Brigid George's 'Murder on the Melbourne Tram' adds to the Dusty Kent Mysteries series with a slow yet engaging read. Set in Melbourne's elite neighborhoods, the story follows PI Dusty Kent as she unravels the murder of a celebrity chef. The plot, centered around suspects gathered in one place, echoes Agatha Christie's style. While dialogue-driven, the book offers moments of tension and a satisfying conclusion.

This was a miss for me, unfortunately. The whole book and mystery is told in dialogue. Alas, quite literally it is all telling. I also didn't like any of the suspects, so this was a trudge for me to get through.

This is the 6th of the Dusty Kent Mysteries, but the first one I’ve read. I didn’t feel that I missed any understanding of the characters not having read earlier books.

I couldn’t resist requesting to read this book, as not only is it set in Melbourne where I live, but the actual suburb I live in too! It was fun to read some of the references to old homes and other landmarks in the area.

This reminded me both of an Agatha Christie type mystery, and also a Phyrne Fisher mystery. The storyline starts with the murder of a famous chef, then brings potential suspects together in a fancy Villa, ready for Dusty to do her thing and solve the case.

It was a fun read.

I received a free review copy from the publisher, via NetGalley - thank you!

Murder on a Melbourne Tram is the sixth book in the Dusty Kent series by Australian author, Brigid George. With her perfect record for solving cold cases, investigative journalist Dusty Kent decides to look into the murder, some fifteen months earlier, of celebrity chef, Rafe Mason.

His secretary, Gracie Chamberlain was charged and convicted, and is currently serving a prison sentence for his murder. His terrible treatment of her constitutes a motive; she was at the scene on the night of his murder; she talked to a friend of wanting to kill him; and she lied to the police about her whereabouts.

But her father, Brian Chamberlain, is certain his daughter did not commit murder, and is sparing no expense to prove her innocent. Dusty Kent assures him she will uncover the truth, whether or not that exonerates his daughter.

But an added impetus is the deathbed confession to the murder made by Rory Flynn, who maintained that Gracie did not murder Rafe. Inconveniently though, he didn’t mention who his two accomplices were before he was himself murdered.

So here is Dusty with her talented sidekick, Maze Master Sean O’Kelly in the role of devil’s advocate to all her theories, ready to apply her skills to four of Rory’s “associates” with dodgy alibis for the time of the murder.

They have been enticed to the luxurious Villa Depaul by a substantial reward if they cooperate with Dusty’s investigation. Engaged by Brian Chamberlain to keep a close eye on Dusty’s safety is footman Bentley Dobbs, who brings along his red, three-legged bloodhound, Cheyenne.

A few days on, are Sean and Dusty making progress? They certainly feel they have learned more about their suspects, and are possibly getting closer to a confession, until one of the four is murdered, throwing a major spanner in the works. There was always a good chance that two of Rafe’s murderers were among the four, and now the remaining three come under close scrutiny. Will Dusty maintain her flawless reputation?

This is a fun cosy Aussie mystery set in Melbourne, with a cast of slightly quirky but still believable characters, a clever plot, plenty of red herrings and a twist or two before the final reveal. Dusty’s educated guessing is supplemented by Sean’s IT talent, the setting will please locals, the Moomba festival makes an appearance, and there’s even a touch of romance.

While it is the sixth in the series, it can easily stand alone, although readers may be tempted to seek out the earlier books. An entertaining read.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Books Go Social.

I found the book initially a bit difficult to get into, but after enough pages had gone by, I started to get a feel for the book and the story.
The story built up slowly and then picked up speed. The ending was rather unique to a mystery/murder suspense book.
It was awesome reading a book again that wasn't set in the "usual" places ie USA or UK, but in a location that was a first for me - Melbourne, Australia.
I will be looking up this author in the future.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me the chance to read this book.

Whodunnit…?
The sixth in the Dusty Kent series of mysteries finds Dusty seeking the killer of a celebrity chef with a mean reputation. Rafe was found strangled but have the police arrested the correct person for the crime? After all, she suffered his wrath on a daily basis. Dusty is not so sure. Elimination of suspects begins by the strategic and logical Dusty. A task too tedious as all the other suspects appear to have an alibi. Enjoyable, well crafted whodunnit with a colourful cast of characters and a solid mystery at heart.

Murder on a tram by Brigid George.
Dusty Kent Mysteries Book 6.
A celebrity chef with an acerbic tongue is dead! Was he murdered by the young woman who suffered his verbal abuse every day? Dusty Kent is determined to hunt down the killer whoever it is.
A slow but good read. Didn't realise this was a series. I did like the cover. I will see about reading from the start. 4*.

