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Murder in the Dressing Room (A Misty Divine Mystery)

Holly Stars

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A poisoned chocolate. A stolen dress. An elusive catburglar. Drag’s not just dramatic, it’s deadly.

By day, Joe is a hotel accountant, invisibly sitting behind their desk and playing by the rules. By night, donned in sequins, they take to the stage as Misty Divine, a star of the London drag scene.

But when Misty’s drag mother, Lady Lady, is found dead in her dressing room beside a poisoned box of chocolates, Misty and her fellow performers become the prime suspects.

Heartbroken by the loss, and frustrated by the clear biases of the police, Misty must solve the crime before the culprit strikes again. Among the drop-dead gorgeous lurks a cutthroat killer, and Misty Divine won't rest until she finds out who it is.

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Posts about this title from Discotopia | Diverse Books

Discotopia | Diverse Books\ \ Disco (he/they)\ \ • Mar 12

25 book recs for the Trans Rights Readathon (and all year round!)

Are any of these on your TBR? #booktok #trr25 #trr #readathon #bookrecommendations

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Discotopia | Diverse Books\ \ Disco (he/they)\ \ • Sep 14 2025

Hi party people and disco dancers,\ \ It's a weird day here in London, UK. Yesterday my beautiful, diverse, welcoming city was filled with far right anti-immigration protestors. It was an enormous march, reflecting the growing division and right-wing propaganda sweeping the country. It felt so strange that these people marched in London, a wonderful, vibrant, city full of people from all over the world. I've lived here since I was 17, and have (mostly) felt like I belonged here. I love London, and I hope that people know that these right wingers do not reflect its true spirit. London is for everyone. \ \ So, here are 3 books that showcase the beautiful diversity of the city I call home:\ \ Rapunzella, or Don't Touch my Hair by Ella McLeod\ \ \ \ This beautiful YA fantasy book, told in verse, follows a young Black girl from South London, who visits a fantasy world in her dreams, and a myterious girl with magical hair called Rapunzella. As she grows up, gentrification changes her neighbourhood, and the land in her dreams is under threat from an evil force, and she must help the girls she has befriended to defend themselves.\ \ This is a love letter to South London, an area of London with large Caribbean and African communities. I have lived in South London almost my whole adult life and I'm very rpud of it. I'm also sad that gentrification is disrupting the community feel, and the area is often negatively represented in the news. It's full of life, love and family, just like this book.\ \ Murder in the Dressing Room by Holly Stars\ \ \ \ A drag queen (who is non-binary out of drag), finds her drag mother killed, and investigates the murder, delving into London's queer scene.\ \ This was such a fun read, especially for a queer Londonder. it features spaces like The Vauxhall Tavern, the first queer bar I ever went to in the city (an institution), and Old Compton Street, London's gay heart. It's a sparkly celebration of London's fabulousness.\ \ Sweet Heat by Bolu Babalola\ \ \ \ This is techinically a sequel, but I read it as a standalone and loved it! A young Black creative is trying to rebuild her life after an awful break up, but then her ex comes back to town, and the two of them find themselves flung together both socially and professionally. The yearning! The passion! The unique experience of being a Black British creative in London is laid bare, with all its frustrations and triumphs. The party scenes and community moments reminded me of some of my very favourite nights in the city, full of people celebrating themselves, in all their unapologetic brilliance. I adored this book.\ \ Much love, take care,\ \ Disco x

Diverse Discoveries: London

3 books

Posts about this book from across Bindery

Casey the Reader\ \ Casey\ \ • Jul 13

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This was a very slow reading week for me. I plowed through two books last weekend during the heatwave and then...stopped, ha. I couldn't focus, and then a migraine whacked me at the end of the week. Anyway, here's what did get read. Books marked with a * are books I was gifted.\ \ Murder In The Dressing Room by Holly Stars* - A cozy mystery about the murder of the owner of a drag cabaret? Yes, please! With this one, I loved the characters and story but not the execution. The MC kept endlessly rehashing old clues without getting anywhere new, and then everything happened right at the end. I did love that our MC was a nonbinary drag queen, and that we got to see how them being Joe vs being Misty was both separate personalities and also impossible to separate.\ \ I Love You Don't Die by Jade Song* - Anyone who gave this one a low rating is INCORRECT. I love love love Song's writing style. This book is less physically visceral than CHLORINE was, but it's...emotionally visceral? Is that a thing? Well, it is. This book is super heavy, but I loved the explorations of the intersections of friendship and love, life and death.\ \ Well, that's all for this week. Come on over to the Discord and share what you've been reading!\ \ Join for free or login

