Dance to the Death

The Sequin Mysteries #2

by Shirley Ballas, Sheila McClure

After solving a series of murders at Blackpool Tower Ballroom, all Lily Richmond and Susie Cooper want is a peaceful Christmas. The last thing they expect is to find a dead body backstage at the Royal Albert Hall. Even worse, the victim is one of Lily’s students, a trust fund debutante set to be the new star of the ballroom dancing world. Lily and Susie set to investigating, but every clue throws up more questions, and around every corner lurk more suspects. And along the way, familiar faces on the dance scene will make themselves known – some that ought to stay in the past. Will the unlikely duo manage to wrap up the case in time to enjoy the holiday with their loved ones? Or is there a greater danger behind the scenes than they could have imagined?

400 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 10, 2024

Reviews

[Mark]

Ok, what to say…..
Book 2 in the series by Latin Ballroom Dancing Queen and Strictly judge ( don’t watch it so read without that being either a help or a hinderance ) and now author, Shirley Ballas

While there is no doubting the authors passion for the dance world and the secrets of that world that are edged into the book I have to be honest and say it wasn’t for me, the writing is at times clunky and the characters woodier than a errr wood and like me it seemed to drift off fairly regularly only to come to with a start and remember we were in a story

I mean it wasn’t all bad, I did finish it and did enjoy the competition, mainly off stage, between some of the dancers however the ‘culprit’ was easier to spot than me on Eurovision night so in summary it’s probably best to leave it as wasn’t my cup of salsa/rhumba/foxtrot

[Kayl_may]

The second in the series and another easy listen for me. A good old fashioned murder mystery based around the cut throat world of ballroom dancing. Great to be reunited with Lily, Suzie, Jack and co! Another entertaining read.

[Lisa (Two Bookish Brits)]

Wow, what a book! It’s a TEN from me!!

Lily Richmond is back with a bang in book two of the Sequin Mysteries series by Shirley Ballas. Though this book is the second one in the series it can be read as a standalone.

Lily and Susie were hoping for a quiet and peaceful Christmas this year after solving the Blackpool Tower case but things couldn’t be further from quiet.

When Lily finds one of her students dead at the bottom of a set of stairs, she’s suspicious and vows to get to the bottom of what went on.

The investigation goes on for Lily and Susie and they soon begin finding clues and more and more follow after it which ends up with them having more questions.

Everyone is suspicious, everyone is hiding something and everyone seems to have a motive.

Watching these two manoeuvre through all the obstacles to get to the truth has been utterly addictive. I was sat here wondering what actually went down and what was going on with everyone.

I never seen that ending coming, not at all and I was shook.

The moment I picked up this book I was addicted, every minute I had, I spent it with my nose in this book. The twists, the turns, the backstabbing…oh it was juicy. I loved every second of it.

Now I haven’t actually read the first book in this series so I’m going to get right on that because I need to know what went down at Blackpool haha.

Dance to the Death was a fascinating murder mystery book filled with secrets and lies and scandals galore. It’s dazzling and addictive and an instant TEN from me.

[L Powers (Bookish_Mum)]

Lily Richmond and Susie Cooper were hoping for a silent night this Christmas after cracking a case at Blackpool Tower Ballroom. But ho-ho-hold up! 🎅 There's a dead body backstage at the Royal Albert Hall! 😱

The victim? One of Lily's students - a trust fund baby poised to twirl her way to stardom. Talk about putting a damper on the holiday spirit! ❄️

Our dynamic duo dives into the investigation, but every clue leads to more head-scratching 🤔 Suspects are popping up faster than you can say "quickstep," and some blasts from the dance world past are shimmying back into the picture. 👀

Can Lily and Susie cha-cha their way to catching the killer before Santa comes down the chimney? Or is there a bigger, badder Grinch waiting in the wings? 😈

As a Strictly Come Dancing fan, part of my childhood was spent watching each week’s new episodes with my family, I couldn't resist this glittery whodunit! 🌟

Let me tell you, this book had me doing the reading rumba all night long! 📚💃 I was hooked faster than you can say "5, 6, 7, 8!" The plot twirls along smoothly, keeping you on your toes without tripping you up.

