As a former professional dancer the author knows the setting and personality types who feature in this page turner. . A enjoyable read for lovers of this genre of book who are no doubt looking forward to another well written murder mystery in the series.

I really hate that my first review and book approved through NetGalley is not a glowing one. I adore ballet and I really, really wanted to like this book. It’s why I chose it.

The author, Lori Robbins, was a professional dancer and that depth of knowledge and understanding of an esoteric world shines through in everything that the characters do in this book.

//Potential//

Overall, this is a book with a great deal of potential but would have greatly benefited from a strident editor and revision. The language usage is clumsy and the dialogue awkward. It almost feels like a first draft. So much potential but it needs work. Language usage needs tightening, dialogue needs to be revised, some scenes could easily be cut without hurting the essential story.

By needing an editor I mean that in the first few pages a character named Bryan becomes Brian and then back again.

//Compelling//

It is a compelling read, something about Robbins’ writing kept me reading even though I wasn’t overly interested in what happens to the characters. The story does meander quite a bit, there are several scenes that are unnecessary and subplots that don’t add to the overall story.

//Would I read from the author again?//

Possibly. Again, there’s so much potential here, with a good editor and solid revision, this book could have been amazing.

I read Murder in First Position with high hopes as I love books with dancers in them! Leah was a believable character as a soloist for a ballet company in New York City. She finds herself in trouble when she is discovered at the scene of a murder. The murdered person is a dancer in the company, and the two were seen arguing in class that day. Did Leah do it? We are left wondering, which was cool.
My favourite parts of the book were the studio scenes. I sometimes struggled with the rest of the plot. I think readers who like murder mysteries would like this book.
Trigger warnings: stabbing scene.

i love when mysteries use ballet as a theme, the characters were great and I really enjoyed the story. I look forward to more from the series.

Murder in First Position by Lori Robbins is the first novel in a new 3 book series, On Pointe, to be published November 24, 2000, and set in the world of professional ballet. Ballerina Leah Siderova discovers her much younger and more beautiful rival, Arianna Bonneville, stabbed to death by scissors backstage after a performance. Keeping true to cozy mystery parameters, amateur sleuth Leah ditches her tutu and dons a disguise in an attempt to clear her name. Robbins choreographs the character’s moves and readers can clearly see that the potential killer had means, motive and opportunity. Readers will feel like they are invited along for the investigation and will definitely get a feel of life in New York.

Unfortunately, the timeline of the story needed some input from a master of mystery. The murder occurred much too early in the novel, leaving the denouement extremely long and drawn out. At the midway point, Leah finally remembers to share a clue with detectives and initiates a list of suspects. It isn’t until three-quarters of the way through that she goes undercover and actively searches for the killer. With 75% of a book just about a murder and police investigation of the protagonist, one tends to lose interest. Furthermore, being a book about ballet, I would have expected a few more ballet terms throughout the book instead of a long string of them injected at 59% of the way along. There were odd additions to the plot that had no impact on the outcome. Why was so much time spent on the 3-elderly woman on the bus to Atlantic City? Why did we need to devote so much time to a sister with marital problems? Why would someone on the run stop to relocate 3 plants from their fire escape and make sure the house was tidy?

I also found the preadolescent displays of behaviour unbecoming to a cast of mature dancers. I would expect it with teens, but It seemed odd for a 33-year-old ballerina to be fixated on petty revenge and dancer affairs. What was with the picayune cast? I felt like I was reading a Harlequin Romance: Arianna Bonneville? Grayson Averin? Zarina Devereaux? A dog named Froufrou? It made for a good laugh. I really would have loved to have seen Morty doing some sleuthing instead of Leah. I could almost hear his New York accent and thought he’d be a good match for the position. The juxtaposition of brusque Morty against the tulle and point shoes would be fantastic. Leah’s desperation at her waning career was extremely obvious and created good misdirection. The quotes at the beginning of the chapter were not indicative of chapter contents. It’s like they were arbitrarily placed because they had the word ballet in them. The genre is listed as mystery and thriller. I wasn’t aware of my pulse increasing, but I definitely wouldn’t call it a thriller. The premise of this book was exciting and it had so much potential.

To quote the book, I guess I’m “not a fan of ballerina bitchiness.”

Thank you to Netgalley and Level Best Books for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.