Murder in the Vatican: Review

In Murder in the Vatican: The Church Mysteries of Sherlock Holmes, Ann Margaret Lewis successfully brings us three tales that John Watson mentions in his stories but never gave readers the details. The Giant Rat of Sumatra has often been the subject of authorial speculation, but this the first time I have found renditions of "the sudden death of Cardinal Tosca," "the Vatican cameos," and "the two Coptic Patriarchs." Lewis handles the well-known characters of Homes and Watson with great care and attention to the ways and writings of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. And in the second story (cameos), she turns the narration over to Pope Leo XIII and manages a charming narrative that remains true to the spirit of Holmes. 

Unlike many Americans who have written Holmes pastiches, Lewis makes us believe that these really could be stories penned by Dr. Watson and discovered in that battered dispatch box. The details are vivid and the tales feel authentic. She also manages to work theological explanations into the narrative without making readers feel as though they have sat through a religious lecture. Full marks for Holmesian atmosphere as well as pretty little puzzles for the master detective to unravel. Holmes is given full scope to exhibit his famous observational powers and deductive reasoning. An added bonus is his interactions with a certain soon-to-be Father Brown and the period-style pen and ink illustrations. Four stars.

India's Love Lyrics: Mini-Review

So....India's Love Lyrics by Laurence Hope ("collected and arranged" by) are not Indian poems collected by Hope, nor is Laurence Hope really a man. What India's Love Lyrics is...is a collection of appallingly bad poetry written by Adela Florence Nicolson which she tried to convince readers were translations of various Eastern poets. Before I realized that these were original poems by a British writer, I was ascribing the poor lyrical quality to a bad translation.  But, honest, nothing was lost in the translation. All the poor imagery, forced rhyme and rhythm are authentic and right there in their original language--unfortunately. Wikipedia tells me that Nicolson was "one of the most popular romantic poets of the Victorian and Edwardian eras." How very interesting that I never came across her poetry in any of my college courses....

I picked this book up long ago and far away (1989!) at my beloved Mason's Rare & Used Bookstore in Wabash. I thought it made a nice addition to my vintage bookshelf (and it does look rather nice sitting there on the shelf)...but it certainly has added very little to my poetic repertoire. I can say with great confidence that I will not be quoting Nicolson the next time I am looking for just the right poetic verse for an occasion.  One star.

 

March Mount TBR Reviews

Link up your reviews below.

March Vintage Bingo Reviews

 

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The Darker the Night: Review

So, apparently the theme for this year's mysteries is...hypnotism. The Darker the Night by Herbert Brean is the third book I've read this year to employ hypnotism as a major plot point. We've had hypnotism to provide an alibi; we've had an entire household hypnotized and creating red herrings all over the place with their odd behavior. This round we have one of the suspects, self-proclaimed hypnotist Gary Price, declaring that men and women he hypnotizes "will obey me without question. I can turn honest men into thieves and virtuous women into wantons. I can, by suggestion, make a man kill himself or another man...." And that is the crux of the matter.  Can he? And, more importantly, did he? 

Freelance photojournalist Reynold Frame (who was introduced to mystery readers in Wilders Walk Away) has just finished a hefty assignment in New York City and is looking for a little rest and relaxation during the Thanksgiving holiday before heading to Massachusetts to marry the girl of his dreams, Constance Wilder). While at loose ends, he notices an article in the paper that reports the mysterious death of the uncle of a girl he'd known in college. The police are calling it either an accident or a suicide, but when Reynold discovers that the lawyer had been in contact with Gary Price and his crowd he begins to wonder about the power of suggestion. Then another member of the group takes a plunge off her own balcony...and Reynold suspects that Lee Ballantyne (the niece) may be next on the list if somebody doesn't do something. Despite having sworn off detecting, he decides that "somebody" must be him.

