The Long Shadow on the Stage by Nichole Heydenburg.
Jackson Birkman has a perfect life: the lead role on the popular detective show Dispatching David, millions of adoring fans, celebrity status, and a beautiful girlfriend. After five seasons, Dispatching David has been canceled. With the final episode quickly approaching, Jackson is worried about more than just his future acting career. His once-massive fortune is dwindling and his girlfriend Clara is pressuring him to propose. When Jackson unexpectedly dies on the set of the TV show during filming, everyone speculates whether it was suicide or murder. Why would Jackson commit suicide? If it was a setup, who would want Jackson to die? And most importantly, what was the motive of the murderer? As the investigation continues, Officer Wilson inches closer to the truth, uncovering Jackson’s secrets. She begins to think no one knew Jackson at all but is determined to solve the case, no matter the cost.
A really good read. Captivated from the first page. 5*.

This book was full of suspense and intrigue. It had me guessing from chapter to chapter as to whom the killer could be. It offers the reader perspectives from the main characters about what is occurring in the story. I highly recommend this book to other thriller readers.

The Long Shadow on the Stage - Nichole Heydenburg
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Thank you netgalley for sharing this book with me in exchange for an honest review.
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Jackson is a famous actor and lives luxuriously as any actor would do, spending a lot on materialistic things. His main life revolves around this TV show "Dispatching David" which brought him into fame. He shares the stage with his bestest friend, Edgar who has been there for him, almost like a fairy godfather, so to speak.
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His girlfriend of 6 years, Clara is constantly pushing him to commit for marriage, which he is not entirely comfortable with.
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This bubble type of life came crumbling down when he fell victim to an attempted kidnapping and he was constantly on alert up until he was killed.
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The main plot starts after his death, with the investigation and how the people around him resumes their lives. In the middle it was quite obvious who the perpetrator was, but I read it in hope thinking it wasn't that person.
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I literally consumed this book. Nicole's writing style was absolutely in with the times. The multiple POVs really keeps you on edge. It was interesting at times how this one incident was perceived between two people. I guess it just goes to show the level of cynicism of these characters portray
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This book teaches us that living a life of fame comes with its own set of risks. Life under the spotlight can be fun but you always have to watch your back!
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This is the first book of a series. In my opinion, the story ends here for me and don't think I will go through the next, if it does come out.

This book had me on my toes and kept me interested the whole time! It was a thrilling experience to learn about these mc’s and their character building was good. It wasn’t as scary as I expected it to be. I thought it was going to be more of a horror book. But overall still a good read and would totally recommend to friends

I was attracted to this book by the enticing premise of the star of a popular television detective show dying unexpectedly during filming and I was looking forward to an unusual and engrossing read; was it suicide or murder? Unfortunately, the opening couple of chapters which set up the story failed to grab my interest fully, but nevertheless I persevered for 6 chapters (about 25% of the book), right up to the death of the television star, before deciding that it was not for me. I was not sufficiently engaged by the plotting or the characters to continue reading and found the dialogue between the characters particularly challenging.