Book Review - Death in Heels by Kitty Murphy

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Title: Death In Heels

Author: Kitty Murphy

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Thomas and Mercer

Publication Date: 1st January 2023

Rating: 5 Stars

When Fi went to support her best friend’s drag debut, she didn’t imagine a killer would be going to watch it too. And they’re waiting for their grand finale…

Fi McKinnery is full of nerves as the gorgeous Mae B (aka her best friend Robyn) takes to the stage for her debut at drag club TRASH, but Mae B is dazzling…that is until local queen Eve lampoons her performance and ruins the show. So when Eve turns up dead later that night, face down in the gutter of a rain-soaked Dublin street, the timing seems awfully suspicious…

The police are quick to rule Eve’s death an accident, but Fi is convinced it was foul play. When her ‘Hagatha Christie’ amateur sleuthing backfires, it drives a wedge between Fi and Robyn. But when another friend is targeted in a hit-and-run, she’s determined to get this twisted killer caught, no matter what the consequences.

Even as the rest of the gang start to distance themselves, Fi is certain that they’re all in terrible danger. Something dark is lurking beneath the feathers, glitter and sequins of Dublin’s drag scene. And it’s not just the sticky floor and cracked mirrors. Someone is targeting the queens. When another member of the group is gunned down, it’s clear the danger is coming ever closer. Can Fi stop the killer before any more of her friends are hurt?

Wow my heart is pounding after that showstopper of a finale sequence.  I had half an inkling who the killer might be, but I also had many other theories and one of them was right but I wasn't even sure I wanted to be right. 

I'm a huge fan of drag queens and kings, and especially over the last few years seen many of them live on the West End stage, but this is the first time I'd read a novel centred around the world of drag, and getting an insight into far more than you see on Drag Race, or on stage, was just fascinating. 

Behind the glitz and glamour, there are real young men, who are just trying to live their best lives, do what they love for a living, and just hope that no one is going to kill them, or shout abuse at them for doing so. 

I loved how Fi was able to explain drag, and the pronouns to many people as she follows her suspicion that Eve's death wasn't accidental and it explained things to me in a way that made sense.  I've never been sure what pronoun to use when referring to queens and now do I do! 

I was fully absorbed in the world of TRASH the club all the queens featured perform at, and loved being on Mae B's journey for her debut and her being at the centre  of everything.  There are so many possible suspects and it's also clear no one is safe. 

Even the finale was in my mind a clear homage to a similar sequence in a film that I suspect is a hit within the gay community, and only other time I've seen that tried.  Actually though I reckon this book would almost certainly look good on a screen, big or small! 

it's just wonderful, I'm so glad I stumbled across the book and I'm greatly looking forward to reading the second book in this series too. 

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