Death of a Showman

January 15, 2021
Backing a theatrical extravaganza has serious consequences for a New York socialite and her maid in 1914. The news that songwriter Leo Hirschfeld, her former not-quite-boyfriend, is rehearsing a Broadway-bound play gives lady's maid Jane Prescott a pleasant tingle, followed by a heart-wrenching thud at the news that Two Loves Have I features the lovely Violet Tempest, who's now Leo's wife. After lady of the house Louise Tyler warns the rest of the staff to be mindful of Jane's tender feelings, the young matron is intrigued when Leo turns up to see not Jane, but Louise herself. Hoping to interest her in making a modest investment, the enterprising young man invites her to a rehearsal. Since propriety demands that Louise can't be backstage alone at a place as disreputable as a theater, Jane accompanies her. As her employer falls head over heels for the magic of the stage and invests in the show, Jane develops a grudging affection for the theater folk, befriending over-the-hill comedian Roland Harney and his dog, Peanut. She especially appreciates the faces behind the scenes, from Harriet Biederman, who keeps the show's complicated finances straight, to Adele St. John, whose costumes make Violet and leading lady Blanche Arden into the magical creatures they appear onstage. The person Jane bonds with least is producer Sidney Warburton. So she feels no great loss when the tyrannical moneyman is shot dead in the men's room at Rector's, where the cast is having a late supper. It's only when Detective Harrison J. Fullerton begins to ask pointed questions about Leo's relationship with Warburton that Jane realizes the full impact of the murder on both her newfound theater friends and her faithful employer. There's no upstairs or downstairs backstage. The show must go on.

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Starred review from March 19, 2021

In the fourth "Jane Prescott" mystery (following Death of an American Beauty), Fredericks's early 1900s sleuth/maid Jane encounters murder and heartbreak in New York City's theater district. When Jane and her employers, Louise and William Tyler, return to New York after a season in Europe, Jane hears that her former beau, composer Leo Hirschfeld, has made it big with a Broadway show in the works--and he has married chorus girl Violet Tempest. Jane is confused and hurt, even though she broke it off with Leo before leaving for the Continent, when he told her he wasn't the marrying kind. But Leo reenters Jane's world when he asks Louise to be a backer of his show. It wouldn't be proper for Louise to go to the theater alone, so Jane accompanies her to rehearsals. They meet a motley cast of characters: Violet; a famous dancing duo; a comic actress and her caddish paramour; and volatile and vicious producer Sidney Warburton. When Warburton is killed at a famous theater eatery, the suspects are many, including Leo. Jane has her issues with Leo, but she's certain he's not a murderer. She and a friend, newspaperman Michael Behan, investigate all the other possibilities. VERDICT With a spirited, intelligent heroine; pitch-perfect descriptions of pre--World War I New York; and believable characters, Fredericks's latest historical mystery is a delight.--Liz French, Library Journal

Copyright 2021 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 1, 2021
Jane Prescott is by now a well-loved character, with readers having followed the maid through several Gilded Age New York mysteries, including Death of an American Beauty (2020). Prescott is becoming renowned for sleuthing, and at the end of this book, she just might be leaving the servant's life for detective work. It helps Jane's growing reputation that the mystery this time is high-profile, involving actors and the moneyed backers behind their shows. The first victim is Sidney Warburton, producer of a Broadway show in which Prescott's somewhat naive employer has invested. Prescott herself is more worldly but is still shocked by the cutthroat world of the theater, especially when Warburton's death is not the last one attached to the show. Fans may wish for more Jane Prescott here, as her character can be a little overshadowed by the multitude of others parading the boards, but they'll still be satisfied by the upstairs-downstairs world the protagonist inhabits and her understated canniness at crime solving. For fans of the series and of any fiction set in the Gilded Age.

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Starred review from April 26, 2021
Set in 1914, Frederick’s lyrical fourth Jane Prescott mystery (after 2020’s Death of an American Beauty) finds lady’s maid Jane Prescott, after a year in Europe with young society matron Louise Tyler, back in New York, where she learns her former sweetheart, composer Leo Hirschfeld, has gotten married and is about to open his first musical revue on Broadway. After Louise becomes one of the show’s patrons, Jane is assigned to assist the wardrobe mistress and is soon immersed in the theater’s tumultuous backstage life. When the musical’s despicable producer is murdered and Leo is pegged as the main suspect, astute, observant Jane goes on the hunt for the killer. Fredericks offers up a cast of original, fully human characters, even the most villainous of whom have backstories that evoke at least a little understanding. Those who think they know where the story is going will be pleasantly surprised. This witty, empathetic foray into the world of Broadway will leave readers eager for Jane’s next adventure. Agent: Victoria Skurnick, Levine Greenberg Rostan Literary.