This is an entertaining book, a little too cozy for my liking, and it tends to gloss over proper procedures and a little too simplistic in story line.
I did enjoy it , and found it easy to read - it certainly a great book for cozy readers with great twists and turns.

Book six in this series about Dusty Kent, author and investigator of cold cases, aided by her faithful assistant and computer whiz, Sean O'Kelly.

As the title suggests the book is set in Melbourne, in a rather select part of Melbourne actually, and a murder does take place on a tram. Disappointing to me was the fact that it was not a working tram. I visualised the event occurring as the vehicle rattled along Bourke Street but it was not to be.

The author uses a clever method of gathering all the suspects in one place for several days and Dusty interviews them all with vigor. The reader is party to all the same information as Dusty and it is a race to see if you can guess the culprit(s) before she does.

It is a good mystery written very well, but I have now read four of the six books in the series and I still do not have any real attachment to the main characters. I do like to like my MCs so this is why only three stars from me.

I love a good psychological mystery/thriller and this one went above my expectations. The twists and turns, the suspense, the shock factors! It was all enough to keep me reading, especially as I got closer to the end.

Evocative of traditional “whodunnit” mysteries, this book appealed to me as it is set in Melbourne and features the iconic trams. The modern celebrity chef angle brought this firmly into the current context and I really liked the way the characters were described, how they developed through the book and their inter-relationships.

How could I resist a crime book set in Melbourne, featuring our beautiful trams? Murder on a Melbourne Tram is the sixth Dusty Kent mystery, and I didn’t feel I missed anything by jumping in on this one and reading it as a standalone. It centres on the murder of an infamous celebrity chef. Private investigator Dusty Kent has been hired by the father of the young woman charged with the murder to discover the truth – did she kill Rafe Mason, or is the killer one (or more) of the other four suspects her father has narrowed it down to? Dusty and her trusty assistant are on the case “Agatha Christie style” – with everybody gathered under one roof while Dusty applies her apparently renowned “human lie detector” skills to do what the police apparently couldn’t. Some readers will adore Murder on a Melbourne Tram for its gentle style. For me, it’s a nice read, more academic than action. A lot of the story is told via dialogue. There are some murders, some pointed questions stemming largely from good research on behalf of Dusty’s offsider, some moments of heightened tension, a nice conclusion that makes sense of the opening chapter. No real evidence of the human lie detector in action, and the police still have to do their thing to seal the deal. I did love Melbourne in her glory… and her trams though and give it 3.0–3.5 stars.

I really enjoyed this book and the main characters. It was fast paced and keep you guessing right to the end. It was great to learn about Australian phrases and I have downloaded the other books by this author. I would highly recommend this book.

Born and bred in Melbourne, I could not resist either the title or the cover of this book. And George did an excellent job both of capturing my home town, and also some of its cultural vibe. This book is unmistakably Melbourne in its setting.

True crime writer Dusty Kent is engaged by Brian Chamberlain, a wealthy TV magnate to try and clear the name of his daughter Gracie, who was jailed for the murder of a celebrity TV chef. There has been a confession from a petty criminal called Rory Flynn that seems to clear Gracie, but doubt has been cast by Flynn's subsequent murder. Chamberlain's idea is to gather known associates of Flynn's, who don't seem to have an alibi, for a weekend at his mansion, under a promise for them to win a luxury cruise. Once there, Dusty will use her investigative talents to determine which, if any, of the assembled suspects were Flynn's two accomplices.

This setup is highly derivative of Agatha Christie, with a bit of a Colombo feel to it as well, in the condescension shown to the investigator by the suspects. George makes a bit too much of Kent's supposed internal "lie detector", and this never seems convincingly demonstrated. In true Christie style, there are some clues signalled in the plot development that an alert reader will pick up on to identify the guilty, rather than a big clever plot twist that leaves the reader aghast. The interest here is trying to beat Kent, and her offsider Sean, in assigning guilt.

Overall, this book is a bit derivative, and I could have done without all the romantic tension that George tries to insert. This is the sixth book in the series, but I did not feel that not having read the earlier ones lessened my enjoyment. There was some early exposition that would probably make reading the earlier ones less enjoyable, but I didn't think that was a big deal. Overall, this is a solid entry in a well-mined genre, made better by a very good sense of place.