If you're looking for a twisty, Golden Age brainteaser, then this isn't it. But if you want a fast-paced mystery that is lots of fun, easy on the brain, and a quick read for that Vintage Bingo Challenge, then this may be what you're looking for. And--Brean is the first of the three to use hypnotism without making it too cheesy and unbelievable. The hypnotism actually works into the plot without solving all of the problems for our hero. The crime itself isn't quite as mystifying as Wilders Walk Away, but still a nice satisfying read.  Three and a half stars.

February Wrap-Up & POM Award

Once again in 2014 I will be combining my monthly wrap-up post with Kerrie's Crime Fiction Pick of the Month over at Mysteries in Paradise.

Image Credit

I've managed to keep a pretty good pace here in February--not quite as good as the nineteen in January, but still reading away.


Total Books Read: 16
Total Pages: 3569
Average Rating: 3.58 stars
Top Rating: 4 stars (Six books)
Percentage by Female Authors: 44%
Percentage by US Authors: 75%
Percentage by non-US/non-British Authors: 13%
Percentage Mystery: 75%
Percentage Fiction: 88%
Percentage written 2000+: 31%
Percentage of Rereads: 0%
Percentage Read for Challenges: 100% {It's easy to have every book count for a challenge when you sign up for as many as I do.}  
Number of Challenges fulfilled so far: 3 (8%)




AND, as mentioned above, Kerrie has started us up for another of Crime Fiction Favorites. What she's looking for is our Top Mystery Read for each month. In February, I read twelve books that may count as mysteries--plus one non-fiction book that gives advice on writing a mystery of my own.


Death by Chick Lit by Lynn Harris (3 stars)
Exit Actors, Dying by Margot Arnold (3 stars)
Where There's Love, There's Hate by Adolfo Bioy Casares & Silvina Ocamp (4 stars) 
Shelf Life by Douglas Clark (3.5 stars)
 Gambit by Rex Stout (4 stars)
 Dandy Gilver & the Proper Treatment of Bloodstains by Catriona McPherson (3 stars) 
Death Walks on Cat Feet by D. B. Olsen (3.75 stars)
Cursed in the Act by Raymond Buckland (3 stars)  
Made Up to Kill by Kelley Roos (4 stars)
 Ellery Queen's 20th Anniversary Annual by Ellery Queen, ed (4 stars)  
The Sound of Broken Glass by Deborah Crombie (3.75 stars)
The Purple Parrot by Clyde Clason (3.75 stars)
 
Non-Fiction
You Can Write a Mystery by Gillian Roberts


And of those twelve books I handed out three 4-star rating to Gambit by Rex Stout, Made Up to Kill by Kelley Roos, and Ellery Queen's 20th Anniversary Annual by Ellery Queen, ed. The fun in Gambit is that Archie actually gets to the solution before Wolfe and I got it at the same time as Archie...so we both outdid the genius. And Made Up to Kill is a fun romp through the theatrical world of the late 1930s/1940. Lots of eccentric characters with idiosyncrasies to help muddy the waters and keep the reader guessing.  But my choice for the POM Award this month is the Ellery Queen collection of short stories from the mystery magazine.  

Every story is a winner on one level or another and several are just flat-out amazing. My favorites are "The Purple Is Everything" by Dorothy Salisbury Davis (when a theft really isn't a theft), "The Washington Party Murder" by A. H. Z. Carr (where Sarah Burton, famous foreign correspondent, returns to Washington DC to discover what really happened the night her husband died), "The Cobblestones of Saratoga Street" (in which we learn the real reason Miss Augusta & Miss Louisa don't want the cobblestones removed), and "Murder Ad Lib" by Helen McCloy (in which Dr. Basil Willing picks up on a clever clue on a "dark and stormy night).

Book Bingo: Two More Bingos & Challenge Commitment Complete

As I mentioned at sign-up, I will most likely cover the card--but my commitment for the challenge was to complete two Bingos. Including those finished today (with The Man in the High Castle), I now have three Bingos! Challenge commitment complete!  More books to come....

