Book Review - Murder on the Dance Floor by Shirley Ballas and Sheila McClure

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Title: Murder on the Dance Floor

Author: Shirley Ballas and Sheila McClure

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source:Netgalley 

Publisher: HQ

Publication Date: 12th October 2023

Rating: 5 Stars

Behind the sequins and the sparkles, the competition is about to turn deadly . . .

When a promising young dancer collapses during the opening tango of a major competition, Lily Richmond, dance legend, teacher and one-time world champion, is convinced that murder is afoot.

There’s only one person who can help Lily solve the mystery: her former student, now turned private detective, Susie Cooper. But Susie vowed she’d never return to the ballroom . . .

As the competition gets fiercer and the bodies pile up, Susie will be forced to go undercover in Blackpool and come face to face with a man she thought she’d left behind. Can Lily and Susie unravel the rumours from the rumbas and expose the murderer’s identity before they strike again?

Sex, lies and ballroom dancing. Murder on the Dance Floor is a backstage pass to a world where the most ambitious will stop at nothing to win.

I loved this book so much and by the last quarter if I wasn't reading it, my mind was on trying to work out just who the killer was.  I was totally involved and absorbed in the lives of these characters and even more so in the world of Ballroom dancing. 

I was hooked on finding out just who would win, who would die, and just who had dun it! 

There is a cleverly crafted mystery at the heart of this book, and we are given red herrings all over the place.  Which lead to some surprising moments. 

I enjoyed getting to know Lily and her dancers, and also Jack and Susie. I was in awe of super woman Susie, who really is an impressive character. 

And all of the behind the scenes of a dancing scene that some people probably starts and ends with Strictly, but really has far more to it than just the TV programme that champions Latin and Ballroom.  I was hooked. 

The author has done a fantastic job, I thoroughly enjoyed their writing and have read books previously in their other pen names, so knew I was in fine hands. Added with what I have to assume are the celebrities insights into this world which she knows so well and this is a partnership that works really well. 

I look forward to seeing what will happen in the next book in the Sequin Mysteries series. 

Thank you to HQ and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.