Review by Stacey O’Carroll
Author: Elizabeth Coleman
Publisher: Pantera Press
RRP: $32.99
Release Date: 3 January 2024
“Ted looked down at her miniature schnauzer, Miss Marple, who was sprawled at her feet, and she could’ve sworn she saw her eyes roll.”
What do a private investigator, a miniature schnauzer called Miss Marple, a ballerina, a knitter, and a psychic have in common? They are all involved in screenwriter and author Elizabeth Coleman’s latest Edwina ‘Ted’ Bristol’s murder investigation, A Dance With Murder. A cosy crime mystery that cues to Agatha Christie novels and television series like Veronica Mars (without the high school antics) and Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries. The latter of which Coleman is credited as screenwriter.
In Coleman’s second Ted Bristol novel, A Dance With Murder, we find the Melbourne-based private investigator and her trusty sidekick, Miss Marple, looking into a missing husband and a stalking case. Ballerina Giselle hires Ted to catch her stalker without realising that her ex-husband is involved with the private investigator. The case is a profitable one for Ted’s business, but taking the job means she will need to distance herself from her lover, Spike. To complicate things further, the previous owner of her sister’s shop hires Ted to find the woman’s missing husband. As Ted gets closer to the truth of both cases, she puts herself and Miss Marple in danger from a potential murderer, a Son of Thor and unresolved family trauma.
“He probably wanted to pop her on top of a jewellery box…and watch her daintily twirl around.”
While A Dance With Murder is the second novel in the series, the story is easy to follow as a stand-alone book. The characters and their relationships are clear throughout, and the reader does not feel like they are missing much having not read the first novel, A Routine Infidelity. However, readers may reach the end of the novel and want to search out the first in the series to find out more about Ted’s background.
“As Ted pulled up across the road from Blooming Beautiful, she could already hear her family’s racket polluting the classy air of Carlton North.”
The majority of Coleman’s characters are well-defined and filled with quirks that make the mystery a rapid page-turner. However, because the cast of characters is so extensive, some minor characters lack purpose and feel pointless, such as her sister’s partner. While on a television series, these minor characters would help drive the plot, they seem to slow the pacing and load scenes with characters to the point it becomes a bit hard to work out who is who. However, this issue is only a problem in a couple of scenes, so may not bother other readers, especially regular crime and murder mystery readers.
“Miss Marple must have sensed her fear, because she looked up at her as if to say, You’re a kickarse PI, you’re all over this.”
A particular standout is Ted’s miniature schnauzer, Miss Marple. The dog is a character that adds humour, like Sherlock Holmes’ Watson. Coleman has written the fury sidekick with some wonderful anthropomorphic mannerisms and behaviours that give the dog a fantastic personality. There are times when the dog’s actions could very much be a non-speaking human.
Like some other cosy crime novels, there are many hilarious moments, including some bizarre scenes and witty dialogue that will have readers chuckling out loud. I particularly appreciated the minimal graphic descriptions that come with many murder novels. Coleman has a fabulous knack for writing hilarious and engaging dialogue that no doubt comes from her years of writing for television. The author’s background dances through the pages, bringing a wonderful balance of serious crime and quirky humour to A Dance With Murder that makes the novel fun to read.