Bingo down the Mix It Up column:
Non-Fiction: The Kingdom by the Sea by Paul Theroux (1/20/14)
Classic: The Man in the High Castle by Philip K Dick [classic Science Fiction; 1962 Hugo Winner] (2/27/14)
Reread: Shake Hands Forever by Ruth Rendell (1/13/14)
Free Square: The Xibalba Murders by Lyn Hamilton (1/18/14)
Contemporary: Death by Chick Lit by Lynn Harris (2/1/14)


Also Bingo Across 2nd Row:

Two TBR Books:
1. The Skeleton in the Clock by Carter Dickson (1/8/14)
2. Dangerous Visions #3 by Harlan Ellison, ed (1/11/14)

Mix It Up--Classic: The Man in the High Castle by Philip K Dick [classic Science Fiction; 1962 Hugo Winner] (2/27/14)

Two  Series Books
1. Exit Actors, Dying by Margot Arnold [#1 of Penny Spring & Sir Toby Glendower series] (2/4/14)
2. Shelf Life by Douglas Clark [Masters & Green series] (2/6/14) 

Genres--Free Square (Science Fiction): Shakespeare's Planet by Clifford D. Simak (1/6/14) 

Two New Release Books
1. The Wonder Chamber by Mary Mallory [pub. Jan 2014] (1/15/14)
2. Cursed in the Act by Raymond Buckland [pub. Jan 2014] (2/16/14) 

Previous Bingo--down the TBR Pile column.
 

The Man in the High Castle: Review

The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick (synopsis):  It's 1962 in America...at least what America has become, carved up into various sections by the victors in the last World War.  You know, the one where Hitler and the Nazis with the help of their Axis cronies ran roughshod over the Allies and moved on to world domination. Germany controls the eastern portion of the US, most of rest of North and South America as well as Europe and the Middle East and Africa. Japan gets the island nations and western America...and Italy?  I don't believe Italy got anything. Oh...and near everybody with dark skin has been obliterated, but those who remain find themselves back in slavery and what Jews have managed to escape the holocaust try to hide themselves behind plastic surgery and changed names.

PKD's novel is alternate history at its best--interesting themes about reality, brilliant world-building, and an all-too believable alternate timeline.  It doesn't take much suspension of disbelief to accept that given certain twists of fate the Allies may have fallen before the relentless force of the Nazi war machine and the Japanese sea superiority. It's scary to think that just a few changes here and there and this very possibly could have happened (or something much like it). He also makes the reader really think about the nature of reality and how fragile the reality we experience can be.

But I have to say that I didn't find myself very involved with the characters. I didn't much care what happened to them...and, really, they didn't seem to care much either. Even when they said they did. The individual lives seemed to want to weave together into a coherent story and yet they managed to avoid doing so. And I kept wondering about the Man in the High Castle...yes, there really is such a fellow.  He's a recluse who has barricaded himself behind charged barb wire and other fortifications...but although there are mentions of him sprinkled throughout, there really isn't any purpose to bringing him up--at least no purpose plot-wise.  I can definitely see him fitting into the themes of reality/unreality as someone who refuses to participate in the current reality.  But he does nothing to further the plot.

After reading this and Do Android's Dream of Electric Sheep?, I've come to the conclusion that PKD really isn't the science fiction author for me.  He has produced some interesting and somewhat thought-provoking themes in his novels, but as stories they just don't hold me the way Ellison and Zelazny do. They manage to build interesting worlds, throw thought-provoking ideas at you, and tell a spectacular story all at the same time.  PKD hasn't managed all three in one place in anything I've read yet.  Three stars for world-building and interesting themes only.


Quote:

He glanced at the girl beside him. God, they read a book, he thought, and they spout on forever. (p. 66)

To Kingdom Come: Review

To Kingdom Come is the second book in Will Thomas's Barker and Llewellyn historical mystery series set in Victorian England. Thomas Llewellyn has been in the employ of enquiry agent Cyrus Barker for a mere two and a half months--only one month has passed since the events in their debut novel, Some Danger Involved, and already the stakes have gone up dramatically.

