I hadn’t read Mary Miley’s Roaring Twenties Mysteries, although I have read her Mystic’s Accomplice series, set in Chicago in the same time period, the 1920s. Murder Off Stage is the fifth in her Roaring Twenties series featuring Jessie Beckett, a former Vaudeville performer who now works as an assistant script girl for Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks. In 1926, the couple are in New York City, and they bring four of their staff members along, including Jessie.
Jessie now has time to catch up with an old friend, Adele Astaire. Adele and her little brother, Freddy, had a dance and comedy routine when Jessie knew them. Now, the dancers are the toast of New York and England. Despite her brother’s tough schedule of rehearsal, Adele invites Jessie to see a Pulitzer Prize winning play, “Rules of Engagement”. They even have second row seats. That location is important when Allen Crenshaw, the leading man, is shot and killed during the production. Jessie, who is always curious and notices things others miss, doesn’t believe leading lady Norah Rose is the murderer, although she fired the gun that killed Crenshaw. When Detective Benjamin Quinn admits this is his first murder case, Jessie knows she doesn’t have much time to investigate before Norah is arrested. Fortunately, Adele is excited about investigating a case with her friend. Adele Astaire is able to open some doors that might be closed to an assistant script girl.
With Jessie’s knowledge of the stage, and help from Adele, Douglas Fairbanks, and even a prince, Jessie is able to trace the story behind Crenshaw’s murder. So many suspects. Just one killer, and more than one death. And, Jessie’s persistence makes her a target.
I’m not going back to read the earlier books in the series, Broadway is my favorite milieu, not Hollywood, so this book was perfect for me. Miley’s use of real people; Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, Queen Marie of Romania, Mayor Jimmy Walker, brings the story to life. It’s atmospheric with an air of accuracy. Fans of Katharine Schellman’s Nightingale mysteries, also set in New York during the Roaring Twenties, might want to check out this one.
Mary Miley’s website is http://marymileytheobald.com/
Murder Off Stage by Mary Miley. Severn House, 2023. ISBN 9781448311408 (hardcover), 224p.
FTC Full Disclosure – The publisher granted me access to a galley through NetGalley so I could review it for a journal.
