Who Killed Angelique?

Who Killed...? #1

by Emma Darcy

'I’ll give you all the dirt darling.’ K.C. Gordon can’t wait to find out what her old school friend Angelique means by this cryptic comment. But before they meet someone cuts short the life of international model Angelique Lanci in a hail of bullets. Loved by few, despised and envied by many, Angelique instigated infidelities, salacious gossip, betrayal and jealousy. But did she deserve to be gunned down in her own home? As K.C. Gordon, successful romance novelist, surveys the assembled family members, past and present acquaintances, business associates and ex-lovers standing at Angelique’s graveside, all with a motive for seeing their nemesis dead, she knows she’ll get her own hands dirty unravelling the truth of who killed Angelique?

Genres: Mystery, Audiobook, Crime, Australia, Chick Lit, Fiction

459 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Emma Darcy is the pseudonym created by the married writing team of Wendy (1940-2020) and Frank Brennan (1936-1995). Their life journey has taken as many twists and turns as the characters in their stories, whose international popularity has resulted in over sixty-million book sales. With more than a hundred titles, Emma Darcy appeared regularly on the Waldenbooks bestseller lists in the U.S.A. and in the Nielson BookScan Top 100 chart in the U.K.

Wendy was born 28 November 1940 in Australia. Her sister was the novelist Maureen Mary (Miranda Lee). Her father was a country school teacher and brilliant sportsman. Her mother was a talented dressmaker. She obtained an Honours degree in Latin and initially worked as a high school English/French teacher. She married Frank Brennan, an Australian businessman born in 1936. She changed careers to computer programming before marriage and motherhood settled her into a community life. She was reputedly the first woman computer programmer in the southern hemisphere.

As voracious readers, the step to writing their own books seemed a natural progression and the challenge of creating exciting stories was soon highly addictive. They were published since 1983. In 1993, for the Emma Darcy pseudonym's 10th anniversary, they created the "Emma Darcy Award Contest" to encourage authors to finish their manuscripts. After the death of Frank Brennan in 1995, Wendy wrotes books on her own. She lived in a beachside property on the central coast of New South Wales, and liked to travel extensively to research settings and increase her experience of places and people.

Wendy Brennan passed away on December 21, 2020. She is survived by her children, grandchildren, and sister, writer Miranda Lee.

Reviews

[Zoey · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5★

[Timothy Ferguson · Rating 2 out of 5]

A good novel, but there was something about it, particularly in audiobook, which felt a little artificial. The characters use a highly structured form of English which real people simply don’t use. I thought perhaps it was a relic of technologies new at the time of publication, but now familiar — Ecstasy tablet, Viagra pill, email message – but then there was the final scene, where the characters declaim at each other like stage actors.

In the culmination, you see a sort of comic book showdown, with a murderer in a costume threatening the heroes, while revealing all in a monologue of self-justification. No-one interrupts anyone. No-one talks in short sentences because things are tense. No-one moves while anyone is talking, not even to run away. The feeling of implausability crystalized here, for me. When someone is threatening to castrate you (etiquette tip!) you don’t need to wait for them to get to the end of their monologue before you do things. You aren’t on Doctor Who: you are allowed to just shoot people who are talking, or run away before they finish.

Originally reviewed on book coasters

[Hermien · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chic lit but quite enjoyable.

[Tricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I quite liked this book. The story centers around a fashion model called Angelique who ends up dead (obviously murdered). She was a bit of a nasty piece of work so it was not so much about who wanted her dead, but rather who didn't. Into this mix comes KC, a romance novelist who also happened to have gone to school when Angelique was known as Ann. She gets drawn into the case as she had an appointment to see Angelique the day she was killed.

I am hopeless at these stories as I am always wrong about the killer. This was no exception. I did like KC as a character and I liked how the story played out. It was fairly fast paced and I liked that as well.

Worth a read.

[Pat K · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Tracy · Rating 2 out of 5]

A quick and passable read. The characters felt little 'wooden'. In my reading it felt they were drawn with clear right and wrong ideas without the grey area being part of their makeup but it it was still an ok story to pass the time with.

[Les Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Spoiled for me by too much sex. The story line was good and could have been more literary developed.

[Lisa Arnold · Rating 3 out of 5]

bit like if you and your best friends from high school investigated the murder of one of the mean girls but still enjoyable

[Neko · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5
Pretty predictable story tbh.

[Ella Storey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love how this book was written. The chapters with the killers perspective were so creative and unique, and I couldn't not get gripped by it.

[Wendy Storey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this!

[Rajashri Singh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometimes the world cannot be saved. You're lucky if you can patch it up.

[Judy Hall · Rating 3 out of 5]

"'I’ll give you all the dirt darling.’ K.C. Gordon can’t wait to find out what her old school friend Angelique means by this cryptic comment. But before they meet someone cuts short the life of international model Angelique Lanci in a hail of bullets. Loved by few, despised and envied by many, Angelique instigated infidelities, salacious gossip, betrayal and jealousy. But did she deserve to be gunned down in her own home? As K.C. Gordon, successful romance novelist, surveys the assembled family members, past and present acquaintances, business associates and ex-lovers standing at Angelique’s graveside, all with a motive for seeing their nemesis dead, she knows she’ll get her own hands dirty unravelling the truth of who killed Angelique?"

Not even sad revelations about Angelique in the book could make you like her. She deserved her fate. (I'm so bloodthirsty) I really like K.C. Gordon, the heroine of this. The book jumped from pov to pov, touching on all the suspects, witnesses and victims. It made it a little tough to follow, but I did enjoy it.

[Renee · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first book I have read by the author. It is a cosy mystery where the murders are solved by a romance novelist. The mystery kept me guessing and then was wrapped up nicely at the end, with a good explanation. I listened to the audiobook, and while the narrator was well spoken, the one thing that threw it off for me was the fact that she spoke with a British accent and the book was set in Sydney, Australia.

[Charmaine Clancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun mystery, a little cosier than most thrillers, but a little edgier than Agatha Christie. Enjoyable read, easy to follow crime and clues. The killer was possibly foreshadowed a little too soon or too bluntly, but I expect that would tighten as the series continues. I'll read more from this Aussie author.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read as an audio book, an easy to follow murder mystery with amateur sleuth KC Gordon doubling as an author of romantic novels. She has fallen into helping solve the murder of an old school 'friend', as well as several subsequent murders. Characters quite extreme ranging from incest victim to international drug magnate.

[rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actually really enjoyed this one, wasn't expecting to like it as much as I did but couldn't put it down.

[Kimberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

enjoyable, light, page turner