I LOVED this book!! Misty is so empowering and you can really see how that helps Joe to grow. Miles was the most supportive partner and I loved when he started really getting into the sleuthing. Suspects, everywhere! Can’t wait for the next in this series.

Joe Brown is a mild-mannered milquetoast of a hotel accountant by day, but at night they transform themselves into the fabulous drag queen Misty Divine. When Misty’s beloved drag mother Lady Lady is found dead in her dressing room after eating a poisoned chocolate (and wearing a stolen gown that once belonged to the iconic Judy Garland!), Misty and her fellow drag performers quickly become the police’s prime suspects. Frustrated by the police’s institutional bias, Misty is determined solve the crime herself in order to clear her name and find justice for Lady Lady.

A cozy mystery that takes place in the drag scene? Yes please! Author Holly Stars, a drag queen herself, does a great job of setting a glittering scene for the reader, complete with sequins, spangles, wigs, and makeup. I loved reading about Joe’s process to physically transform themselves into Misty, complete with meticulous eyebrow artistry, but what I really loved was how Joe transformed from a shrinking violet into strutting self-confidence when they became Misty. The mystery aspect of the book is a little light, mainly consisting of Misty traipsing around town asking questions of potential suspects. The door is left open for the series to continue, so I’m looking forward to where Misty’s amateur sleuthing will take her in the future.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for providing me an advance copy of this book.

I was so intrigued by this book. I have to say I had no idea on the author was before reading. This was a lot of fun. I loved how transforming from Joe to Misty gave them courage. They wanted to push forward no matter what. It was almost as if they were finding out more about themselves as they were trying to find the murderer. I thought it was very inspiring for anyone reading. The story was entertaining, and the mystery had me enjoying the ride. I had no idea who it was even as they got closer to the reveal. I remember gasping because I did not see that coming. I hope there is a second book because I would love to see what could happen next.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the book in exchange for a review.

thank you so much @berkleypub for the free ebook copy. #Berkleypartner #Berkley

CATEGORY IS: MURDER

MURDER IN THE DRESSING ROOM is a quirky, slightly campy, queer mystery following joe as they take time off their day job to solve the murder of the infamous drag queen lady lady. when joe’s not sure they’re the right person for the job, misty divine is ready to save the day.

i enjoyed seeing misty and joe as distinct characters and personalities, and it was lovely to see joe gaining some of misty’s confidence by the end!

i loved all of the nods to criminal minds, and was happy to read an MC who is just as obsessed with matthew gray gubler as i am.

this book came with gossip and drama, but has an overall darker tone to it. there were definitely some over the top moments, but not nearly as much as i expected.

one of my favorite parts about mysteries is theorizing about whodunnit, and i found that the story dragged (pun intended) for me in the middle because i didn’t know the characters well enough to formulate potential motives.

i was able to guess some of the reveals due to the tell-not-show style of writing (some were just blatantly obvious), but the final reveal?? i was GAGGED.

this would be better for less character-driven readers who just enjoy sitting back and being along for the ride because the story was primarily our MC strolling about town, asking people questions, jumping to conclusions, then asking more questions.

MURDER IN THE DRESSING ROOM paved the way for a sequel, and i would like to see growth in the author’s writing. a lot of scenes felt clunky and there wasn’t much of an overall flow to the story. i’d be open to trying book 2 on audio especially if the author narrates it again.

Netgalley Review ✨️

♡Mystery like no other♡

Drag queens mixed with mystery was so much better than I imagined! I'm stunned that this book is this author's debut novel. It's the perfect combination of comedy, mixed with murder/ mystery, and of course, some spunky drag queens😍🙌

Misty's mentor, Lady Lady, was found dead in her dressing room. Now, all eyes are on Misty as she's the one who had easy access to her room. Now, the hotel accountant Joe isn't stopping until the crime is solved.

This story had many different twists and formed such an enjoyable and unforgettable read! I'm so excited for the next book to come out🥰

Thanks to the author, Berkley Publishing, and Netgalley for the advanced copy!

