Review: Murder, She Reported by Peg Cochran

Genre:
Cozy Mystery

Format:
E-Book

Publisher:
Alibi

Release Date:
July 31, 2018









Synopsis from Goodreads:


A Park Avenue princess discovers the dark side of 1930s New York when a debutante ball turns deadly in this gripping historical mystery for readers of Victoria Thompson, Anne Perry, and Rhys Bowen.

Manhattan, 1938. Tired of being trapped in the gilded cage of her family’s expectations, Elizabeth Adams has done what no self-respecting socialite would think to do: She’s gotten herself a job. Although Elizabeth’s dream is to one day see her photographs on the front page of the Daily Trumpet, for now she’s working her way up as the newsroom’s gal Friday.

But fetching coffee isn’t exactly her idea of fun. So when veteran reporter Ralph Kaminsky needs a photographer to fill in for a last-minute assignment, Elizabeth jumps at the chance. At the Waldorf Hotel, Elizabeth is tasked with tracking down the season’s “It girl,” Gloria DeWitt, who will be making her society debut. Working her own connections to New York’s upper crust, Elizabeth manages to land an exclusive interview with Gloria.

Then Gloria’s stepmother is shot dead in a Waldorf bathroom, placing Elizabeth at the scene of a headline-worthy scandal: “Murder of a Society Dame.” Now Elizabeth will have to get the scoop on the killer before her good name gets dragged through the gossip columns—or worse. . . .

My Review

It’s 1938 in Manhattan and the country is facing the possibility of war. A woman is not expected to get a job, but that’s exactly what Elizabeth Adams does - much to her parents’ dismay. Elizabeth doesn’t need to work at all since her family is quite well-to-do. Her parents expect her to do nothing more than marry well. Elizabeth has other ideas.

Elizabeth gets a Gal Friday job at one of Manhattan’s newspapers, The Daily Trumpet. She really wants to be a photographer, but she’ll settle for office work. When one of the photographers is out sick, one of the reporters asks Elizabeth to go with him as the photographer. Of course she jumps at the chance.

The story is at the Waldorf Hotel where the season’s debutantes are making their debut. The big society event takes a nasty turn when one of the girls’ step-mother is murdered. Elizabeth finds herself in the middle of the scandal and a major headline story. She’s determined to find the killer before her own life is ruined, not to mention it’s a chance to show off her photographic skills.

This book grabbed me right from the start. It’s an old fashioned mystery with several possible suspects. The author does an excellent job of painting a vivid portrait of 1938 New York at a time when the country is fearing a possible war. I felt as if I was right there with Elizabeth, trying to figure out the mystery.

The characters are perfect for their era and jump right out of the pages. They really come to life. I can easily see this as a TV show or movie. The storyline moved at a nice pace and I read it faster than I normally read a 300 page book.

This is becoming one of my favorite settings - New York in the early 1930’s. There was a teaser for the second book and it looks to be even better than this one. I can’t wait to read it.



For reading challenges:
Craving for Cozies Reading Challenge 2018

Disclosure: I borrowed this e-book from the library. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.