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Monday, February 19, 2024

Review: Bury The Lead by Hilton & Renzetti

Synopsis: A big-city journalist joins the staff of a small-town paper in cottage country and finds a community full of secrets … and murder.

Cat Conway has recently returned to Port Ellis to work as a reporter at the Quill & Packet . She’s fled the tattered remains of her high-profile career and bad divorce for the holiday town of her childhood, famous for its butter tarts, theatre, and a century-old feud. One of Cat’s first assignments is to interview legendary actor Eliot Fraser, the lead in the theatre’s season opener of Inherit the Wind . When Eliot ends up dead onstage on opening night, the curtain rises on the sleepy town’s secrets. The suspects include the actor whose career Eliot ruined, the ex-wife he betrayed, the women he abused, and even the baker he wronged.

With the attention of the world on Port Ellis, this story could be Cat’s chance to restore her reputation. But the police think she’s a suspect, and the murderer wants to kill the story―and her too. Can Cat solve the mystery before she loses her job or becomes the next victim of a killer with a theatrical bent for vengeance?

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"The whole town was like a giant murder mystery game, 
except with real weapons, and real blood."

The murder of the lead actor in a local production sets local tongues wagging as the past intrudes on the present - much to the chagrin of those involved.  And for one, murder is seen as the best way to keep the past (dead and) buried. 

After a slow start, things finally start to pick up once the investigation into the murder, by Cat and the rest of the local paper's editorial team, gets under way.

There is the proverbial cast of characters - from the local towns' people to the actors themselves - all with links to the dead man.  The narrative is nicely paced with character development established enough with the potential for further exploration in future books.

All in all an enjoyable read and the potential start of a new series ...

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