Two bombs have gone off in London--destroying a portion of Scotland Yard and the Junior Carlton Club. Members of the Irish Republic Brotherhood claim responsibility and threaten more attacks to come if Parliament does not grant Ireland liberation from English rule within a month. Barker offers his service to the Home Office and comes up with a plan to discover and infiltrate the cell of the IRB responsible for the bombings. He and Llewellyn pose as explosive experts in order to win the group's confidence. But will they be able to maintain their cover long enough to allow Scotland Yard to arrest the dissidents without actually blowing up Parliament and the Prince of Wales?

Once again Thomas gives us an interesting, believable historical mystery set in the Holmsian period with far more action than most of the Holmes stories. The writing and description are up to par, but I have to say that I did not find the mystery or the story overall to be nearly as captivating as the debut.  I still enjoy the interactions between Barker and Llewellyn...as well as with the other supporting characters and Thomas portrays the Irish resistance with just as much flair. But the first story was a more authentic mystery--the hunt for the killer of a young Jewish scholar with all the suspects and clues to follow of a standard detective novel.  That is far more to my taste than the cloak of espionage that covers our heroes. Infiltrating the IRB and spending time manufacturing bombs just really didn't interest me as much. It also didn't help that the mastermind behind the group was obvious from about the midpoint of the book

However, slight misgivings about the topic aside, Thomas has produced a lively second novel--one that is a quick read and full of atmosphere and historical detail. I will definitely continue the series.  Three and a half stars.

The Purple Parrot: Review

Here we have another classic Golden Age impossible crime. This one features Professor Theocritus Lucius Westborough, expert in Roman history and occasional amateur sleuth, and involves the death of an irritable wealthy book collector. Hezekiah Morse was never adverse to a little under-handed dealing to get his way--especially if his way had as an objective one of many coveted books. So no one is terribly surprised that he's been found stabbed to death and there are plenty of people who might have wanted him dead. The only difficulty is that none of the obvious suspects--from the big-time paving contractor out for blood after an accusation of slander to the mysterious Mr. Wells who visited Morse on the night of his death--could have possibly done the deed.

The only one who could have killed Morse is his granddaughter, Sylvia--a young woman who was about to be disinherited if she didn't marry the man Morse had chosen for her. And Barry Foster, Morse's lawyer and Sylvia's fiancé, was not the man Morse had in mind. Under the terms of a yet-to-be-signed will: if Sylvia is a good girl and marries Morse's favorite, Thomas Vail, two-thirds of the estate will be hers and a third will go to Vail. If she defies her grandfather and marries anyone else, then she will inherit nothing but his terracotta statue of a purple parrot. She'll either be an heiress or the owner of a rather gaudy knick-knack.

On the night in question, Sylvia and Foster have just become engaged. Barry has told her of the plans Morse has for his new will and Sylvia insists on going at once to let her grandfather know that she loves Foster and intends to marry him. When they reach the house, she makes Barry promise to give her ten minutes with her grandfather before coming up to join them.  Nine minutes go by, there is a scream and Barry and the butler, Baines, both reach the study at the same time--to find Morse stabbed through the heart with his own knife.

According to Sylvia, she had sat in her room (adjoining the study) for the nine minutes, removing make-up (which her grandfather hated) and working up the courage to tell him her news. But when the police arrive in the form Captain O'Ryan and Detective Johnny Mack--with a little man with a long name in tow--and discover that the main study door was locked, that there is a sheer drop from the study windows (and no marks on the ground below of a ladder or a man falling), and that the only other way in was through Sylvia's room, they come to the obvious conclusion that Sylvia killed Morse.