Mini Review Monday - July 13, 2026

2 books

Casey the Reader\ \ Casey\ \ • Jul 3

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[Now that I'm doing weekly reading roundups on Mondays, it doesn't really make sense to do a fave of the week on Fridays. I don't know exactly what I'm gonna do yet (I KNOW it doesn't have to be the same every week. But my brain does not! It likes routines!), but today I've got my June wrap up and a look forward at some books I hope to pick up in July. (Books marked with a * were gifted to me and books marked with a ^ I was paid to read.)\ \ For June reads, it's no surprise that all my faves (starred) were books I read for Pride Reading Bingo. Queer books forever!\ \ \ \ THE QUARTER QUEEN^\ \ WHY ARE PEOPLE INTO THAT?\ \ LONDON FALLING*\ \ ⭐️ SEVEN DEVILS\ \ ESCALA'S WISH^\ \ ⭐️ THE MAIDENHEADS*\ \ DUNGEON CRAWLER CARL (reread)\ \ ⭐️ SEASONS OF GLASS AND IRON*\ \ DIVERGENT (reread)\ \ POOL HOUSE*\ \ LOVE IS AN EX-COUNTRY\ \ RAISING ARTEMIS^\ \ THE FOREST ON THE EDGE OF TIME*\ \ ⭐ ONE OF THE BOYS*\ \ DEATH OF THE AUTHOR*\ \ ⭐ SHAPES OF LOVE*\ \

- *\ \ Here's what's on deck for July. (Ish...you know how that mood reading life goes.)\ \ \ \ MOSS'D IN SPACE* - This is the July Found Family Book Club pick!\ \ CHAOS* - This space romance series is a fave of mine and I've been saving this latest installment for when I needed a treat.\ \ MAKE ME BETTER* - Gailey is a fave author and normally I would have gobbled this up by now but for some reason I thought it was a fall release and therefore I didn't prioritize the ARC. Whoops!\ \ BLACK SALT QUEEN* - I've been meaning to read this fantasy about royalty, romance, and betrayal for awhile and the sequel recently came out so I better get to it!\ \ I LOVE YOU DON'T DIE* - I'd intended to read this for Pride Bingo and didn't get there. I adored Song's debut CHLORINE and am looking forward to more of that.\ \ THIS PRINCESS KILLS MONSTERS* - Another Pride Bingo fail. I've been very into cozy, comedic fantasy lately so I'm ready to wrap myself up in this one.\ \ OUT OF STEP, INTO YOU* - The last of my Pride Bingo intendeds. I thought Burch's debut YA novel a few years ago was seriously underrated, so watch out for me yelling about this one soon.\ \ Books I'm carrying over from June: My current reads are Love In A F-cked Up World by Dean Spade and Coldwire* by Chloe Gong.\ \ Other miscellaneous July reads: I run an in-person book club that reads spicy books and I our July pick is The Pairing by Casey McQuiston, which will be a reread for me. I also read the first chapter of Murder In The Dressing Room* by Holly Star yesterday. There will be other audiobooks because I can't commute without them, but I haven't picked any yet.\ \ Is that a packed enough TBR for you or what!\ \ Join for free or login](https://caseythereader.binderybooks.com/item/RjgobKuiwId4ySBsPVwi/)

June Wrap Up + July Hopefuls

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Discotopia | Diverse Books\ \ Disco (he/they)\ \ • Mar 12

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Are any of these on your TBR? #booktok #trr25 #trr #readathon #bookrecommendations

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Alex (Pucksandpaperbacks)\ \ Alex (he/him/his)\ \ • Dec 28 2025

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The Paperback Post - Week of 12/28/2025

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Alex (Pucksandpaperbacks)\ \ Alex (he/him/his)\ \ • Dec 21 2025

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The Paperback Post - Week of 12/21/2025

Catch up on what I'm currently reading, filming, and enjoying at the moment for the week of December 21st. Plus, a look into my YouTube schedule for the week.

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Alex (Pucksandpaperbacks)\ \ Alex (he/him/his)\ \ • Dec 14 2025

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Alex (Pucksandpaperbacks)\ \ Alex (he/him/his)\ \ • Nov 1 2025

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Discotopia | Diverse Books\ \ Disco (he/they)\ \ • Sep 14 2025

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