An entertaining novel set in the Gilded Age New York of a woman opera star and the rest of her company. There were a diverse group of character that reflected the melting pot of the city: an Irish gangster, a woman reporter, an up-and-coming opera star hiding his background, and even an English lord. Most were developed and fun to hang out with for a few hours.

Although this was a mystery--a man was killed in the building on the opening night and one of the cast was arrested for the crime—not much was done about it until the last part of the book. In fact, the trial of a woman accused of killing her husband go a lot more attention from the characters than the one that was done in their midst. The plot felt off-kilter.

I enjoyed the book but if you are looking for a story with a mystery at the center of it instead of a cozy focused on the characters with the mystery just a side bar, this may not be for you. I received an ARC from Netgalley and the publisher in return for an honest review.

I thoroughly enjoyed A Fatal First Night, the second book in the Ella Shane Mystery Series. Ella is an amazing character - funny, talented, smart, strong and yet vulnerable as well. The theatre during the Gilded Age is New York is such an interesting setting for the story. After a murder is committed backstage during her new production, Ella must discover who committed the crime as danger seems to follow the cast and crew. Her beau makes a return trip to New York on a mysterious assignment that causes additional stress for Ella. I think the writing and characters are even better in this second book. I look forward to their next adventure! Thank you to #NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy of #AFatalFirstNight .

Opera diva-detective Ella Shane is back in Kathleen Marple Kalb's "A Fatal First Night." When one of her cast is murdered, and another is imprisoned, Ella must "determine to prove a villain" and save her company, all while staging an opera based on the princes in the tower. Her prospective beau, Gil, has come over from Britain on a quest he can't tell Ella about, but which involves a beautiful widow.

Ella's voice is much clearer in this second book. She also doesn't mention every other chapter how hard the world is and how she does what she can to make it better. It's nice to see a progressive cast of characters in a Gilded Age cozy mystery, and Ella handles racism against one of her cast as she handled homophobia against her cousin, straightforward and not tolerating the perpetrators for a moment. She shelters her loved ones and casts her net wide to help those in need.

It's understandable that she does not want to give up the freedom that her career offers to enter into a formal relationship with Gil, and even nicer that Gil, and Ella's friends, do not push her to do so. She does waffle a great deal, though, and she and Gil talk about their future children and marriage as though things were settled, when they have only an "understanding," and not a formal engagement.

One small fact check - there are no polar bears in Antarctica, as mentioned by Ella's housekeeper after she attended an "improving lecture."

Recommended, and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens when Ella and her company cross the pond in the next book.

3.5ish stars out of 5.

I received an advance copy from Kensington Books and NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

What a great book. A Fatal First Night is book 2 and definitely a winner.

I feel as if I have grown to know all of the characters especially Ella.

In this book, Ella has just finished her performance when a body is found in the dressing room. Of course, Ella wants to know what happened and thus begins trying to figure out who is the killer.

The overall story keeps you guessing until the very end and the descriptions are so real. Her and Tommy together make a great team.

I truly enjoyed reading this book and can't wait for book 3.

This is a very entertaining and witty historical mystery. Not having read the first book in the series, I found myself having no problem catching on to the cast of characters and their backstories. It’s extremely well written and engaging. I learned a lot about opera which was very different in a mystery novel but fun and interesting at the same time. Lots of quick twists and turns made for an enjoyable read and one I’d recommend to all mystery lovers!