(Review will be uploaded to Amazon upon release, as well as goodreads, bookbub if applicable, and Instagram.)

Thank you @BerkleyPub for the free book and thank you @PRHAudio for the #gifted listening copy of Murder in the Dressing Room! #BerkleyBookstagram #BerkleyIG #berkley #PRHAudioPartner #PRHAInfluencer #MurderInTheDressingRoom #HollyStars
#AMistyDivineMystery

𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: 𝐌𝐮𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐑𝐨𝐨𝐦
𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫: 𝐇𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐬
𝐍𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫: 𝐇𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐬
𝐏𝐮𝐛 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: 𝐉𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝟏𝟒, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓

I had no clue what to expect with this one, but it was such a fun cozy mystery! Joe is a hotel accountant during the day, but at night, they become Misty Divine, a star on the London drag scene. When Misty’s drag mother is found dead next to a box of chocolates, Misty and the other performers are the prime suspects. Determined to find the truth, Misty must solve the crime before someone else turns up dead. This book was a fun and cozy mystery and one of my favorite parts was that it also incorporated education about drag culture throughout the book. With the way this book ends, it seems to be the start of a Misty Divine new cozy mystery series!

🎧I listened to the audiobook, which was narrated by the author, Holly Stars. Stars was phenomenal! You can’t go wrong with print or audio, but if had to pick one, I would definitely pick the audiobook! There’s just something about listening to the author narrate their own book that just seems right. Holly Stars did an excellent job bringing this story to life and I loved my time listening. The narration deserves 5 stars!

Posted on Goodreads on January 13, 2025: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/144922955?ref=nav_profile_l
**Posted on Instagram - Full Review- on or around January 13, 2025: http://www.instagram.com/nobookmark_noproblem
**Posted on Amazon on January 14, 2025
**-will post on designated date

I was very excited to receive an ARC of Murder in the Dressing Room by Holly Stars. I absolutely love drag performers, drag culture, and especially RuPaul‘s Drag Race. I was so surprised by how quickly the plot started in this book and was totally gripped by the story. I had no idea where this mystery was going, and was surprised until the very end. I do think, however, that there could’ve been some editing down some scenes that tended to go on longer than necessary, and I wouldn’t have minded seeing more of drag culture represented in the story.

Ultimately though this is a 4 1/2 out of five star read for me and I will definitely be recommending it to friends and other readers. Thank you so much to Berkeley and NetGalley for granting me an advanced reader copy of murder in the dressing room.

Fun, slightly campy British drag cozy murder mystery debut in a new series. The plot drags a bit in the middle and gets a bit repetitive in the inner thoughts of the narrator but picks up again with some twists at the end. Misty Divine investigates the murder of her drag mentor Lady Lady in her dressing room as the cast of her fellow drag performers are the top suspects. Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

📚 #BOOKREVIEW 📚
Murder in the Dressing Room by Holly Stars
⭐️⭐️⭐️ / Pages: 356 / Genre: Cozy Mystery
Release Date: January 14, 2024

Joe is a mild mannered hotel accounts assistant by day but at night, Joe transforms into Misty Divine—a confident singing drag queen. As if that’s not exciting enough, Misty finds her drag mother and club boss Lady Lady dead in her dressing room. And she’s at the top of the suspect list, leaving her to find the killer and clear her name.

I thought this was a decent cozy mystery. The drag scene made for a fun setting with interesting characters. Semantically though, I already don’t like the use of “they” when used with individuals because it gets me thinking it’s referring to several people rather than just the one person. I personally think they should have come up with a new pronoun to go with singular verbs rather than plural verbs but that’s just me. And this book complicates it even more by referring to Misty as “she” and Joe as “they.” That took some getting used to.

Thank you, @BerkleyPub and @NetGalley for my gifted copies.

Murder in the Dressing Room is a campy, glittery, drag-filled cozy whodunnit by Holly Stars. Due out 14th Jan 2025 from Penguin Random House on their Berkley imprint, it's 368 pages and will be available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout.

