cover image Upstaged by Murder: A Rex Graves Mystery

Upstaged by Murder: A Rex Graves Mystery

C.S. Challinor. Midnight Ink, $15.99 trade paper (240p) ISBN 978-0-7387-5647-9

Challinor’s enjoyable if flawed 11th Rex Graves mystery (after 2016’s Judgment of Murder) finds Scottish barrister Rex and his bride, Helen, attending the opening night of a murder mystery play written by a friend of Helen’s, Peril at Pinegrove Hall, in Derbyshire. An unscripted shot rings out just as the curtains are drawn at intermission. Backstage, the leading lady, 24-year-old Cassie Chase, lies dead of a gunshot wound. Among the suspects are the actors playing five famous fictional sleuths: Miss Marple, Hercule Poirot, Lord Peter Wimsey, Sherlock Holmes, and Father Brown. Another suspect is the leading man, Trey Atkins, with whom Cassie recently became secretly engaged. Rex enthusiastically inserts himself into the ensuing police investigation. Between the stage names and the real names, the plethora of cast members gets a bit hard to follow, and Rex’s suspicions as to the real killer are revealed a tad early. With its ho-hum ending, this isn’t one of Challinor’s best efforts, but series fans will be satisfied. [em](July) [/em]