Much Ado About Murder: A Shakespeare in the Catskills Mystery

Happy Black Friday!  Do you pick up any deals today?  I am spending the day relaxing and working on Christmas decorations.  We picked up two new trees this year.  Our last one started falling apart (it was over ten years old).  We have so many decorations, that we decided to go with two trees.  One with white lights (for me) and one with multicolored lights (for my mother).

Much Ado About Murder by Elizabeth J. Duncan is the third tale in A Shakespeare in the Catskills Mystery series.  Charlotte Fairfax is the costume designer for Catskills Shakespeare Theater Company in Walkers Ridge.  They are getting ready to stage Much Ado About Nothing with British actress, Audrey Ashley.  When Simon Dyer, the director, bails on them, Audrey recommends (insists) upon Edmund Albright.  Albright decides to stage Much Ado About Nothing just after the Civil War much to Audrey’s (and many others) dismay.  The day after a special dinner party, Albright is found dead in his bungalow.  It looks like suicide, but Charlotte is not so sure.  Albright had no reason to kill himself.  Charlotte, with assistance from Paula Van Dusen, starts looking into Albright’s life to discover what could have gotten him killed.  Can Charlotte uncover the truth before the curtain rises on Much Ado About Nothing?

Much Ado About Murder is easy to read (has a good pace & nice writing style) and can be read as a standalone.  I did find the pace a little slow and the book lacks substance.  The mystery was straightforward (aka simple) and the killer easily identified (I knew the person’s identity before the body was found).  One clue is all that is needed (if that) to figure out the culprit.  I did find the secondary mystery of Maxine’s admirer to be more entertaining.  I felt that more of the book was devoted to Charlotte’s, dog, Rupert than to the mystery.  There are few details on the characters.  I was curious as to why Paula Van Dusen is always referred to as Paula Van Dusen.  I wanted more substance and less filler (or fluff).  If you are looking for a light cozy mystery (with emphasis on cozy), then you will like reading Much Ado About Murder.  The first two books in A Shakespeare in the Catskills Mystery series are Untimely Death and Ill Met by Murder.

I will be featuring Murder on the Sugarland Express by Angie Fox tomorrow.  It is the sixth book in The Southern Ghost Hunter Mysteries.  Thank you for visiting today.  May you have a relaxing and enjoyable day.  Take care and Happy Reading!

Kris
The Avid Reader