes, it touched on a few trigger issues like #MeToo and unmarried pregnancy, but they are issues that have been dealt with in fiction before. They weren’t new and unusual in the way Aunt Dot’s experiences as a suffragette were unusual.
The story worked well as a standalone, although there are some ongoing plot threads, such as Poppy’s relationship with her aunt, friendship with Delilah, and her on-off romance with the newspaper’s photographer. Those who have read one or all of the previous books in the series will probably enjoy the threads more, but the novel still works as a standalone murder mystery.
The Poppy Denby Investigates series is published by Lion Fiction, a UK-based publisher of Christian fiction and nonfiction. The series has a different approach to faith than fiction from the major US Christian publishers. Poppy is the daughter of a clergyman, so was raised as a Christian. She still retains her faith, but her circumstances are causing her to question it in a healthy way. Like us, Poppy has to work out for herself what she believes and realise that she can’t simply inherit her faith from her father.
While Poppy retains her Christian values (although she does drink alcohol, which would shock her mother), the other characters are not people of faith, and nor do they act like it. Delilah has many boyfriends, and reminds us that the sexual revolution started long before the 1960s. Poppy’s boss is having a longstanding affair. And Poppy realises her aunt’s live-in companion might be something more. As such, the Poppy Debby novels don’t fit some of the conceptions of “Christian fiction”. Personally, I think they’re stronger for it.
Recommended for fans of Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, and Julianna Deering.
Thanks to Lion Fiction for providing a free ebook for review.
About Fiona Veitch Smith
Formerly a professional journalist, Fiona Veitch Smith is now an author of books for adults and children. She has also written theatre plays and screenplays. Her adult mystery series, Poppy Denby Investigates, set in the 1920s, is published by Lion Fiction (paperback & ebook) and audiobook (HW Howes). The first book in the series, The Jazz Files, was shortlisted for the Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) Historical Dagger award, 2016. Other titles in the series include: The Kill Fee, The Death Beat, The Cairo Brief, and The Art Fiasco.
She has two standalone novels Pilate’s Daughter (Lume Books – formerly Endeavour Press) and The Peace Garden (Crafty Publishing)
Her books for children include the Young David and the Young Joseph picturebooks, published by SPCK, and a new series of graphic novels called The Time-twisters, published by SPCK in collaboration with the Faraday Institute at Cambridge University.
Fiona lives in Newcastle upon Tyne with her family.
Find Fiona online at:
About The Art Fiasco
One of Aunt Dot’s guests is the world-renowned artist, Agnes Robson, who is staging an exhibition at the Laing Art Gallery. Reluctantly, Poppy is roped in to help when the artist’s press liaison man falls ill.
She soon discovers that the local press has dug up some dirt on Agnes relating to the tragic death of a young art teacher in Ashington Colliery, twenty-seven years earlier. As she tries to suppress the story, Poppy begins to suspect that the teacher might have been murdered and that the killer may still be on the loose…
I have really enjoyed this series. I agree that these books are not your typical CF as defined by American standards, but like you, believe they are richer for it. It certainly makes these mysteries a deeper reading experience. I have the last two books yet to read. Thanks for your thoughts.