Murder Takes the Stage is book 4 in the Phyllida Bright Mystery series by Colleen Cambridge, and features Agatha Christie as a side character, with Phyllida as her mystery solving housekeeper.
I have not read any of the previous books in the series but I had no problem jumping straight into Murder Takes the Stage. I’m sure that if I had read the previous books, I would have had more insight into the relationships between some of the characters, but I don’t feel that it is really necessary.
In Murder Takes the Stage, Agatha and her husband have moved the household to London, to oversee the production of one of her plays. When one of the actors in a play being produced by Agatha’s friends dies, she calls on Phyllida to determine if there was foul play. Then actors in other plays start dying in a strange manner, and Phyllida is compelled to solve the mystery.
I loved the setting of this story and how the author wove the real life figures of Agatha Christie and her husband into t the story into her story.
I also found it amusing how she wrote the mystery in this story so that it could be perceived to be the inspiration for one of Agatha Christie’s real life books.
Murder Takes the Stage was an engaging mystery that kept me guessing, and I would recommend it to any mystery lover. I’ll probably go back and read the previous novels to see more of the characters.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Murder Takes the Stage publishes on October 22 2024.
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