Books › Enter a Murderer (Roderick Alleyn #2)
Enter a Murderer (Roderick Alleyn #2)
352 pages
A classic, closed-circle puzzle where the drama backstage is far more lethal than the performance under the footlights.
What it feels like
Reading this classic mystery feels like slipping into the velvet seats of a 1930s London theatre, where the air is thick with greasepaint, gossip, and hidden animosities. The narrative unfolds at a steady, methodical pace, inviting you to play detective alongside an urbane, sharply observant investigator. It is a deeply atmospheric experience, steeped in the claustrophobic, highly strung world of stage actors whose offstage rivalries blur dangerously with their onstage roles. The prose is elegant and dialogue-heavy, sparkling with dry British wit and a keen understanding of human vanity. It will thoroughly delight fans of Golden Age whodunits who crave a clever, closed-circle puzzle wrapped in the glamorous, treacherous velvet of the theatrical world.
- Mood
- atmospheric
- cozy but sharp
- claustrophobic
- Tone
- urbane
- witty
- observant
- theatrical
- Pace
- steady
- Themes
- the mask of performance · professional jealousy · blurring of art and reality · backstage politics
- The writing
- Elegant and dialogue-driven, marked by a dry wit and a keen eye for the eccentricities of actors.
- The arc
- Begins with the glittering anticipation of a theatrical premiere and settles into the satisfying, methodical unraveling of a clever deception.
- Who it's for
- Readers who delight in classic Golden Age whodunits, closed-circle mysteries, and the dramatic flair of backstage rivalries.
Content notes
- murder
- gun violence
- blackmail
About the book
The script of the Unicorn Theatre's new play uncannily echoes a quarrel in the star's dressing room. And the stage drama gets all too real when charming Felix Gardener shoots his blustering rival, Arthur Surbonardier, dead-with a gun Arthur himself loaded with blanks. Or did he? How the live bullets got there, and why, make for a convoluted case that pits Inspector Roderick Alleyn against someone who rates an Oscar for a murderously clever performance
Description from Open Library.
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