Synopsis

The Phrase “Dying On Stage” Takes on a Whole New Meaning

After fleeing a failed relationship in New York, actress Leah Sexton finds herself as the new Executive Director of the Como Lake Players–a small community theater nestled in a sleepy St. Paul neighborhood. The initial calm of this new position is shattered immediately when a local critic–who had just panned the theater’s latest production–is found murdered on the show’s set.

On the heels of this grisly discovery, the show’s lead actress tumbles down a flight of stairs–or was she pushed? In order to keep the show running and the theater afloat, Leah offers to step into the leading role. The arrival of her ex-boyfriend amid anonymous threats against her and the show requires Leah to act as if her life depends on it. Because it does.

Review

This new cozy series will keep you guessing until the very end.

I always enjoy reading a new series with fresh new characters and settings. The setting is a small theater run out of an old church with limited paid staff but that doesn’t limit Leah and her vision for this theater. Granted she is just a few weeks into this new job when a dead body appears on the stage. This is good and bad, bad because someone has died but good because the theater is packed for the shows by those curious to see where someone died.

Leah is a strong protagonist and has a myriad of talents when it comes to the theater. She is an actress and helped start a theater with her (now ex) boyfriend, Dylan, so she knows how to run a theater and wrangle the actors when they run amok. Leah does not stick her nose into the investigation like many protagonists. It isn’t that she isn’t keeping her eyes open or looking for clues to provide to the police, she just has so much on her plate that she really doesn’t have the time to run a full force investigation on her own. I really like that she is not putting herself in harms way as could happen.

The mystery is two-fold. There is the murder and then there is an accident with one of the actresses that may not be an accident. The list of potential candidates is not large but the killer may be a huge surprise to you as it was to me. I did not suspect this character at all and looking back there are some small clues, but nothing that screams “look at me, I’m a clue!”.

I really like the character, Gloria. She is the Board President/Chair of Leah’s theater and longtime friend. She is a strong supporting character with her own quirks.

There are some potential love interests for Leah. There is Alex, an accountant by day and actor by night. Detective Albertson also shows interest in Leah, but perhaps he wants her insight into the murder. Then, of course, there is Dylan. He may be an ex-boyfriend but that doesn’t prevent him from showing up trying to worm his way back into Leah’s life.

I look forward to seeing what this author has in store for a follow-up book. So many possibilities!  We give this 5 paws up.

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