The Three Dahlias by Katy Watson
The Three Dahlias by Katy Watson

Three Dahlia Mysteries #1

The Three Dahlias
Katy Watson
  • Category:Crime Fiction
  • Date Read:11 January 2025
  • Year Published:2022
  • Pages:364
  • 3.5 stars
Toriaz

The Three Dahlias is set amongst a fictional book world. In this fictional world, Dahlia Lively is the detective created by Lettice Davenport in the 1930s. Davenport initially reads like she is based on Agatha Christie, but Christie is also mentioned in the book - at one point someone describes Davenport as the Queen of Crime and is corrected with “that was Agatha Christie … Lettice Davenport was the Princess of Poisons.” Later in the book one plot aspect seems to be taken from the life of Dorothy L Sayers ... . Watson seems to have combined characteristics from a number of prominent Golden Age writers in her creation of Lettice Davenport.

Davenport’s books were hugely successful, and the royalties left to her nephew Hugh provide for the upkeep of Aldermere, the family estate. Part of the royalties come from film rights – there have already been two incarnations of Dahlia on screen, and a new movie series is about to start filming. The three actresses who have portrayed (or are about to portray) Dahlia are the three main characters in this mystery, and they take turns at being our narrators. The book is set over a long weekend at the Davenport country estate where a convention celebrating Lettice Davenport and Dahlia Lively is taking place. The three Dahlias are in attendance as star attractions for the weekend.

Each of the Dahlias narrates one day of the weekend, then they combine to narrate chapters on the fourth day to wrap everything up. As each day progresses, we get to know each of the Dahlias, and follow along as they come to terms with various issues in their lives and make important decisions about their futures. Our Dahlias are:

Rosalind King - she is the first screen representation of Dahlia in a series of movies in the 1980s. Rosalind is also an old friend of Hugh Davenport and his wife Isabel.

Caro Hooper - played Dahlia for 13 years in a popular TV series and for many people she is THE Dahlia. Caro has an encyclopaedic knowledge of Dahlia Lively, which comes in very useful over the weekend.

Posy Starling - has only recently been cast as Dahlia in a new movie, when the actress who was originally cast was severely injured in a car accident. Posy is a former child star, trying to start her career again after trouble with addictions and rehab. For some Dahlia fans, her past makes her unsuited to the role of Dahlia.

The Dahlias are initially distant from each other, but eventually they bond to solve the inevitable murders (what would a country house weekend be without a murder or two?) Each has a different world experience that combine to make a team. The story is a classic closed-circle mystery, as the murders could only have been committed by either members of the Davenport family or by the VIP guests who are staying in Aldermere, itself. The motives for the two murders are complex and the three Dahlias do a good job unearthing everyone’s secrets and working out what has happened. Their initial motivations are somewhat selfish, as each of them was being blackmailed by one of the victims, and they need to ensure that their secrets are kept secret. Rosalind and Caro also both want to prove that they are still the best Dahlia, while Posy wants to prove that she is worthy of the role. It takes a little time, but by the end of the book they are close friends and declare themselves an exclusive club.

Aspects of the plot reminded me of the Phyrne Fisher mysteries written by Kerry Greenwood (filmed for TV as the Miss Fisher Mysteries). Dahlia seems to be a similar character to Phyrne: an independent woman who chooses to become an amateur detective while enjoying a flapper lifestyle. Phyrne, of course, is a modern creation set in the late 1920s with whom we feel directly connected, while Dahlia has a degree of separation from us: she was supposedly created in the 1930s and we only get to know her through the thoughts of modern characters. But the two characters are similar enough that I think if you enjoy the Phryne Fisher mysteries, you would enjoy this book.

A big part of the plot is the new movie. To be successful, the film team need the support of long-time Dahlia fans. If they unanimously turn against the movie, either because of the storyline or the casting, it is believed “they'd be so vocal on the subject that no one else would bother to watch it.” The original script planned for the new movie is leaked to the public and fans hate it, to the extent that the writer is sacked and a new writer brought on board to produce a completely new script. The original script attempted to modernise the books but not only changed to many key aspects, it was badly written. The new script, currently with the Davenport family for final approval, is believed to be more faithful to the books but will still bring Dahlia into the twenty-first century. The casting of Posy as Dahlia, and Kit Lewis, a black actor, as Detective Inspector John Swain, are controversial. Both hope to woo over hardcore fans to accept them in the roles this weekend at the convention.

The concerns over the success of the new movie and the worry about how fans will react reminded me of recent TV and movie adaptations of Agatha Christie books. The BBC TV adaptions have been a mixed bunch. The first one (And Then There Were None) was fairly faithful to the book, but had a modern edge. Subsequent series made increasing larger changes to storylines. For example, The ABC Murders gave Poirot a background as a priest but kept to the basic premise of the book, while The Pale Horse series was almost unrecognisable. Some fans were highly critical of the significant changes to the plot. Kenneth Branagh has a similar arc with his recent Poirot movies. Murder on the Orient Express was broadly faithful to the book, Death on the Nile made significant changes to both plot and characters, and A Haunting in Venice bears almost no resemblance to its source material, Hallowe’en Party. Sherlock Holmes has a similar history. Of all the screen adaptations I've watched, only the Jeremy Brett TV series, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1984-1994) is the only one that is faithful to the source stories. But as long as the interpretations are good in their own right, as a fan, I have enjoyed them. I snobbishly rejected Elementary at first, but gave it a second chance and found it an enjoyable Holmes variation. By the end of The Three Dahlias, it seems that both Posy and Kit have been accepted by the fans.

Katy Watson understands how to write a ‘Golden Age’ feeling murder, wisely choosing to set it in the current day instead of attempting to recreate the 1930s, herself, but includes enough references to the original books to give a period feel. She gets that a murder mystery isn’t about murder, itself, or the investigation, but about restoring balance in the world for everyone after the murderer is taken away by the police. She has done what the team working on the new movie in this book purport to be aiming for: she has taken the best elements from a Golden Age mystery and brought them into the modern world. I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more of the series.

Katy Watson
Katy Watson
Katy Watson is the author of the Three Dahlias Mysteries series. The Three Dahlias is the first in the series. There are four books at the time of writing. The series continues with A Very Lively Murder, Seven Lively Suspects and A Lively Midwinter Murder. For more information about Katy Watson and her Three Dahlias Mysteries you can visit her website at https://katywatson.co.uk/
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