Murder in the Balcony
by
Margaret Dumas
Given one theater manager, a 80-year-old ghost, and a motley crew of theater employees, how do you find the person responsible for the murder of two real estate professionals? Carefully.
Nora Paige wore many hats. She managed The Movie Palace, an 80+-year-old movie theater in San Francisco that showed only oldies but goodies on the silver screen. She is separated from her two-timing, scheming husband, a film star in his own right. She is also the anonymous movie reviewer Sally Lee - a secret that she is hesitant to let others know. Finally, she is the only person who can see Trixie, the friendly ghost of a young usherette who had died in the early days of the theater’s history that had forgotten to leave after her death. Now Trixie spends her days assisting Nora (and indirectly, the police) find murderers associated with The Movie Palace.
In this second book based around The Movie Palace has a young student, Warren, who has graduated from The Movie Palace to work with June Howard’s real estate firm as an intern with a promising career ahead of him. Except he has disappeared - at least his body turns up at home apparently killed by a home intruder. It would take Nora’s skills as an amateur detective and Trixie’s skill as an unseen spy to find the person responsible for his death.
What makes these books special is that the author weaves Sally Lee’s reviews into the book - inviting even this modern moviegoer to watch some classic films from an earlier time. Sadly these films are so old that they are rarely found on the Amazon or Netflix subscription services. They can be rented - but who wants to rent when hundreds of movies are available from the traditional services.
For the fan of Turner Classic Movies, Murder in the Balcony will fill a whole while they wait for their next favorite movie to make its way to cable. Libraries may want to take Margaret Dumas’ books and build a movie collection around each one - the reader and the film buff will have a field day. And those who enjoy a cozy mystery will find The Movie Palace a good place stop.
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This review is based on a free electronic copy provided by the publisher for the purpose of creating this review. The opinions expressed are my own.
What makes these books special is that the author weaves Sally Lee’s reviews into the book - inviting even this modern moviegoer to watch some classic films from an earlier time. Sadly these films are so old that they are rarely found on the Amazon or Netflix subscription services. They can be rented - but who wants to rent when hundreds of movies are available from the traditional services.
For the fan of Turner Classic Movies, Murder in the Balcony will fill a whole while they wait for their next favorite movie to make its way to cable. Libraries may want to take Margaret Dumas’ books and build a movie collection around each one - the reader and the film buff will have a field day. And those who enjoy a cozy mystery will find The Movie Palace a good place stop.
______________
This review is based on a free electronic copy provided by the publisher for the purpose of creating this review. The opinions expressed are my own.
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