Sylvia denies it. Barry, of course, believes her. But they have to admit that the evidence is rapidly stacking up against them. Fortunately, the quiet little man who has accompanied the police, believes there is more to the case than meets the eye. It's up to Professor Westborough to prove that rare wine, priceless books, and an apparently worthless bird from New Zealand are more important than all the clues that seem point directly at Sylvia.

This is a very pleasant little puzzler with quite a few twists and turns--and even though our amateur detective (in a very Philo Vance sort of way) is the owner of all sorts of esoteric knowledge, one doesn't really need to have that knowledge to work towards the solution. I got inklings and was feeling my way towards the right answer even without the good professor's know-how. I must say, however, that I am better pleased with Barry Foster's solution to the impossible crime than I am with the one which is proven to be correct.  Spoiler (again, I'm using faint font color that can be highlighted, if you don't mind a huge pointer towards the solution): I'm just really not all that sold on hypnotism as part of the solution.  This is the second novel in as many months to use that bit of, pardon the pun, hocus pocus to help wrap-up the mystery.  Granted, the hypnotism is more believable this time round (after all, we're only hypnotizing one person this time instead of a whole houseful), but Barry's solution of the make-shift bridge between the buildings makes WAY more sense. And I was compelled to think about those holes in the side of the house repeatedly...

But that small quibble aside, I thoroughly enjoyed meeting Professor Westborough and following him as he uncovered the clues to the real culprit's identity. Overall, a great read and a nice visit to the Chicago area of the 1930s.  3.75 stars, rounded to 4 on GoodReads.

This book fulfills the "Color in the Title" square on the Golden Vintage Bingo card--and gives me my first Bingo!

Challenges met: Vintage Mystery Challenge, What An Animal, Mount TBR Challenge, Cruisin' Thru the Cozies, Bookish TBR, Color Coded Challenge, Century of Books, Outdo Yourself, How Many Books, My Kind of Mystery, 100 Plus Challenge, Book Bingo 

The Sound of Broken Glass: Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tour

The Sound of Broken Glass

by Deborah Crombie

on Tour Feb 24th - March 31st, 2014

Book Details:

Genre: Mystery
Published by: William Morrow
Publication Date: February 25, 2014
Number of Pages: 384
ISBN: 9780061990649
Purchase Links:

Synopsis:

In the past. . .home to the tragically destroyed Great Exhibition, a solitary thirteen-year-old boy meets his next-door neighbor, a recently widowed young teacher hoping to make a new start in the tight-knit South London community. Drawn together by loneliness, the unlikely pair forms a deep connection that ends in a shattering act of betrayal.

In the present. . .On a cold January morning in London, Detective Inspector Gemma James is back on the job while her husband, Detective Superintendent Duncan Kincaid, is at home caring for their three-year-old foster daughter. Assigned to lead a Murder Investigation Team in South London, she's assisted by her trusted colleague, newly promoted Detective Sergeant Melody Talbot. Their first case: a crime scene at a seedy hotel in Crystal Palace. The victim: a well-respected barrister, found naked, trussed, and apparently strangled. Is it an unsavory accident or murder? In either case, he was not alone, and Gemma's team must find his companion—a search that takes them into unexpected corners and forces them to contemplate unsettling truths about the weaknesses and passions that lead to murder. Ultimately, they will question everything they think they know about their world and those they trust most.

Read an excerpt:

Browse Inside The Sound of Broken Glass: A Novel by Deborah Crombie

Author Bio:

Deborah Crombie is a native Texan who has lived in both England and Scotland. She lives in McKinney, Texas, sharing a house that is more than one hundred years old with her husband, three cats, and two German shepherds. Visit Deborah at her website, connect with her on Facebook, and follow her on Twitter.

