Book Review: Miss Aldridge Regrets by Louise Hare

Miss Aldridge Regrets by Louise Hare
Length: 368 Pages
Genres: Historical Mystery
Rating: 3 out of 5

A special thanks to NetGalley and Berkley for providing me with an ARC of this book!

Trigger Warnings in this book for Racism, Violence, Attempted Rape, and Murder

Miss Aldridge Regrets by Louise Hare had an air of promise about it. It was a breath of fresh air in a genre first populated by Agatha Christie, and is thus, filled to brim with the white upper-crust of British society, usually set on one of their sprawling estates. But here, we have a female protagonist who is British, yes, but is also straddling the world between black and white--you see, she is the product of a short affair between a white woman and her black father, though she easily passes as "Mediterranean", if she so pleases. And another change comes in the setting--all the mystery takes board upon a ship. I wish I could say the promise paid off, but for me, it did not.

Lena Aldridge has known hardship all her life, being the daughter of a black musician in England, and never knowing her mother. All she dreams of is making the big-time and escaping singing in smoke-stained bars like the Canary, which is owned by her best friend's philandering husband, Tom. But fortune seems to have been tipped in Lena's favor when an American by the name of Charles Bacon offers her the deal of a lifetime: come to star in a brand new show on Broadway. It seems that Charles' employer knew Lena's father and feels as though he owes him, and since he is now gone, sees the only opportunity to make amends is though his daughter. After the untimely death of Tom in the middle of the club right after her friend, Maggie, fiddles with his drink, Lena is need of a new job and sees no other course than to agree to the arrangement. But death is following close on her heels, and will claim many more lives on board the Queen Mary. And Lena will find out more about her past than she ever intended to, or even wished.

I loved the setting of this book, and the time period is one that is always fascinating, but Miss Aldridge Regrets was rather lackluster. The writing, I felt, was its chief fault, and at times I found Lena's decisions, especially when it came to trusting some people on the ship, a little hard to follow. And the climax, along with the discovery of the culprit, left me cold and not at all in a good way. The book ended abruptly and I wished we had had a bit more of it, to perhaps smooth away any bumps with the characterization. All in all, it was a solid three stars, middle of the road novel that could have been much better.