This book was published on the 17th September 2015 by Lion Hudson. Many thanks to them and to Rhoda for inviting me onto the blog tour.
Available in paperback and ebook: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Jazz-
Set in 1920, The Jazz Files introduces aspiring journalist Poppy Denby, who arrives in London to look after her ailing Aunt Dot, an infamous suffragette. Dot encourages Poppy to apply for a job at The Daily Globe, but on her first day a senior reporter is killed and Poppy is tasked with finishing his story. It involves the mysterious death of a suffragette seven years earlier, about which some powerful people would prefer that nothing be said...
Through her friend Delilah Marconi, Poppy is introduced to the giddy world of London in the Roaring Twenties, with its flappers, jazz clubs, and romance. Will she make it as an investigative journalist, in this fast-paced new city? And will she be able to unearth the truth before more people die?
My Thoughts:
There are days when I adore blogging, days when a book gets drawn to my attention that possibly wouldn't have otherwise. Today is one of those days. I was immediately drawn in by the attractive cover, that sets the Era of the book perfectly.
I would describe this book as a mystery but it is so much more than that. The author skillfully sets the scene within the first few pages. First of all 1920's London, Kings Cross station, where you could almost hear the hustle and the bustle of another time. The sounds of the Jazz music in Oscars and sense the joy and the dancing. So vividly portrayed.
Poppy Denby moves to London under the premise of becoming a carer for her Aunt Dot, however her aunt and her friend Grace have other plans for her. Encouraging her to have a career and forge forward in life. Both Dot and Grace are Suffragettes. It is here where the most interesting element of the story lies for me, the history of the Suffragette Movement, a fascinating time and the strength of the women and their determination to bring about change and equality.
A wonderful, real and eclectic cast of characters that came to life on the pages, some of them I liked, some of them I did not. I don't think it is possible to like them all. Such as the characters and story played out in my mind, I could certainly envisage and television production of some kind. Poppy Denby is the real star of this book, a heroine. It was so refreshing to have a female lead character in this book rather than a middle aged man, that I read quite a lot in mystery books.
I love this era and have been known to be a bit partial to Agatha Christie, it could certainly seem that some comparisons could be drawn, only in a positive way of course. A truly wonderful book and in a current market of several types of thrillers and crime novels, this one is original, refreshing and stands out from the rest for all the right reasons.
Thoroughly recommended, and I am delighted that we will be hearing more from Poppy Denby in the future.
About the Author:
Fiona Veitch Smith has worked as a Journalist in South Africa and the UK. and is now an Associate Lecturer in Journalism as Newcastle University. She also teaches Creative Writing at Northumbria University. She was inspired to write The Jazz Files by the centenary anniversary of the death of Morpeth's Emily Wilding Davison, who died after being struck by the king's horse in a suffragist protest in 1912.
You can find out more here: http://www.poppydenby.com/
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