DEATH TAKES THE LEAD (Gilded Age Mystery Book 9) by Rosemary Simpson will be released on November 26, 2024, by Kensington Books.
After attending a rehearsal of Waif of the Highlands, Prudence MacKenzie is hired to investigate the mysterious death of leading actor Septimus Ward. Prudence’s friend, Lydia Truitt, is Septimus’s cousin, and she is determined to prove that it was Septimus who wrote the play and that he allowed the director to take credit in exchange for his lover getting the role as leading lady. Septimus was planning to go back on the deal, and Lydia is convinced that it was got him killed. Lydia gets positions for herself and Prudence and in the theater’s wardrobe department so that they can mingle with the others involved in the play. While undercover at the theater, a second person is murdered. When Lydia and Prudence get too close to exposing the truth, they are both threatened and attacked. With Prudence confined to her bed, it is up to her partner, Geoffrey Hunter, and their various connections to infiltrate the theater troupe and see to it that Septimus’s murderer faces justice.
I’m always excited for the next novel in the Gilded Age Mystery series, but DEATH TAKES THE LEAD fell flat for me. The mystery itself was interesting, but the focus on the novel was on the secondary characters opposed to Prudence and Geoffrey. Geoffrey had little to do with the investigation, and there was little interaction between the two in the first half of the novel. Had I not read the other books in the series, I would have been clueless that there was a romantic involvement between Prudence and Geoffrey until he finally (FINALLY!) took the next step in advancing their relationship. As for Prudence, she just came off as unlikable in this novel. I would have preferred more focus on Prudence and Geoffrey than on the secondary characters—especially the ones whose storylines seemed superfluous to the story. The ending of the novel was disappointing as there was no confrontation between Prudence, Geoffrey, and the killer. I’m hoping things will pick up in the next novel and that the focus returns to Prudence and Geoffrey.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.