A Beautiful Poison by Lydia Kang

The synopsis of the plot sounds so thrilling, I was really looking forward to this book.  Set during the later years of the Great War a privileged New York socialite and her less fortunate friends are drawn in to a complex plot where their nearest and dearest appear to be being murdered and the murderer is mocking them.  Promising twists and turns aplenty I was ready to become absorbed by this dark tale.

Unfortunately, what I actually got was a rather insipid tale with lifeless characters who never step off the page.  In fact, the maid Lucy/Lucia was potentially the most interesting person in the whole book and we know so very little about her except that she is initially set up as being a potential murderer of the first victim.  We only find out a little more when Spanish Flu claims her life.  I think it speaks volumes that the most memorable and empathetic character appears briefly two or three times through the book.

The main protagonists of Allene (rich socialite, unendingly self involved), Jasper (fallen on hard times and is desperate to prove himself) and Birdie (shallow and rather unpleasantly manipulative) are to the one completely unlikeable stereotypes of the pre-flapper era.  I could not find one thing that redeemed any of these characters and it did make me wonder why the murderer didn't just cut straight to the chase and bump the three of them off and put us, the reader, out of our misery.

The writing itself is surprisingly good.  It is a surprise as the characterisation is poor and the plot is actually not that far behind.  There is a good attempt to build tension within the tale but, sadly, the people in the story just aren't up to it so it all falls a little bit flat on the page.  The historical aspects of the story are dealt with very well and you get a feeling of the fear in the populace due not only to the new draft for men to fight in Europe but also the unstoppable tide of the Spanish Flu that is sweeping all before it.  It is for that reason that it got 2 Stars from me and not just the 1 it would have received based on characters and story.