This is a well written cozy series opener featuring a drag queen amateur sleuth whose alter ego Joe is a mild mannered accountant by day in a hotel chain in London. When Misty/Joe literally stumble over the body of their mentor and when the official powers-that-be are more interested in solving a spate of possibly linked high value burglaries than the murder, Misty decides to take matters into her own well-manicured hands.

The plotting and mystery construction are sound, and the characterization is over the top and full of flamboyant dramatic drag queens and a host of non-drag quirky characters who run the gamut from sympathetic to loathsome. One of the most impressive technical details is the author's mostly seamless use of nonbinary pronouns. For readers who *really* don't like the use of singular "they" (get over it, please), the constant use will likely grate. It is noticeable, but fades over time and doesn't distract much, but it is there.

The denouement and conclusion are well crafted, a tiny bit predictable, but overall fair-play and within the rules. It's a strong series opener and it will be nice to see how the characters and series develop.

Four stars. It would be a good choice for public library, home library, gift giving (to a drag friendly mystery fan), or a buddy read.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

I want to say first that I’m a huge proponent of Own Voices, and I love that a drag queen wrote this story about drag queens. I loved the peek into drag culture and the found family aspect.

That being said, this book made me realize that I have a bit of a hard time reading cozy mysteries. They often suffer from some of the challenges this book had, the foremost being a single-minded focus on solving the central murder, with very little attention given to character development or creating a multi-layered story. This was a slow read for me, because it mainly consisted of Misty wandering around the city visiting various people to investigate. It was hard to keep the secondary characters straight because they weren’t developed enough. The solution to the murder didn’t make much sense because I didn’t know much about the culprit or why they would have committed their crimes.

The descriptions of makeup, hair, costumes, clubs, and entertainment are all fabulous here. I hope Misty’s next story has some more depth and nuance.

Thank you to the publisher - I received a complimentary eARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 stars rounded up!

This book was absolutely (Misty) divine! 😉

As cozy mysteries go, this was such a refreshing and exciting concept. I loved all the drag aspects and the deep dive into those details without bogging down the actual story which superb itself. Joe/Misty was an incredible main character and I was rooting so hard for them/her. The whole cast of characters was absolutely incredible; I only wish we would’ve gotten to know Lady Lady more - perhaps in more flashbacks or stories? I don’t know but that’s the only thing that had me wanting more.

I’m so excited this appear to be just the first in a series of mysteries and I definitely can’t wait to see what happens next!

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for the advanced copy of the ebook. Murder in the Dressing Room drops 1/14!

This was a fun and cozy murder mystery! Joe is a thirtysomething accountant by day, and a fiery drag queen by night. Misty Divine (Joe’s drag name), sequined to the nines, is mentored by an equally fierce drag queen named Lady Lady. When Lady Lady is found dead in her dressing room, Misty and her fellow drag queens are thrust into the middle of a murder investigation. Misty quickly realizes that the police are not taking the case seriously, so she embarks on her own quest to find the killer and bring them to justice.

Misty Divine is such an endearing character that you can’t help but love. I also really enjoyed the insight into the drag world. However, I still found it hard to get fully invested in the storyline. The writing style and long chapters felt repetitive and clunky, making it hard for me to get through. Certain points were reinforced too much, coming off as telling rather than showing.

I was able to guess some twists, but was surprised by others! The villain reveal felt somewhat anticlimactic, but that wasn’t a huge negative for me.

Overall, I enjoyed the very unique premise and take on cozy mystery. The underlying theme of institutional bias against the LGBTQ+ community is extremely important and needs to be talked about more. I applaud Holly Stars for bringing light to it, and celebrating the drag world with Misty Divine!

Big thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the gifted eARC!

Murder in the Dressing Room is a fantastic debut by comedian and drag artist Holly Stars. Joe, a reserved hotel accountant by day and drag artist Misty Divine by night, discovers his mentor, Lady Lady, poisoned in her dressing room. When the police seem more interested in her dress than her death, Misty takes matters into her own hands to uncover the killer.

