The Cloak and Dagger Club by Jackie McMahon

#TheCloakandDaggerClub #NetGalley

Historical fiction-Mystery & Thriller-Romance

368 pages

Pub date: 14 July 2026

Four stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Description:

from the publisher

Inspired by Agatha Christie’s real-life Detection Club, a murder among a group of golden age mystery writers meets a second chance romance in this debut novel from author Jackie McMahon.

London, 1930. Lucy Hubbard is on the cusp of achieving her dreams. With her first mystery novel debuting with strong sales and glowing reviews, she’s been invited by Horace Hazelmoor, the king of crime fiction, to join his elite group of writers—the Cloak and Dagger Club.

Thrilled at the opportunity, Lucy finds herself swept up into Horace’s glamorous world at the Ritz hotel. She’s even willing to put up with the inconvenient presence of her former fiancé, Frank Murray, the club’s rising star who is on track to eclipse Horace as Britain’s most popular crime writer.

But when Horace is found with a knife in his back, Frank is the police’s prime suspect. Despite their complicated history, Lucy knows he’s not capable of murder. With suspects galore and the danger rising, these two mystery writers must race to solve the crime—and fight their lingering feelings for each other—before the murderer strikes again.

My thoughts:

Those who enjoy traditional mysteries and/or those who love stories set in the Golden Age of Mystery fiction will, I think, enjoy this debut novel.

The time period is nicely brought to life as readers get to know the members of a club for mystery writers and its organizer. Said organizer, Harold, is not the nicest and manipulates people. Is this one reason that Horace invited new author Lucy to the club? Was he looking to get a reaction from Frank since the two have a history?

Lucy, Frank and the other society members including an Asian writer, a Countess, an American and a former police inspector will be faced with the aftermath of a murder. How will each of them cope?

Will Lucy and Frank solve the case? Whodunnit? What will happen in their relationship by the end of the story? Read this one to find out.

Most readers will hope that this title is the start of a series and will wait (im)patiently for the next book.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for this title. All thoughts are my own.

Editorial Reviews:

From Kirkus Reviews

A wonderfully tricky golden age–style mystery whose clever sleuths are faced with countless motives for murder.

From Publishers Weekly

A charming debut.

Fans of golden age mysteries will be satisfied.