Party Girls Die in Pearls audiobook

I reeeeallly liked this book - footnotes and all! What’s not to like about the retro college life setting & the cozy-like vibe of this ‘Oxford Girl Mystery” novel? I’m forever longing for times that I haven’t lived through. Being someone that was particularly young in the 80s, I’ve always felt as if I’d missed out on the tacky glitz of how I’ve romanticized this time to be - the goth costume parties, the Lycra, the hair teasing - all the things MTV portrayed the world to be. I really feel that this book satisfies a bit of that nostalgia and succeeds in “taking” me there. The decision to add an American character to this British cast of characters was brilliant. Nancy, an American garden tool heiress, was so funny and the perfect mall-going, fashion obsessed counterpart to the more reserved and studious Ursula. Together these two work on figuring out the mystery of the dead girl found on their professor’s office couch. This mix of cultures also allowed for some serious English slang. I learned lots!I especially loved reading the descriptions of Nancy’s outfits for every occasion -party dresses, off the shoulder spandex and sequined hot pants for days!!!This whodunnit will keep you suspecting everyone of murder up to the end and wishing for flutes of fizzy cocktails and Marlboro reds. Loved it!!!!!

My family recently went on our summer vacation where I was thrilled to make a small dent in my ever growing TBR by reading nine books, all of which were fun reads (exciting in and of itself because I tend to be a picky reader). The two clear standouts were Party Girls Die in Pearls and Eden by Jeanne Blasberg, two very different but equally fabulous reads. In Party Girl Dies in Pearls, Plum Sykes crafts a clever tale filled with memorable and mostly likeable characters set at Oxford University in the mid-1980’s. Sykes’ sly, witty, and occasionally tongue-in-cheek method of telling Ursula’s adventure makes Party Girl Die in Pearls a highly entertaining tale that kept me laughing and marveling at Sykes’ incredible storytelling skills. The mystery was well-done and realistic, and the resolution of the crime was highly satisfying and thankfully not easy to puzzle out. The many twists and turns added both suspense and at times humor to her story.Having experienced the 80’s in my teens, I thoroughly enjoyed the many 80’s references including Gloria Vanderbilt jeans, tube tops and huge hairstyles. Sykes also employed footnotes to explain or comment on certain references; these footnotes added greatly to the ingeniousness of the book. I highly recommend Party Girls Die in Pearls and cannot wait for the next Oxford Girl Mystery.

I saw the film Oxford Blues at a very impressionable age. Oxford and crew are indelibly linked in my mind. This book, set in 1980s Oxford, is full of references to the music, pop culture and fashion of that period and I AM HERE FOR IT! It made me nostalgic for a time and place of which I was never a part. I still hold out a secret hope that my son will grow up and row crew for Oxford one day....

The first thing that caught my fancy and made me immediately take interest in this book was the name of the protagonist, Ursula Flowerbutton. The story starts with a newspaper report written by our very own, younger version of Miss Marple and the mysterious murder of a fellow student makes us sit straight. Not to worry, the rest of the book is not half as serious as the first page. Full of hilarious pop culture and dapper house parties, Plum Sykes' first in a series of Oxford Mystery novels, makes for a great beach read.The characters have highly superficial lives and Sykes paints a brilliant caricature of the upper royalty class present in the 1980s London. Starting from the fashion to the food habits and sitcoms, everything is perfectly depicted.Other than the slightly disappointing build-up of the discovery of the mysterious murderer, the book is a really funny read. It makes you laugh, roll your eyes and keeps you occupied for a couple of hours. This is one of those books that you can finish off in one sitting with some wine and cake to accompany.To read the entire review visit www.theliquidsunset.com

Such a fun mystery!

Just wonderful!

I've been eagerly awaiting this book ever since I read the announcement in Publisher's Marketplace and I was not disappointed. Plum Sykes knows how to write a cracking good mystery and the 80's setting is perfection. I spent a great deal of time in England during the 1980's and this book brought back all kinds of memories, from the terrible fashions to the fantastic music. Anyone who owned a copy of the Sloane Ranger Handbook (I still own a copy) will want to read this book. It’s 1985, and at Oxford University, Pimm’s, punting, and ball gowns are de rigeur. Ursula Flowerbutton (what a fantastic name for a character) arrives at Oxford and immediately feels out of her depth amongst her glamorous classmates. All she wants to do is join the college newspaper and make her mark. But when she discovers a glamorous classmate on a chaise longue with her throat cut, Ursula is catapulted into a murder investigation.What I loved about this book, apart from the setting, was the character of Ursula. She starts out a bit of a wallflower, unsure of herself, but once she discovers the murder, she grows as a character. I particularly liked her relationship with Nancy, an American who is studying abroad at Oxford for a year. Together, these two make an unbeatable team. If Agatha Christie had lived through the 80's, this is the book she might have written. I sincerely hope that this is the start of a new series. I long to see what new misadventures Ursula and Nancy get into. I may actually need to read this book again.

I really really really enjoyed this book! I remember growing reading Plum Sykes and always loving her books and writing styles. My gateway drug into Plum Sykes writing was Bergdorf Blondes, and I utterly enjoyed it. I loved this book just as much. I would never ever expect a murder whodunit from Plum Sykes, but I enjoyed it so much. First and foremost the coolest part about this book was placing it in the mid eighties. It was fun to incorporate all of the flairs for fashion and smoking indoors. I also feel like there’s a general fun and fancy free feeling about the 80’s and that was absolutely captured in this book. Also the characters were an actual joy and pleasure to get to know. None of the characters were extra or superfluous, the way the book reads is almost like anyone of these people could be the murderer. It’s a fantastic read for someone who loves fun girly books but also has appreciation for a good old fashion murder novel. This book absolutely drips with the classic voice of Plum Sykes but is so fun to experience in the whodunit arena.

Party Girls Die in Pearls caters to pretty much all of my guilty pleasure book tastes - set in academia (hello, Oxford), centered around posh kids in high class cliques, murder mystery, etc. Our plucky protagonist Ursula teams up with American abroad student Nancy to solve the case, but only so she can secure a spot at the school’s famed student newspaper. With a cast of humorous characters and extremely detailed 80’s charm, I couldn’t help but enjoy this. It’s no The Secret History, but sometimes all you need is something light and juicy.

This was a fun little cozy mystery, with interesting characters, tons of tongue-in-cheek humor, and a dash of 80s nostalgia. The plot was just convoluted enough that I didn't guess the outcome but not so complicated that it was hard to follow. I appreciate that Sykes didn't pull out any last minute cheats to fool the reader. I'm looking forward to the next installment.

4,5

3.5 stars. Pretty simple mystery plot, but I found the characters very enjoyable and funny and the setting (1980s Oxford) to be intriguing.

Silly and enjoyable with a fun murder mystery at the center. Good vacation book that can be put down in the middle of a sentence to go run off and do some exploring, and picked back up later without losing any of the story. Characters and premise are cute.