I requested this book because I used to be a ballerina. And I related to the main character so much in some ways. A beautiful story with some sad parts.

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.
Lydia Miseau is the lead ballerina for an upcoming ballet performance of “Romeo and Juliet”. During the final dress rehearsal, Lydia’s heart stops and she passes away onstage. Caitlin O’Connor is the lead detective, quickly put on the case to determine if Miseau’s death was a homicide, and who could be responsible. From the ballerina’s new husband, his ex-wife or her understudy, the list of suspects grows and Caitlin and her partner are under pressure to find the murderer. All the while, Caitlin’s personal life is falling apart, as she struggles with her relationship with a man who is not only a colleague but a married one, and a partner who’s an alcoholic. Can Caitlin keep it together long enough to find out what happened to the renowned dancer?
Lynn Slaughter caught my attention with her novel, “Deadly Setup”, so I was excited to explore her new novel. Although I have read more police procedurals than I can count recently, I was entertained by Slaughter’s relatable characters and creativity, with the backdrop of professional ballet to add the right amount of uniqueness. I loved the realistic depiction of the cutthroat entertainment industry, and the dedication and commitment of the performers, even when faced with an unsettling murder.
The story is narrated by Caitlin, who we soon learn has her hands full with personal, romantic entanglements. As she investigates the murder, she also takes time out to share with the reader her experiences in therapy, which get to the heart of why she is attracted to married men. This aspect of the novel was unnecessary filler, although it wasn’t completely unreadable.
Slaughter was able to leave me guessing, for the most part, and although it was very easy to determine who the killer was NOT, it wasn’t until the final chapters when I figured out who the killer actually WAS. Slaughter’s writing hinted to a few plausible suspects, and I always enjoy a novel with an unexpected twist or two.
Slaughter’s novels are easy reads, and they are able to keep my interest until the very end, which says something considering Slaughter is not represented by a well-known publishing house. I generally wouldn’t even give small, independent novels like these a try, but Slaughter is worth it and I hope to get the chance to read another of her intriguing stories.

Oh my goodness! Missed Cue was so very good! Caitlin was a detective and Stan was her partner. The story was about the mysterious death of Lydia, a Prima ballerina. She was married to Victor, who owned the dance company. At first, Caitlin and Stan had no idea how Lydia died. It was said that she had a bad heart, but when the autopsy was done it was proven that her heart was in good condition. Caitlin got the idea that some drug was involved so she had Lydia's clothes tested, which proved to be a negative. And then she had her makeup tested and there was traces of nitroglycerin there. It turns out that it was the nitroglycerin that stopped her heart. When it was learned that Victor was taking nitroglycerin for his heart, Caitlin and Stan arrested him for the murder of Lydia.

Gus, who was the custodian at the dance company, had a wife who was dying of cancer. He was the one who told Caitlin that he had seen Victor going to Lydia's dressing room when she wasn't there. But he'd also seen Frederick, Victor's son who worked there, go on the dressing room as well. He also saw Sarah, Victor's ex-wife, enter the dressing room when she wasn't there. When Caitlin went through Gus's bank statements, she saw that he had deposited $5,000. When she asked his wife, Mary, were the money came from Mary said that Gus told her that one of the benefactors had loaned him $5,000. Caitlin then got a list of all the benefactors and she and Stan call them. Not one of them had loaned Gus any money. It was at this point that Caitlin felt that Gus was framing someone.

Frederick told Caitlin that his grandfather had died. He had left a message for Frederick that he wanted to talk to him about something urgent. Frederick got back to him the next day but by then he was dead. It turns out his grandfather was taking nitroglycerin. When Caitlin found out, she became suspicious of Sarah. And the investigation continued. Actually, anyone could have gotten into Victor's nitroglycerin, as he kept it in his desk. There was one dancer who wanted to take Lydia's place as the star. There was also Frederick, who wanted Lydia's $10 million insurance policy to pull the dance company out of debt.

It was an excellent who done it with plenty of suspects. The author did a marvelous job developing the characters and with the plot's twists and turns it was still easy to follow. I have to say I had difficulty putting this book down. I gave this book five stars.

I thought this book was a nice read, I especially liked the writing style! However, I do think the plot got resolved rather quickly and that there might have been one too many side plots. I thought the set up of the plot was great but it left me wanting more- maybe some more interactions between the “suspects” so the readers get to know more about their personality would’ve made it an even nicer read!

Thank you for letting me read an advance copy!