Party Girls Die in Pearls.

Ursula arrives at Oxford University eager to study and perhaps attend a few balls and parties. That is until she discovers the body of one of Oxford's elite students who has been gruesomely murdered. Ursula and flamboyant American student Nancy are soon swept up in a web of blue bloods and intrigue. Plunged into a whirl of dinners and parties the duo become amateur sleuths (and Ursula is asked to write the lead story in revered college newspaper, The Cherwell) as they try to solve the murder mystery whilst navigating their way through the upper crust social scene.

Party Girls Die in Pearls is the first comedic murder mystery from Vogue contributor Plum Sykes. It's a light hearted romp through 1980's Oxford peppered with larger than life characters. It's a traditional English style 'whodunnit' Agatha Christie type murder mystery, not a modern day psychological thriller. The story zips along and it is an easy and amusing read. 

I didn't love this, the plot was pretty good but I found that the characters were all a little over the top and their high class antics became somewhat tiresome and repetitive after a while. The best part of the book for me were the fantastic descriptions of 1980's fashion that were spot on and evocative. 

I have read the author's two previous books and found that I preferred them to this one but if you like an old fashioned mystery with a touch of humour and high fashion Party Girls will doubtlessly keep you entertained.