This cozy mystery is full of twists, humor, and vibrant characters, with a great balance between the glitzy drag persona and the real person beneath it. I loved how the story explored the emotions behind the glamour. A brilliant debut—I’m excited for more from Holly Stars. 5 stars!

DNF at about 30% - was very slow to get to that point and I felt like nothing happened. I think it was funny and probably a good time, I just did not connect to it so why keep reading books if they aren’t for me?

This book was fun and I really enjoyed the comedic aspects of it. The mystery was interesting, but the story as a whole fell a bit flat for me. It’s interesting, because the story felt slow but I also think that there weren’t any particular things that I would’ve left out; everything that happened progressed the plot, but it just felt a bit lackluster. I had really high hopes for this book and was a bit let down by the lack of tension in a mystery like this. Joe, although likeable, was just doing anything (and all the wrong things) and it was hard for me to suspend disbelief being that the story was supposedly taking place in the “real world” but none of it seemed particularly believable.

I would recommend this as a fun, easy read to anyone who likes drag and a little mystery! I’m glad I read it and am happy to be able to support queer representation in books. I think this may be the first book I’ve read featuring a non-binary main character, which was so cool!

I had high hopes for this book and was super excited to read it. However, i ended up not feeling connected to the characters or the story, I may try this book again at a later date.

Murder in the Dressing Room by Holly Stars

I don’t normally read straight-up mystery novels (like, ever), but when Berkley sent me the galley of this one, how could I resist that fabulous cover? (No, seriously, I’d frame it.)

The story follows Joe/Misty, a hotel accountant by day and a glamorous drag queen by night. When their drag mother, Lady Lady, is murdered in her dressing room, and the police seem more concerned about her stolen dress than her death, Misty takes matters into her own hands and decides to solve the mystery.

One thing I absolutely loved was how seamlessly the narrative transitions between Joe and Misty. Misty uses she/her pronouns, while Joe uses they/them. You might think that would be confusing, but it’s handled so well that it feels natural. Honestly, I hope readers will see how easy it is to respect someone’s pronouns and apply that understanding in real life.

What really struck me, though, was the portrayal of casual transphobia. It’s not always the loud, hateful kind we see in headlines; sometimes it’s quieter but just as insidious. Characters deliberately deadname others, which is awful, but there are also moments like an Uber driver clocking Misty’s appearance and speeding off. These scenes hit hard, and they’re a stark reminder that, even in a fun and entertaining mystery, reading is inherently political.

As for the mystery itself? I was completely stumped! I had no idea who the killer was, which made the reveal all the more satisfying. Whether that’s because the mystery was expertly written or because I’m terrible at guessing, I can’t say—but I thoroughly enjoyed the ride.

I’d recommend this to anyone looking for a funny, thoughtful, and truly surprising mystery. I’ll definitely be reading more Misty novels as soon as they’re published!

Oh. My. Glam! 💅✨ Holly Stars has hit the fashion scene hard with Murder in the Dressing Room, and it’s a total must-read! This fabulous whodunit takes you behind the glitzy curtains of the fashion world, where the drama is just as fierce as the outfits!

Our sassy heroine is not just a stylist but also a wannabe detective, and when a shocking murder happens at a big fashion show, she’s on the case! 🎭💔 It’s like Clue meets The Devil Wears Prada, and I’m living for it!

With tons of laughs, juicy twists, and a cast of fabulous characters, this book keeps you guessing and giggling. So grab your favorite drink, get comfy, and dive into this stylish mystery! You won’t regret it! 💖📚✨

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for my early copy!
Pub. Date: Jan. 14, 2025

This is a unique murder mystery that introduces us to Misty Divine, a drag queen with a secret life as a hotel accountant. The story starts when Misty’s mentors and drag mother Lady Lady is found dead in her dressing room, and Misty becomes determined to uncover the truth behind her death.
This book is full of humor, drama, and suspense if you in the mood for a cozy mystery thriller with lots of drama this is for you .Thank you netgalley