The characters? More flavour than a spicy salsa! 🌶️

If you're into murder mysteries with a dash of dazzle, you'll give this a perfect 10! 🏆 Can't wait to see what fabulous moves this author busts out next!

Highly recommended for anyone who likes their crimes solved with sequins and style! ✨

[Anthony]

Shirley Ballas (2024) DANCE TO THE DEATH (AUDIOBOOK)
BorrowBox - HQ

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4 out of 5 stars

BorrowBox writes, "After solving a series of murders at Blackpool Tower Ballroom, all Lily Richmond and Susie Cooper want is a peaceful Christmas. The last thing they expect is to find a dead body backstage at the Royal Albert Hall. Even worse, the victim is one of Lily’s students, a trust fund debutante set to be the new star of the ballroom dancing world. Lily and Susie set to investigating, but every clue throws up more questions, and around every corner lurk more suspects. And along the way, familiar faces on the dance scene will make themselves known – some that ought to stay in the past. Will the unlikely duo manage to wrap up the case in time to enjoy the holiday with their loved ones? Or is there a greater danger behind the scenes than they could have imagined?"
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Brilliant whodunnit. Some good twists.
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#ShirleyBallas #DanceToTheDeath #Book #Books #Read #Reads #Reading #Review #Reviews #BookReview #BookReviews #GoodReads #Audiobook #Audiobooks #BorrowBox

[Emma Ashley]

❤️ Blurb -
After solving a series of murders at Blackpool Tower Ballroom, all Lily Richmond and Susie Cooper want is a peaceful Christmas. The last thing they expect is to find a dead body backstage at the Royal Albert Hall. Even worse, the victim is one of Lily’s students, a trust fund debutante set to be the new star of the ballroom dancing world. Lily and Susie set to investigating, but every clue throws up more questions, and around every corner lurk more suspects. And along the way, familiar faces on the dance scene will make themselves known – some that ought to stay in the past. Will the unlikely duo manage to wrap up the case in time to enjoy the holiday with their loved ones? Or is there a greater danger behind the scenes than they could have imagined?
💖 Review -
This is the second book in the sequin mysteries series. Being a Strictly Come Dancing fan I knew that I had to read this.
I loved this novel. I was hooked from the very first page and kept reading until the end as I wanted to know what happened. The story was easy to follow and had good pacing. Plus I loved the great mix of characters. Fans of Murder Mystery novels will love it. I highly recommend it and I look forward to reading more by the author.
💜 Dance To The Death is released on 10th October.
💝 Thank you to HQ Stories and the author, Shirley Ballas for my copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

[Ivana Richards]

Better than her first one. The frequent sexual references are still as annoying as they were in her previous book. However. even more annoying is the line at the start of the book were Lily is afraid of another attempt on her life, yet this is never referred to again. In general, the plot is better in this one - apart from the solution which is just stupid. Worth picking up from a library or charity shop but not full price.

[Paul wolf]

Not a book for those not familiar with modern culture which uses words such as FOMO I gave up when I had to resort to google for the second time to understand what was written. At 72 and well read this book is going back to the library unread. Incidentally I read a book by Anton du Beke and enjoyed it immensely so it’s not the subject matter that defeated me.

[Jan Richardson]

3.5 stars. It’s pretty obvious that SB’s input in this book ( and the first one ) is purely the dance techniques only and, probably, having the main character of Lilly based on herself.
It veers off track at times and this second novel in the series has become a bit of a sleaze-fest.
Not sure if I’ll go for the third book - there’s sure to be one!

[Alison Levi]

Not for me.

[Destiny]

3.5⭐️

[Annette Hewlett]

Better than the first of the series

[Rachael Fair]

very good

[Mary Tilley]

A fantastic dancer and judge but the writing is low level and poor. A shame as I really like this lovely lady.

[Carin]

A romp of a read with ballroom & Latin dancing thrown into the mix. Interesting plot with twists & spins. The characters are complex & I hope real dancers aren’t so out to get one another!

[C.Denby]

So difficult to read. I gave up very quickly. Not a patch on Anton du Beke’s writing.