Best Served Cold

June 22, 2015
The Whitebridge Players resurrect themselves for a revival of Thomas Kyd’s play The Spanish Tragedy—20 years after their last performance and the closing of the local theater—in Spencer’s dark ninth Monica Paniatowski mystery (after 2014’s Supping with the Devil). One of the troupe’s members, Mark Cotton, is now a highly paid TV actor, playing a detective chief inspector of all things, while a second, Sarah Audley, is poised to do the same and wants to model her character after Monika. When one of the leads is murdered on opening night, there’s no shortage of suspects and a demand from the powers-that-be to solve the case quickly. Despite her own reservations and those of her colleagues, Monika is determined to see the case through to the bitter end as egos, lust, betrayals (old and new), and hidden motives abound. Spencer hits the mark once again with a murky, engaging plot and a cadre of quirky, troubled characters.

July 1, 2015
In 1957, the Whitebridge Theater closes, and the Whitebridge Players, a group of ambitious young actors, go off to seek their fortunes, but not before agreeing to reunite in 20 years. True to their word, the Players return to Whitebridge in 1977 to re-enact their farewell play. Only one of them has hit the big time; Mark Cotton stars in a hugely successful TV cop series. But he's just as rude and egotistical as he was in 1957, insisting now that only he is talented enough to direct the play. When Cotton dies during the performance, it initially looks like an accident, but it soon becomes clear he was murdered. The case falls to DCI Monika Paniatowski, even though she's eight months pregnant. There are plenty of suspects, given that Cotton had plenty of enemies, but when another murder occurs, Monika and her team worry there's more to the deaths than showbiz jealousy. Satisfying, with plenty of twists and Spencer's usual skilled plotting and craftsmanship, this strong series entry will appeal to fans of British procedurals.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)