Murder Off Stage

November 1, 2016

In 1920s Hollywood Jessie Beckett works as a script girl for Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and his wife, Mary Pickford. In her third outing (after The Impersonator and Silent Murders), Mary asks Jessie to investigate the death of Lila Walker. The woman convicted of Lila's murder, Ruby Glynn, is a friend of Mary's favorite cameraman, Rob Handler, and neither of them believe Ruby is guilty. Jessie, a former member of a vaudeville troupe, has a knack for uncovering schemes and throws herself into the investigation. Wearing a disguise, she moves into Lila's old boardinghouse and then ends up back on the vaudeville trail, trying to determine who hated Lila enough to kill her. VERDICT With a well-developed and surprising plot twist, an appealing, resourceful amateur detective, and fascinating period details, this entertaining historical will delight fans of Old Hollywood and those who like the 1920s-set mysteries of Suzanne Arruda and George Baxt.

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November 1, 2016
With the support of her bosses, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks, amateur sleuth Jessie Beckett has no trouble pulling off an elaborate ruse to catch the real killer who's put an innocent woman on death row. Set in Jazz Age Hollywood, with cameo appearances by famous stars and stars in the making, along with the slightly shady (but delicious) David Carr from the previous two books, this series' third installment zips along with energy. While the mystery is fairly straightforwardsavvy buffs will spot the culprit early onthe entertaining characters and details of a bygone Hollywood more than make up for it. Jessie's questionable past and spunky determination to make something of herself are endearingly reminiscent of Kerry Greenwood's Phryne Fisher (though a younger and poorer version). A little sparkle, a hint of sex, some wily Prohibition-era shenanigans, and one smart cookie in the lead make this a great read that's similar to Renee Patrick's Design for Dying (2016), the first of another Tinseltown mystery series set in Hollywood's golden age, with a likewise spunky sleuth.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)

October 17, 2016
In Miley’s highly entertaining third mystery set during the 1920s (after 2014’s Silent Murder), Hollywood “script girl” Jessie Beckett draws on her education in the school of hard knocks as well as her years in vaudeville to track down the killer of a young woman with a taste for blackmail. Jessie’s bosses, movie stars Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Mary Pickford, encourage her investigation after Ruby Glynn, a friend of Miss Pickford’s, is falsely convicted of the crime. Jessie’s quest takes her on trains across a fair amount of the country. Since Prohibition is in force, transporting and stealing booze is big business—and highly dangerous. Meanwhile, Jessie’s sometime lover, once known as the bootleg king of Portland, Ore., claims he’s gone legit, but Jessie isn’t sure. The reader gets a strong sense of what life was like if you were from an outsider group or broke Hollywood’s moral code in public. A middle-of-the-night encounter with the Ku Klux Klan is particularly chilling. All the details of her journey not only advance the story but are fascinating in themselves.

August 1, 2023
Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford give full rein to the sleuthing sideline of the former vaudevillian who works for them. Jessie Beckett has gone by many names in her career and made many friends. One of them is Adele Astaire, soon to leave for London with her brother, Freddy. First, though, Adele invites Jessie to join her in watching a Pulitzer Prize-winning Broadway play. When leading man Allen Crenshaw is shot dead in front of a horrified crowd, Adele is more than willing to help Jessie do a little sleuthing, especially since it's clear that newly minted Detective Benjamin Quinn isn't up to the job and since Jessie's own experiences helping LA detective Carl Delaney have proved her adept at gathering information. The gun used in the scene was supposed to contain blanks. So did actress Norah Rose change out the bullets to kill the leading man who'd recently dumped her? As a well-known lady's man, Crenshaw had plenty of enemies, beginning with his wife, and a bit of digging turns up even more suspects. Quinn, who's enamored of Adele, is more than happy to let Jessie investigate. New troubles arise when Jessie's boyfriend breaks out of prison and shows up in New York, where Murder Inc. offers him a job in Cuba and he asks her to join him. Next to arrive is Delaney, an altogether better bet as a lover and a significant help in solving the twisty case. Movie stars, historical detail, and a clever mystery combine for a fun read.

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September 1, 2023

Jessie Beckett is a former Vaudeville performer, now an assistant script girl for Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks. When the couple goes to New York for several weeks, Jessie accompanies them. It gives her time to catch up with an old friend, Adele Astaire. She knew Adele and her brother, Freddy, as children on the Vaudeville circuit. Now Adele's fame opens doors--and nets Jessie second-row tickets to a hot Broadway play, Rules of Engagement. From those seats, Jessie witnesses the play's leading man, Allen Crenshaw, being shot dead by leading lady Norah Rose, using a stage gun that was loaded with (unbeknownst to Norah, Jessie is certain) real bullets. When detective Benjamin Quinn admits that this is his first murder investigation, Jessie uses his adoration of Adele to inveigle her way into the case. With Adele's help and her own knowledge of the theater world, Jessie is able to uncover the history of a murder with roots in the past. VERDICT The fifth "Roaring Twenties Mystery," following Murder in Disguise, is an enjoyable treat with appearances by Pickford, Fairbanks, and Queen Marie of Romania, as well as the Astaires. For fans of earlier books in the series or of Katharine Schellman's "Nightingale" mysteries, also set in 1920s NYC.--Lesa Holstine

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