1920s – Emma's Biblio Treasures

AUDIOBOOK REVIEW: The Midnight Guests by Alex Hay

Published September 10th, 2026 by Headline
Historical Fiction, Historical Mystery, Suspense, Thriller, Crime Fiction, Domestic Fiction, Gay Fiction

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ABOUT THE BOOK:

Welcome to the Hotel Artemis – and an opening night to remember. The White Lotus meets Peaky Blinders in this page-turning new mystery from the bestselling author of The Housekeepers.

1926. Diana Gold, owner and impresario, throws open the doors to the most opulent new hotel in London. As the champagne flows and the chandeliers shimmer, millionaires and gamblers rub shoulders with film stars and royalty.

Yet nothing at the Hotel Artemis is quite what it seems – not least two infamous guests who Diana expects at midnight. Powerful and dangerous, they’ve dragged her from the gutter and taught her all she knows. Now they’re calling in her debt – and Diana must take perfect care of them, unless they take care of her first.

But when a body is found in the hotel’s finest suite, the lavish opening night begins to spiral out of control. And over twenty-four fateful hours, the staff and guests of the Artemis will find out why they are really there.

buy here

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MY REVIEW:

Glamorous, entertaining, immersive and twisty, The Midnight Guests is an absolute delight. Cosy crime at its best, the story is told in dual timelines over two fateful twenty four hours.

May 1st, 1926. The night of the grand opening of the Hotel Artemis, which is owned by socialite and impresario Diana Gold. Tonight the champagne will flow as prominent guests enjoy the result of months of her hard work. But there are two guests that Diana is not looking forward to welcoming; two infamous people who could give away the truth that lies beneath the glittering facade of this opulent hotel. Because the Hotel Artemis isn’t what it seems and Diana is hiding some dark secrets. And when a body is found in one of the lavish suites, it sparks a chain reaction of events that spirals out of control.

Meanwhile, in January 2026, Joe Carberry is staying at the Hotel Artemis for its final night in business. But Joe has ulterior motives for his stay. He is here to try and uncover the identity of the two bodies that were found in the hotel’s crypt a century ago. Could the bodies be linked to the tragic events that unfolded on opening night? And if so, who will end their night dead in the crypt? And why?

Part The Great Gatsby and part Peaky Blinders, there is an elegance merged with a sense of danger and criminality in this book that feels intoxicating. Well-written, expertly plotted, intricately interwoven and surprising, Alex Hay crafted a treasure trove of mysteries and misdirects and transported me back back to the roaring 1920s with all of its sophistication and glamour. An array of potential victims and suspects kept me guessing and I was on tenterhooks from start to finish.

The story is filled with a collection of charismatic characters who leap from the pages. But the characters I loved most were the array of strong, feisty, audacious and devious women who were unashamedly themselves. These women were taking their lives into their own hands and refusing to conform to societal expectations or cow down to men. I had a real soft spot for Cleo and loved her character arc. But there were some great male characters, too, and I enjoyed reading Joe and following his journey as he tried to uncover the truth about the bodies in the vault.

A glamorous and entertaining murder mystery that you don’t want to miss.

Rating: ✮✮✮✮✰

Thank you Headline and Netgalley for my copy of the book in exchange for my honest reivew.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Alex Hay is a bestselling author whose debut novel The Housekeepers was a Waterstones Book of the Month and Paperback of the Year and won the Caledonia Novel Award 2022. He is also the author of The Queen of Fives and The Midnight Guests, both published to great acclaim. Alex was born in London and now lives in Brighton, U.K. with his husband. He is currently working on his next book.

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Thanks for reading, Bibliophiles xxxx

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Blog Tour Review: The Glittering Hour by Iona Grey ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for this spectacular novel. Thank you to Anne at Random Things Tours for my invitation to take part and to Simon & Schuster UK for my copy of the novel.

SYNOPSIS:

***The epic and long awaited new romance from the author of Letters to the Lost, winner of the RNA award***

The war is over and a new generation is coming of age, keen to put the trauma of the previous one behind them.

Selina Lennox is a Bright Young Thing whose life is dedicated to the pursuit of pleasure; to parties and drinking and staying just the right side of scandal. Lawrence Weston is a struggling artist, desperate to escape the poverty of his upbringing and make something of himself. When their worlds collide one summer night, neither can resist the thrill of the forbidden, the lure of the love affair that they know cannot possibly last.

But there is a dark side to pleasure and a price to be paid for breaking the rules. By the end of that summer everything has changed.

A decade later, nine-year-old Alice is staying at Blackwood Hall with her distant grandparents, piecing together clues from her mother’s letters to discover the secrets of the past, the truth about the present, and hope for the future.

MY REVIEW:

Wow! This was my first read by Iona Grey and she left me stunned with this enchanting, poignant and breathtaking novel that is every bit as beautiful on the inside, as it is on the outside.

Atmospheric, luminous, hedonistic, glittering and affecting, this is a love story, a tragedy and a journey of self-discovery. Moving between the summer of 1925 and the year 1936, we learn the story of the secrets Alice Carew’s mother Selina has kept for over a decade.

What was at the heart of this novel is love: a love between two people from opposite social classes and the love between a mother and daughter. The two very different love stories that were told were equally moving, compelling and heartbreaking. The author also shows us the many different faces of love throughout the story: sexual love, maternal love, the love between friends, dutiful love, love that is controlling and undying love. We all love in many different ways that vary not only depending on our personality, but the roles different people play in our lives and I loved how many examples of these, as well as the impact they have on our lives, were shown throughout the story.

There were many wonderful characters in this book and I felt like the author vividly brought each of them to life through her exquisite writing. They felt real to me. I could hear their voices and see them like I was watching a movie; which this should definitely be turned into in my opinion. From the start I felt bad for Alice being all alone in that big house with her aloof grandparents and strict governess for company. Thankfully, she has the comfort of her mother’s faithful maid and friend, Polly, and the secret letters from her mother. It’s clear her mother is the only person she’s ever felt loved by so being separated for so long is bound to be difficult. Selina was an ambiguous character that I felt a range of emotions for. She’s integral to the story and watching as she grew from a self-focused young woman into a devoted mother was fascinating. I loved her group of friends and one of them was by far my favourite character. The fabulous Theo was over the top in every way and brightened any scene he was in.

The Glittering Hours is my favourite book so far this month and is one of my books of the year. Insightful, romantic, heartrending and magnificent, this is also a fun, bawdy romp that transported me into the roaring twenties, giving a lively look at the glamour, glitz and decadence of the era.

Out October 17th in Paperback.

Out on Kindle and in Hardback now.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Iona Grey has a degree in English Literature and Language from Manchester University, an obsession with history and an enduring fascination with the lives of women in the twentieth century. She lives in rural Cheshire with her husband and three daughters. She tweets @iona_grey