Tuesday, July 10, 2018

Intrigue Front and Backstage




A HOWL OF WOLVES
Sam Clair # 4
Judith Flanders
St. Martin's Minotaur
May 15, 2018


Sam Clair finds herself knee-deep in backstage intrigue when she and her boyfriend, a Scotland Yard detective attend a West End play, staged by famous director Campbell Davison. Her upstairs neighbors, Kay and Anthony, have small parts. Even their six-year-old, Bim, has a role in the play. Sam knows that the theater piece is called The Spanish Tragedy and is replete with gore, death, and revenge. The play more than lives up to its reputation when the final body is displayed, suspended from the rafters. The body is not a dummy, but the famous director himself. Campbell Davison was not universally loved, but who among the cast and crew might have hated him so much?

I always look forward to a new Sam Clair mystery. She is a bright and witty book editor in London and a grown-up in her mid-forties. Part of the series' enjoyment is Sam's somewhat jaded view of the publishing industry with its never-ending meetings, sales conferences, and maneuvering for position. The other attractions include the ongoing characters: Kay and Anthony, their son Bim, Jake the detective boyfriend, Sam's terrifyingly efficient mother, Helena, and Sam's other neighbor, the reclusive Mr. Rudiger. A Howl of Wolves is perhaps not as laugh-out-loud funny as some of the earlier books but still a fun and engaging read.

RATING-3.5 Stars





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