There’s No Murder Like Show Murder is the debut of a new cozy mystery series from M. S. Greene. This is a penname for a successful playwright, so it makes sense for the mystery series to center on the theater industry. Typical of the cozy sub-genre, the setting is a small town and its local theater company, rather than the bigger venues and ultra-professional shows (such as Broadway and touring productions). This more easily allows for an amateur sleuth to begin nosing about and eventually solving the case.
The central setting for There’s No Murder Like Show Murder is the Eastbrook Playhouse, located in a small community in Connecticut. Their production of Annie Get Your Gun is well into rehearsals when one of the lead actors is shot dead, center stage. Given the author’s background in the industry, he understands how many people it takes to successfully put on a show and he wisely chooses to allow the backstage crew to get their moment in the spotlight.
Which brings us to our first-person narrator, Tasha Weaver. Owing to some personal strife, Tasha has dedicated her life to the Eastbrook Playhouse. As the head of the costume department, her job requires her to liaise with different departments working to bring the show to life—something which also allows her to easily snoop around for clues (and red herrings) once the murder investigation kicks in.
Since this is the first book in the series, a considerable amount of time is spent orienting the reader to the goings-on in this theater and the larger-than-average cast of characters. Due to the sheer volume of people involved, some characters become more fleshed out than others—but rather than being a detriment, this can be viewed as an opportunity to allow the cast to grow organically as each new book in the series is released. As with so many books in the cozy subgenre, there’s the almost ubiquitous animal sidekick who practically steals the show.
Cozy mystery fans will find the plotting to be well paced and full of interesting avenues for exploration. Meanwhile, theater fans will delight in the behind-the-scenes glimpse of a working regional theater as well as the knowledgeable references to the theater world on a grander scale. There’s No Murder Like Show Murder is not a book that is trying to take itself too seriously—this is a fun, escapist book that’s perfect for those brief intermissions in life when one just needs to take some time to decompress.
M. S. Greene has laid a strong foundation for this theater-centric cozy mystery series. No doubt many of those that give There’s No Murder Like Show Murder a try will be coming back to watch Tasha and her friends solve a few more mysteries.
BUY LINKS: There’s No Murder Like Show Murder by M. S. Greene
Disclaimer: A print galley of this title was provided to BOLO Books by the publisher. No promotion was promised and the above is an unbiased review of the novel.
