Russian Roulette by Sara Sheridan, Book Review

I always enjoy reading a new Mirabelle Bevan mystery and this is the 6^th to date. But then I enjoy historical fiction. Set in the 1956 it’s actually quite recent in terms of historical fiction but Sara Sheridan does not take any short cuts with her setting, her attention to detail and her insights into the social history of the day. We all know about WWII, the Battle of Britain and the high number of casualties among pilots and air crew. But I for one never considered what happened to the pilots who survived the war. The happiest fighter pilots are adrenaline junkies, but peace time doesn’t offer much by way of adrenaline rush, at least not at the same level. This is not just a random observation, but a not-so-subtle clue with regard to the title of the book.

Take Mirabelle’s assistant and side-kick Vesta, a member of the Windrush generation. There weren’t many black people in England before then and it’s fascinating to see how the author deals with the attitudes and racism black people would have encountered. Or, consider the role of women in the fifties - gosh am I glad I wasn’t a housewife then. But to be drugged and stabbed in my own bed, like the first victim in Russian Roulette, that’s definitely a step too far, even for the 50s.

The police machine is mobilised but Superintendent Alan McGregor can’t take the case as he is considered too close to the victim’s husband and main suspect. However, he doesn’t trust the man appointed to do a proper job, so he asks his lover Mirabelle if she would do some quiet investigating. Of course, Mirabelle jumps at the opportunity, even if it means putting herself into great danger without any official back-up. 

Mirabelle’s love life isn’t terribly exciting, and if there’s one thing I hope to see in the next book, it’s a dashing new love interest, one who could give McGregor a run for his money.

Russian Roulette was published in July 2018 by Constable, in paperback, £8.99.