Three Sisters and Showstoppers are two novella-length stories in the Emily Castles mystery series. If you love British cozy mystery, you’ll love these.

Three Sisters and Showstoppers

by Helen Smith

Three Sisters and Showstoppers are two novella-length stories in the Emily Castles mystery series. The first full-length novel, Invitation to Die, will be published by Thomas & Mercer in October 2013.

The Emily Castles mystery series is set in present-day London. It features twenty-six-year-old Londoner Emily Castles and her neighbor, eccentric philosophy professor Dr. Muriel Crowther. In Three Sisters, Emily goes to a party in a big house at the end of her street. She’s sure she witnesses a murder, but no one will believe her. She teams up with Dr. Muriel to investigate.

In Showstoppers, Emily helps out at a local stage school run by her neighbor, Victoria. Soon she’s mixed up in a blackmail plot and two deaths. Emily and Dr. Muriel team up to prevent further a massacre live on stage during the end of term show.

 My Review of Three Sisters and Show Stoppers

Three Sisters

Three Sisters is a hilarious short story by Helen Smith. It is the first Emily Castle mystery.

Emily Castle is a 20 something woman living in a London neighborhood. Her elderly dog has recently died and she is feeling very alone. So when new neighbors invite her to a bonfire night party, she accepts, thinking it will get her out of her funk. The party is an odd one. It’s like a carnival/theater performance night. There are people from all nationalities living in the house and each plays a part in the night. Some put on little random improv acts. Others walk on stilts around the outside. And two sisters from Hungary are knife throwing experts.

As the night progresses, Emily gets involved with some of the kooky characters, witnesses a murder (or is it part of the show), gets bonked over the head, carries a heavy suitcase, does NOT find out if burning human flesh smells like bbq, and has a generally odd time.

The final 2 sentences had me cracking up! This is a great first cozy mystery in the Emily Castle series. I loved the quirkiness of the characters and could not wait to read the second book. Luckily for me, I got to read it for this book tour as well!

Showstoppers

Showstoppers is even more hilarious than Three Sisters.

Poor Emily has been let go from her job due to the fact that it was a temporary situation. Not only that but the mailman has left a letter for her neighbor Victoria and Emily has to actually interact with her when she delivers the letter.

When Emily takes the letter to Victoria, Emily becomes unwillingly involved in yet another mystery. Victoria has been receiving threatening letters due to a video she and an ex-boyfriend made in college. The letters threaten to shut down Showstoppers, a musical theater that Victoria runs. Victoria begs Emily to come work with her and try to figure out who sent the letters.

Murder and mayhem again besiege Emily and friends. Dr. Muriel is back along with some new quirky characters. Poor Midori is sick, so she’s not involved in this case.

Plenty of action and hilarious dialog will keep you enthralled with this book. I was laughing at something every other page! It took me less than an hour to get through this one since it was so funny and fast paced.

I really recommend these books to you if you like cozy mysteries. Even if you don’t, the writing style and humor in them is enough to make them worth the read.

Author Helen Smith

Helen Smith is a novelist and playwright who lives in London. She’s the author of bestselling cult novels Alison Wonderland, Being Light and The Miracle Inspector as well as the Emily Castles Mystery Series.