This book centers on the death of a celebrity chef years ago. The chef's secretary was arrested and her father was sure she was innocent. So he arranged a weekend mystery getaway for four suspects, promising them a reward by the end of the weekend. Dusty Kent, a famous detective who has solved every single cold case that she handled, is up for the challenge of bringing the murderer, or murderers, to the spotlight. Together with her trusty assistant Sean O'Kelly, they spend an entire weekend in a grand villa in together with potential killers.

This was a good read, I liked Dusty Kent's confidence, how she stands up as a woman and how she deals with sexist comments from men who underestimate her abilities as a detective just because of her gender. I also liked the writing, I think it was on a medium level of difficulty, maybe because of the Australian terms that I am not aware of, but there is a glossary at the end of the book for those terms.
It was somewhat fast-paced at the beginning but I could really see the gradual decrease of speed as I went along, overall I say it was medium-paced story. I was also disappointed that I guessed who the killer was, but I admire and I acknowledge Dusty Kent's intelligence.
It was a nice read, I was excited to know how it would end and I am very satisfied with the ending. I recommend this.
Thank you NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for this free copy!

Although this book started slowly for me and I had to work hard to really get into it, from about the three-quarter mark it really took off, and I thoroughly enjoyed the ending. This was the first Dusty Kent mystery I have read, and I would certainly read more.

Thank you to the author, BooksGoSocial and NetGalley for providing this ARC; I voluntarily provided this review.

investigative journalist, Australia, secrets, author, whodunit, murder, relationships*****

The wealthy father of the young woman accused and convicted of the murder of her employer has found new evidence that nearly shows that his daughter was falsely convicted. So, he hires Dusty and her business partner to gather the real suspects in a high-end mansion and dangle a cruise to get them to stay and allow Dusty's interrogations. They all had passed the police alibi test, but are they all true? Dusty has a great track record of solving cold cases and she has to work hard to solve this one. Great read!
I requested and received a free temporary e-book copy from BooksGoSocial via NetGalley. Thank you!

Wrongfully accused of murdering her boss, a celebrity chef Rafe Mason, Gracie Chamberlain is put behind bars. This cold case was two years ago, now Gracie’s father, Brain Chamberlain has found evidence that proves his daughter is innocent and recruits none other than Dusty Kent to aid in the release of his daughter. Along with her assistant Sean O’ Kelly, they investigate each murder suspect that Brain Chamberlain’s team has put forth on the night Rafe Mason died.

Lured with the pretense of getting an all-expense-paid trip, if they participate in the event that they were invited to take part in, Dusty uses her skills to determine which among the four suspects is the murderer.
I can say that I love this novel, it was fast-paced, exciting and a fun mystery. I liked the characters; my favorite is one of the suspects. He has a strict and serious attitude most of the time Dusty interrogates him. He gives off the murder vibes, but he is kind and is always subjected to accusation without reason.

It was quite interesting, that each suspect had a connection to the murdered victim but the reason behind the murder was inexcusable and there was also a twist closer to the end of the novel which I was not expecting in terms of how I read the character throughout the novel. I expected that person to be the murderer, but he was also a victim and this led to his downfall because of his past life.

Murder on a Melbourne Tram was really a lovely story, I liked the attraction between Dusty and Sean. They did not directly hint that they have feelings for each other but throughout the novel, you can decipher that they care for each other.

Since this is my first novel in the Dusty Kent Series, I can’t say much about Dusty’s character, but from this novel she is a mystery solver the most obvious, she has an outgoing nature, she cannot see innocents’ lives being held accountable for what they did not do, and she steps in where need be. Sometimes her emotions can cloud her judgement of people, but she is skilled in reading persons based on their expression, attitude, and demeanour.

I would say Brigid George's novel was a catch. I immediately enjoy the novel and could not put it down. It was very interesting and captivating read. Some mystery novels are gruesome, thrilling, and detailed in their own way, but this was a fun and insightful mystery that is suitable for all ages. I would recommend this book and I rate it 5 out of 5 stars.

Murder on a Melbourne Tram starts off by describing how long ago the body of a man, Ralph a celebrity chef had been dead before it was discovered.

As Dusty begins to delve into the case four suspects appear to have had a motive for strangling Chef Ralph. To make matters worse each one has an alibi and thus Dusty is unsure whether one of them is really the killer. As secrets surface the task at hand becomes difficult.

In the end, you will be surprised, pleasantly so.

This book was a cute murder mystery! It had suspense, intrigue, Action, and a goid who done it! It was a decent read , not one of my top favorites but worth reading! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!