Plum Sykes

I received a copy of this book for free for promotional purposes.

This book was a ton of fun!

Many years ago (like when I was 12 or 13) I read one of the author’s other books, Bergdorf Blondes, and remember enjoying it. It’s no surprise that I loved this one!

This book is like Crazy Rich Asians but with rich Brits in the English countryside. I am a sucker for books about rich people. I have always loved reading about the lives of the insanely wealthy and this book does it so well.

The book show more features an eclectic cast of characters ranging from the glamorous housewives themselves to a bikini designer obsessed with trying to meet Jeff Bezos to a pig farmer turned assistant. There were also numerous dogs and horses wrecking havoc. Needless to say, there was never a dull moment.

The writing style is fabulous. It’s sharp and witty and perfectly encapsulated the ridiculousness of the super rich. There were a lot of characters, but the author did an excellent job introducing all of them. Also, the author used to work for Vogue so all the fashion references were spot on.

Overall, this was an entertaining and hilarious book. If you’re looking for something light to read this summer, definitely consider checking this one out! show less

I've met more Bergdorf Blondes in my life than I care to remember. Being pretty much par for the course on the Island of Manhattan, they're everywhere - clogging up Fifth Avenue in their chauffeur-driven luxury cars, buying out Bendel's, Bergdorf's, and Barney's, and wearing purebred pooches on their arms as though the poor little pets were handbags. Needless to say, we are not friends. The Bergdorf Blonde bunch and I do not "get" each other at all; we're like peanut butter and potpourri. show more Still, I can't help but feel for them. Theirs is a strange, scary world, where nothing is more important than money. Not love, not friendship, not happiness. If you're feeling the need for a light, fluffy read that will make you grateful for the fact that you're NOT a Bergdorf Blonde, give this novel a try.
P.S: I'd recommend reading it for free, from the library. show less

This is a nice little whodunnit set in the 1980s Oxford which, unfortunately, is smothered by too many descriptions of the fashion of that era. Going by the author's biography, the fashion references were bound to be there; but their volume didn't sit well with me.
Otherwise, the descriptions of the life in Oxford, the thoughts and priorities of the students, the colourful characters, and the murder mystery itself made for a decent reading.

My family recently went on our summer vacation where I was thrilled to make a small dent in my ever growing TBR by reading nine books, all of which were fun reads (exciting in and of itself because I tend to be a picky reader). The two clear standouts were Party Girls Die in Pearls and Eden by Jeanne Blasberg, two very different but equally fabulous reads. In Party Girl Dies in Pearls, Plum Sykes crafts a clever tale filled with memorable and mostly likeable characters set at Oxford show more University in the mid-1980’s. Sykes’ sly, witty, and occasionally tongue-in-cheek method of telling Ursula’s adventure makes Party Girl Die in Pearls a highly entertaining tale that kept me laughing and marveling at Sykes’ incredible storytelling skills. The mystery was well-done and realistic, and the resolution of the crime was highly satisfying and thankfully not easy to puzzle out. The many twists and turns added both suspense and at times humor to her story.

Having experienced the 80’s in my teens, I thoroughly enjoyed the many 80’s references including Gloria Vanderbilt jeans, tube tops and huge hairstyles. Sykes also employed footnotes to explain or comment on certain references; these footnotes added greatly to the ingeniousness of the book. I highly recommend Party Girls Die in Pearls and cannot wait for the next Oxford Girl Mystery. show less