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MY TAKE: I was so very pleased when the offer of a paperback review copy for Deborah Crombie's latest mystery came up from my friends at Partners in Crime Virtual Tours. It had been a while since I had last visited with Detective Superintendent Duncan Kinkaid and Detective Inspector Gemma James. I have to confess that I haven't read every single entry in the series, but such is Crombie's writing that I was able to slip into the story with very little trouble--yes, the kids are a bit older and there is a new foster daughter added to the mix but not being up to speed on the family life did not detract from the reading experience at all. As I've mentioned in previous reviews of Crombie's novels, there is no doubt that she can write. And can write is such a way that will draw the reader in and not let her go until the last word has been read. One of her strengths is her descriptions of people and place--and particularly the relationships between people. Watching Kinkaid interact with his foster daughter as well his friends is delightful. And seeing Gemma's interactions with her team was interesting as well. I also appreciate the way she handles her continuing characters--there are enough real-life changes to make the characters believable without major catastrophes and shocks that might cause too much upheaval.

The mystery itself is satisfying with ties to the past and several suspects that must be investigated. I enjoyed following up the leads along side Gemma and her team (and Duncan in the background). My two small quibbles--1. everybody seemed to have connections to everyone else (even Gemma and Duncan have connections to some of the suspects) and 2. The cliffhanger at the end...there were teeny (tiny, really tiny) indications that something was in the air, but, really, to leave it like that? That's one way to make sure I'll read the next one...and I will, trust me, I will.

The Kincaid and James series is recommended reading for anyone who likes cozy police procedurals and mysteries with recurring characters that you learn to like and enjoy watching the relationships grow. 3.75 stars--rounded up to 4 on GoodReads.

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Tour Schedule:

2/25 ~ Review @ My Readers Block
2/26 ~ Review @ Deal Sharing Aunt
2/27 ~ The Reading Frenzy
2/28 ~ Review by Carol Wong
3/03 ~ Review @ Celtic Lady Reviews
3/04 ~ Review @ 3 Partners in Shopping, Nana, Mommy, & Sissy, Too!
3/05 ~ Review @ Deco My Heart
3/07 ~ Review @ A Bookish Girl
3/12 ~ Interview & Review @ Thoughts in Progress
3/13 ~ Review @ Melinas Book Blog
3/17 ~ Review @ Marys Cup of Tea
3/18 ~ Interview @ Writers and Authors
3/18 ~ Review @ Tales of a Book Addict
3/19 ~ Review @ Vics Media Room
3/20 ~ Review @ Views from the Countryside
3/26 ~ Review @ Lazy Day Books
3/28 ~ Review @ Book Dilettante

Ellery Queen's 20th Anniversary Annual: Review

Ellery Queen's 20th Anniversary Annual is a collection of short stories that contains an example of nearly every mystery form in the genre--from pure puzzles to spy thrillers; from whodunnits to howdunnits to whydunnits. There are professional detectives and amateurs investigating crimes that cover the gamut from blackmail, theft, frame-up, and sabotage to the ultimate crime...murder. And our authors include well-known names such as Nicholas Blake, Paticia Highsmith and Helen McCloy as well as those unfamiliar to me like A. H. Z. Carr, Holly Roth, and J. F. Pierce. There are serious crime fiction pieces and even a send up of Ellery Queen himself in a lovely little story starring Celery Green.

Every story is a winner on one level or another and several are just flat-out amazing. My favorites are "The Purple Is Everything" by Dorothy Salisbury Davis (when a theft really isn't a theft), "The Washington Party Murder" by A. H. Z. Carr (where Sarah Burton, famous foreign correspondent, returns to Washington DC to discover what really happened the night her husband died), "The Cobblestones of Saratoga Street" (in which we learn the real reason Miss Augusta & Miss Louisa don't want the cobblestones removed), and "Murder Ad Lib" by Helen McCloy (in which Dr. Basil Willing picks up on a clever clue on a "dark and stormy night).  Four stars for the collection over all.

This book fulfills the "Short Story Collection" square on the Silver Vintage Bingo card.

