Title : There’s no murder like show murder
Author : M.S. Greene
Genre : Mystery
Rate : 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Thanks to @netgalley for an early copy of this book (Arc book). This is due to be published on 23rd July 2024.

Tasha Weaver is the head of the costume department at Eastbrook Playhouse. She has seen her fair share of divas come through their doors.
However, their beloved theatre is put at risk when the star of their show is killed.

The whole company is up in arms, is anyone safe, who could be next?

Tasha can’t help herself and starts asking questions to figure out what happened. There are people she has know for years that she can’t believe would have been involved in this, but is she putting her trust in the wrong people?

Tasha must try and find the murderer before the lights of Eastbrook Playhouse will be turned off for good.

I really enjoyed this one. I enjoyed the theatre side to it and seeing a bit of what goes on behind the scenes.

There was a brilliant ensemble of characters that kept you entertained and guessing throughout.
Tasha was a great lead character, who I routed for and willed her to make the connections and discover the truth.

I’d recommend this is to anyone who likes a bit of mystery but also a bit of lightheartedness.

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Tasha works at a local theater, and when the leading man is found dead she works to solve the case. A good cozy mystery and would be a nice beach read. Would recommend.

Such a cute fun read! Quirky characters. Fun mystery. Lots of red herrings. Good story plot. All makes for a great time! Thanks #Netgalley and #CrookedLaneBooks for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are mine.

I enjoyed this book by M.S. Greene very much! Tasha Weaver is heavily involved in costuming for the local playhouse production of Annie Get Your Gun. The leading man has decided to quit which would devastate the theatre which is financially venerable. Tasha manages to talk him into staying but sadly, he turns up dead on the stage. Tasha reluctantly gets involved in trying to find his killer. She has help from a group of friends including her, “Work husband” Bruno and the theatre cat Hilferty. This is a fun read which keeps you on edge for the duration. I hope to read more adventures of Tasha and friends. Thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane for the Advanced Copy. The review is mine.

I will start by admitting that I have a soft spot for cozy locations anywhere on the East coast or in the South. While some cozy themes seem redundant or "done to death", this one is very refreshing centered around local, community theater. This was a new author for me and this is the first in a new series. I think it is a great start and I look forward to the next one!

Connecticut, little-theater, actors, amateur-sleuth, local-law-enforcement, investigation, cozy-mystery, small-business, small-town, grieving, aloneness, threats, friction, friendship, frustration, family*****

Tasha Weaver is the costume shop head at the playhouse in town, thirty something, detail oriented, still grieving the loss of her only family member (her mother). Kind of a loner except for all of her friends and coworkers at the somewhat profitable little theater which does attract some names from NYC. Enter a property developer and an unreliable aging star who winds up shot to death. This is her first foray into amateur sleuthing but she does rather a good job of it. I hope that there are more books about her heading my way!
I requested and received a free temporary EARC from Crooked Lane Books via NetGalley. Thank you!
Available 23 Jul 2024

When an egotistical former Broadway star, Kurt Mozer, agrees to star in the Eastbrook Playhouse's production of Annie Get Your Gun, and then quits, trouble is sure to follow. Tasha Weaver, costume shop head finds herself having to take on a role herself - sleuth. - when Kurt is murdered.

The mystery kept me guessing and I enjoyed learning about the inner workings of a regional theatre. This didn't overwhelm the mystery but helped drive the story. An entertaining mystery with a little romance, humor and quirky characters and I loved her feline friend,Hilly.

Tasha is a relatable character and I look forward to reading more of the series!I

I received an ARC from NetGalley and the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I enjoyed the setting and the overall theatre vibes, the plot is a bit on the conventional side though, so it wasn't a riveting piece. On the aesthetic front, I really like the style of the cover.

This book really surprised me in the best way. It was fun, Tasha was very relatable, and I absolutely loved the world and learning more about the show business. The mystery itself also kept me on my toes as I went back and forth with Tasha trying to figure out whodunnit. For a first in the series, Greene did a fantastic job getting me to care for the characters quickly and craft a small-town storyworld that was vibrant and one that I fell in love with!

M.S. Greene’s background in the theater is obvious in this excellent debut cozy mystery, There’s No Murder Like Show Murder. He takes us behind-the-scenes with his amateur sleuth, Tasha Weaver, who is the costume shop head at Connecticut’s Eastbrook Playhouse. Tasha knows everyone on stage and backstage, so she’s an excellent sleuth who does try to keep the police in the loop.

No one was happy with Kurt Mozer, the leading man for the theater’s “Annie Get Your Gun”. He and the director were always at odds, and he deliberately ripped a costume in front of Tasha and the entire cast during a tech run through. But, when he abruptly walks out, and rumors start that he quit, Tasha’s desperate to save the theater. She’s grown up there, and it’s her life’s passion. Eastbrook Theater needs Kurt’s name in lights and press releases, even though he’s no longer a Broadway draw. Tasha talks him into continuing in the role, but she regrets it and blames herself when the star is killed in the theater that night. And, she’s afraid one of her friends might be the killer.

