{"id":4349,"date":"2025-01-08T21:44:59","date_gmt":"2025-01-08T21:44:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/entertainment\/books\/review-of-murder-in-the-dressing-room-by-holly-stars-wordy-witterings\/"},"modified":"2025-01-08T21:44:59","modified_gmt":"2025-01-08T21:44:59","slug":"review-of-murder-in-the-dressing-room-by-holly-stars-wordy-witterings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=4349","title":{"rendered":"Review of \u2018Murder in the Dressing Room\u2019 by Holly Stars \u2013 Wordy Witterings"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p><strong>Recommended for<\/strong>: Fans of cosy mysteries with a twist, drag culture, and a dash of glamour.<\/p>\n<p>Holly Stars\u2019\u00a0<em>Murder in the Dressing Room<\/em>\u00a0introduces a fresh amateur sleuth in Misty Divine, a drag queen with a sharp wit and a strong sense of justice. By day, Joe is a shy hotel accountant, but by night, they transform into the glamorous Misty Divine, a rising star on the London drag scene. When Misty\u2019s mentor, the legendary Lady Lady, is found dead in her dressing room, Misty is drawn into a mystery that\u2019s as glitzy as it is suspenseful.<\/p>\n<p>While the premise is promising, the execution falls a little flat. Misty\u2019s investigation follows a rather formulaic path, relying heavily on logical deductions rather than any particularly creative or compelling sleuthing. This made the investigation feel more like a checklist than an intriguing mystery, and I found myself wishing for a more dynamic or unpredictable approach to the case.<\/p>\n<p>The characters are vibrant, especially the drag queens, who are described in rich detail, making it easy to visualise their larger-than-life personalities. However, I was disappointed by the lack of description of some of the other characters, particularly Miles and the drag kings. They felt a little underdeveloped, which left me wanting more depth and insight into their personalities and motivations.<\/p>\n<p>I also felt that the drag humour, which could have been a standout feature, was somewhat restrained. While there were some witty lines, I couldn\u2019t help but wonder if the humour had been toned down for a broader, mainstream audience. There\u2019s definitely room for more of the sharp, irreverent humour that\u2019s synonymous with drag culture, and I think this could have added a lot more flair to the narrative.<\/p>\n<p>That said, the novel does shine in its sense of place. The interiors, especially the drag club where much of the action takes place, are evocatively described, creating a vivid atmosphere that adds a lot to the story. The world of drag is beautifully captured, with plenty of heart and humour, and it\u2019s clear that Stars has a deep appreciation for the culture.<\/p>\n<p>Ultimately,\u00a0<em>Murder in the Dressing Room<\/em>\u00a0is an enjoyable debut, but it doesn\u2019t quite reach the heights I was hoping for. The mystery itself is solid, but the investigation could have been more engaging, and the character development of some key figures left me wanting more. Still, it\u2019s a fun read for fans of cosy mysteries with a touch of glamour, and I\u2019ll be curious to see how Misty Divine evolves in future instalments.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"2108\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/clairehennighan.wordpress.com\/img_0127-1\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/clairehennighan.wordpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/img_0127-1.png\" data-orig-size=\"255,390\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"img_0127-1\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/clairehennighan.wordpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/img_0127-1.png?w=196\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/clairehennighan.wordpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/img_0127-1.png?w=255\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"255\" height=\"390\" src=\"https:\/\/clairehennighan.wordpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/img_0127-1.png?w=255\" alt=\"The image is the front cover of Murder in the Dressing Room by Holly Stars.  It has a hot pink background and features a drag queen, in a huge blonde wig, looking through a magnifying glass.  You can see a magnified image of her eye make up, complete with pink and white eye shadow and eyeliner.  Her mouth is open, she is wearing bright red lipstick and she is wearing a red top.  She is surrounded by an image representing a dressing room mirror surrounded by lightbulbs.  There is blood dripping down from the top of the book.  The overall effect is one of glamour and surprise. \" class=\"wp-image-2108\" srcset=\"https:\/\/clairehennighan.wordpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/img_0127-1.png 255w, https:\/\/clairehennighan.wordpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/img_0127-1.png?w=98 98w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 255px) 100vw, 255px\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p><em>Murder in the Dressing Room<\/em> will be published on 6th February 2025.<\/p>\n<p>Thank you to Holly Stars, Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House, and NetGalley UK for an ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review. <\/p>\n<p><span id=\"wordads-inline-marker\" style=\"display: none;\"\/>\t\t\t<\/p><\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Recommended for: Fans of cosy mysteries with a twist, drag culture, and a dash of glamour. Holly Stars\u2019\u00a0Murder in the Dressing Room\u00a0introduces a fresh amateur sleuth in Misty Divine, a drag queen with a sharp wit and a strong sense of justice. By day, Joe is a shy hotel accountant, but by night, they transform [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4350,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[101],"tags":[663,4436,3711,3749,688,4042,3798,3797],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-4349","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-books","tag-dressing","tag-holly","tag-murder","tag-review","tag-room","tag-stars","tag-witterings","tag-wordy"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Review of \u2018Murder in the Dressing Room\u2019 by Holly Stars \u2013 Wordy Witterings - Som2ny Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=4349\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Review of \u2018Murder in the Dressing Room\u2019 by Holly Stars \u2013 Wordy Witterings - Som2ny Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Recommended for: Fans of cosy mysteries with a twist, drag culture, and a dash of glamour. 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