Much Ado About Murder

November 1, 2017

When costume designer Charlotte Fairfax left Britain's Royal Shakespeare Company, she settled in what she thought would be a quiet job in upstate New York with the Catskills Shakespeare Theater Company. Now, their star for the season has returned home with health problems, and their director quits over the phone. British actress Audrey Ashley is eager to step into the starring role in Much Ado About Nothing, but she vetoes the first director, proposing her own choice. When the theater board approves his suggestion to stage the play with a Civil War setting, many people are appalled. But who was angry enough at the director to kill him? VERDICT Duncan's third thespian cozy, following Ill Met by Murder, vividly captures the cutthroat world of the theater. Her likable sleuth is a mature, self-confident woman who will appeal to readers of the author's "Penny Brannigan" books.--LH

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September 11, 2017
In Duncan’s sprightly third cozy featuring costume designer Charlotte Fairfax (after 2016’s Ill Met by Murder), Charlotte has happily settled in as the costume director for the Catskills Shakespeare Theater Company. Everyone is pleased that well-known English actress Audrey Ashley has agreed to appear as Beatrice in the company’s upcoming production of Much Ado About Nothing. When the director quits at the last minute, Audrey recommends Royal Shakespeare Company director Edmund Albright as his replacement. Edmund eagerly accepts the position, and his unconventional ideas for mounting the play energize the company. When Edmund is found shot to death in his bungalow before rehearsals even begin, the police rule his death a suicide. Certain that foul play is involved, Charlotte determines to dig up the truth. The mystery unfolds slowly, but the workings of a small regional theater in a charming locale provide interest, and Duncan offers some diverting twists on the way to Charlotte’s climactic confrontation with the killer. Agent: Dominick Abel, Dominick Abel Literary Agency.

September 1, 2017
A Shakespearean theater group is rocked by a series of directorial changes.The Catskills Shakespeare Theater Company brings sorely needed visitors, guests, and money to both the struggling upstate area and the Jacobs Grand Hotel, which provides the venue. English costume designer Charlotte Fairfax, who lives in a cottage on the hotel grounds with her beloved corgi and her fiance, the local police chief, is joined by her close friend Paula Van Dusen, the wealthy chair of the board of directors, to welcome Audrey Ashley, the popular British actress who stars in their latest production, and Maxine Kaminski, her sister and manager. But disaster strikes when the director leaves for a funeral and never returns. Paula suggests that local Wade Radcliffe might be willing to step in, but Audrey, who has director approval in her contract, insists on bringing in English director Edmund Albright, who shocks everyone by insisting on staging Much Ado About Nothing in the post-Civil War period. Eventually, however, most people, including Charlotte, who would have to redo all the costumes, come to think it a good idea. When Edmund is found dead in his cottage, an apparent suicide, Radcliffe, who's been hired to take his place, retains the period staging. The entire cast and crew must work doubly hard in order to get everything ready by opening night. Although the police still seem to think Edmund killed himself, both Paula and Charlotte, who's had considerable sleuthing experience (Ill Met By Murder, 2016, etc.), doubt that he had any reason to commit suicide. As Charlotte investigates, she finds any number of people who may have wanted Edmund dead. An enticing setting and diverse characters make this latest return to the Catskills a pleasure.

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