Reviewed: 16 January 2026

There's No Murder Like Show Murder

by: M.S. Greene

Backstage Mystery, Book 1

Rating: (3.5/5)

It's lights out for the star

Setting a mystery at a playhouse is awesome. The peek behind the curtains with all the cast and crew is a bit of a challenge, given the number of characters. Theatre nerds can read this with happiness.

Despite all that was thrown at the reader, some just because it was a theatre production, and some as red herrings, I did suss out the killer. I may have even yelled at the main character, like she could hear me, to try to help her. I think that means that I got into the story when I started yelling at characters. :-)

I hope that this series continues and that next time, Bruno is not sidelined like he was in this one.

Happy Reading!

Release Date: 23-July-2024

Cozy Mystery, Audiobook, Female Sleuth

Plot Summary

Tasha Weaver has seen her fair share of divas come and go while working as the costume shop head at the Eastbrook Playhouse, but her beloved theater is put at risk when the star of the show is killed in this fun but deadly debut for fans of Ellery Adams and Kellye Garrett.

Tasha Weaver is most at home in the cozy backstage world of the Eastbrook Playhouse. As the costume shop head at the charming regional theater, she’s used to watching dramatic acts of love and revenge from the shadows. But when Kurt Mozer–the insufferable Broadway reject who stars in their production of Annie Get Your Gun –is shot center stage, the spotlight turns to her.

Everyone knows Kurt was difficult to work with and after he got into a fight with both the director Marnie Mason and the artistic leader Arthur Winston, he promptly decided to quit the show. In deep financial trouble, the Eastbrook Playhouse depended on a big name like Kurt to keep afloat. With reporters coming in from the big apple to Tasha’s little corner of Connecticut, she realizes it's up to her to save their local theater and keep her community safe. After all, the show must go on… But what do you do when the killer could very well be one of your loved ones?

With the help of her friends, her long-time crush Bruno Machado, and her feline colleague Hilly, Tasha must catch a murderer before the shining lights of the playhouse go out forever.