1951 — Dame Elspeth ‘Holly’ Hollanby and her no-nonsense dresser, Ivy, drive to west Wales to join a star-studded Christmas concert. At only their first rehearsal, they hear a young singer has died, one of a group of talented students nicknamed the Four Canaries. Hers will not be the last murder…
Equally at home with the stars at the ghostly Nanteos Mansion and the students in their seafront digs, Holly and Ivy soon find themselves in a life-or-death race for the truth.
Praise for Red As Any Blood, Holly and Ivy’s first mystery:
‘With writing so rich, dramatic and powerful, it’s a must read.’ Lucy Beaumont, comedian.
‘will leave you smiling, gasping and eagerly anticipating the next instalment.’ Sally Carmen, actress, Coronation Street
‘Meet your new favourite cosy crime detective duo.’ Joanne Owen, LoveReading
Sue McCormick was an actor for 40 years, and wrote four professionally produced
plays. She studied at Aberystwyth University, then completed an MA in Creative Writing at Lancaster.
She was a finalist in the Scottish Arts Club Competition 2020, and her debut novel, Small Acts of Courage, was shortlisted for The Retreat West Novel Prize. She now lives in a small village in Dumfries and Galloway. Her first Holly and Ivy mystery, Red As Any Blood, was published by Honno, September 2025.
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My thoughts: In another life I might have studied at Aberystwyth University, I got in there and at Bangor too, but ultimately I chose to go elsewhere.
Which makes this extra interesting to me, as the author was a student there, but thankfully it wasn’t too murder-y then!
Dame Elspeth Hollanby (Holly) and her friend and dresser Ivy, are invited to Aberystwyth to take part in a Christmas concert, tragedy strikes and three young women are killed, they were all due to perform. Is the killer stalking the concert or is something much darker and with long roots taking place?
While the police investigate, Holly and Ivy start their own, observing their fellow guests closely, there are plenty of secrets, some of them illegal for the time, being kept, but are any of them worth killing over?
It’s a really good mystery and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Holly and Ivy are great protagonists, each with skills that complement the other – Ivy’s memory and Holly’s understanding of people, gleaned from years in the theatre.
I haven’t read the previous book but it is now downloaded and ready to go on my kindle.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