XCIA's Street Art Project: Review

Former CIA agent, Hank O'Neal traveled through the cities of the world for over 40 years. He was also an amateur photographer on the lookout for a project that he could really sink his teeth into. He found himself drawn to the graffiti of city life--a genre now known as street art--and he began taking photographs that became a chronicle of the evolution of this interesting and in-your-face art form. His snapshots showcase street art masterpieces by the famous (Bansky and Hambleton) to unnamed and anonymous, but equally talented neighborhood graffiti artists. He has also captured the elusive quality of this medium--showing the same areas over a period of time with various street art murals...or worse-case scenario with the art work painted over in solid shades of black and grey.

Beautiful and sometimes haunting.  Four stars.

Book Bingo: First Bingo Complete!

First Bingo--the easiest one for me...books from my TBR pile.

Squares Completed:

TBR Pile
One Book:
The Poison Belt by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1/2/14)

Two Books:
1. The Skeleton in the Clock by Carter Dickson (1/8/14)
2. Dangerous Visions #3 by Harlan Ellison, ed (1/11/14)

Three Books
1. Angels & Spaceships by Fredric Brown (1/12/14)
2. Triumph by Philip Wylie (1/18/14)
3. Seven Footprints to Satan by A. Merritt (1/22/14)

Four Books
1. Death on the Aisle by Frances & Richard Lockridge (1/24/14)
2. The Adventure of the Eleven Cuff-Buttons by James Francis Thierry (1/26/14)
3. Other Times, Other Worlds by John D. MacDonald (1/26/14)
4. Too Much of Water by Bruce Hamilton (1/27/14)

Five Books
1. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick (1/29/14)
2. Darkness at Pemberley by T. H. White (1/30/14)
3. Gambit by Rex Stout (2/8/14)
4. Death Walks on Cat Feet by D. B. Olsen (2/13/14)
5. Made Up to Kill by Kelley Roos (2/18/14)

Made Up to Kill: Review

Made Up to Kill is the first in what would become the Jeff and Haila Troy series by Kelley Roos (husband and wife team, Audrey Kelley & William Roos). This debut novel takes place before Jeff and Haila are married--though Haila is working hard on getting Jeff to commit. Haila Rogers has landed a part in a Broadway production of the British drawing room comedy "Green Apples." She has also acquired a roommate in the person of the young co-star, Carol Blanton. Carol's performances in rehearsal promise a hit on opening night--but then disaster strikes the company.  

Carol has an attack of laryngitis and her star-struck understudy is thrilled to think that she's finally going to get her big chance. She's the only one who is thrilled because the understudy is nowhere near the actress that Carol is. A last-minute recovery allows Carol to perform after all...in what is nearly her last performance of all time. Someone added a near-lethal dose of morphine to Carol's drink in the last the act and only a quick trip to the hospital saves the actress for future roles.

The very next night the leading lady is stabbed to death while wearing Carol's cloak in the dark and shadowy area backstage. It definitely look like someone is determined to get rid of the young actress. The police are doing all they can--following up mysterious notes from someone named Lee Gray; guarding Carol night and day; following the members of the cast; interviewing everyone--but the play's producer thinks that more can be done. He promises Jeff Troy a big check if he can discover who has decided to eliminate his actresses. 

This is a fun romp through the theatrical world of the late 1930s/1940. Lots of eccentric characters with idiosyncrasies to help muddy the waters and keep the reader guessing. Jeff and Haila traipse all over New York City following up clues and questioning the cast. And there are plenty of clues to follow--Kelley Roos plays fair with the reader and mystery buffs should be able to untangle most if not all of the plot. I have a couple more of these waiting on the TBR pile and I am looking forward to them with great anticipation!  Four stars.

This fulfills the "Set in the US" square on the Golden Vintage Bingo card. First Bingo on the horizon!

Challenges Met: Vintage Mystery Challenge, Mount TBR Challenge, Cruisin' Thru the Cozies, Bookish TBR, Century of Books, Outdo Yourself, Adam's TBR Challenge, How Many Books, My Kind of Mystery, 100 Plus Challenge, Book Bingo, A-Z Reading Challenge, 52 in 52 Challenge