Tasha tries to go to the detective in charge of the case. He appears reluctant to listen to her, although she knows all the workings and all the people in the theater. So, Tasha turns sleuth. She’s the fixer for the theater, and Eastbrook Playhouse is the place she loves more than anywhere else. She’s determined “The show must go on.”

As I said, Greene knows his theater. He includes references to other shows, actors, and it’s obvious he’s passionate about the people involved in theater. I hope There’s No Murder Like Show Murder is the first in a series.

This first in a new series by a new to me author. I enjoyed this book a lot.
The book is set in a local community theater which I found interesting and nice change from the regular cozy locations.

Tasha is a costume designer who loves her theatre. When the lead actor of their latest production is murdered Tasha takes it upon herself to solve this who done. If she doesn’t she risks ‘lights out’ her beloved theatre.

5 stars

Thank you NetGalley for opportunity to read this book. All opinions are my own.

ARC to be published this summer. Tasha Weaver is the manager of the costume department in the Eastbrook Playhouse in Connecticut. Since her mother died when she was a teenager, the playhouse, her coworkers, and the magic of the theater have been the center of her life. The playhouse's next production is Annie Get Your Gun, and Broadway star (although it's waning) Kurt Mozer is on board to play Frank Butler opposite rising star Olivia Grace. But suddenly, Kurt decides to back out of the show, jeopardizing the financial health of the playhouse and possibly setting it up to be closed permanently. Tasha manages to convince Kurt to not leave the show in a lurch, but moments later, Kurt is killed. But by whom? The police are zeroing in on one member of playhouse staff, but Tasha has her doubts as to their guilt. She decides to investigate to prove his innocence, and almost gets murdered herself in the process. The story is pretty goody although the focus on Tasha's stunted emotional growth was a little overdone; to me anyway, and I 'fess up that I'm all about the mystery and less about character development than most readers. I really dislike it when the amateur detective thinks they know better than the detective, and Tasha definitely falls into this category, despite not having ever had any interaction with the police before. I really dislike this ploy to get the character involved in the mystery; it just reads as lazy writing to me. The author provides an interesting backstage look at live theater which I enjoyed, as I did Tasha's interactions with her costume department colleagues. Overall, I'd grade this a slightly better than average debut novel. Although I figured out who had done it early on, I enjoyed most of the characters, the pace is perfect (not too fast and not too slow), and the setting was both unusual and interesting. This is a good vacation book, and I'll probably read the next in the series despite my minor quibbles. I'd give it .5 out of 5 stars, so I rounded up.

The Eastbrook Playhouse has finally scored two big names for their latest production. This may be the break they need to prevent the theater from going under once and for all. As the head of the costume department, Tasha Weaver is a full time employee of the theater and has a vested interest in the theater’s success. So when the male lead decides to quit the show, she talks him into staying….and a short while later he is murdered in the theater.

With the star dead, can Tasha figure out what happened and help save the production and theater? She’s going to give it everything she’s got…and the killer may see that it’s the last thing she does.

This was a really fun and fast moving read for me. A mystery with a hunky love interest, a cute kitty and a nosy parker amateur sleuth with her heart in the right place, this makes for a great cozy series!

I enjoyed this book. It has a lot of details about show biz, the author obviously has been in showbiz or has done a lot of research. I did think it got a bit tendentious in the middle. Lots of guesses who the bad guy was and trying to fit suspects into the role. Going around in circles. I did start to suspect who the killer is, I narrowed it down to 2 people and one of them is the killer. #There’sNoMurderLikeShowMurder #NetGalley

Good book and an unique setting. This is a fast paced but a little predictable book with interesting characters and plot. Tasha has grown up at the theater and works there. It is important to her but when the main actor is murdered she feels a responsibility to finding out who did it and why because the show must go on and keep the theater open. Can she find the answers she needs or will she lose everything she knows. This is good book

Murder happens in the theatre all the time, but not for real. Tasha just wants to be in charge of costumes, not solving a mystery, but was it her fault someone was killed? Why are there so many secrets with the cast? Who is trying to stop the show before it opens? A fun read, especially it you love the theatre!

Tasha Weaver works in the costume shop at the Eastbrook playhouse.
She lives and breathes the theatres and loves watching all the stars take to the stage.
Then one day, Broadway has-been, Kurt Mozer, an egotistical actor whose demands drive the fast and crew crazy, decides to leave after a huge row with the director and artistic director.
But before he leaves he is shot dead.
Pain ensues as the bad publicity could harm the theatre’s reputation.
So Tasha swings into action to save the day and solve this puzzling murder.
The show MUST ago,on but who killed Kurt?
Was it one of her friends she works with?
To save the theatre she must find out.
This was a fun, cosy mystery set amidst the drama and flamboyance of the theatrical world.
The characters were fun and I just loved Hillferty the cat.
Really enjoyed this, very much my kind of thing as I read a lot of murder mysteries and would definitely read more by this author,
Thanks to Net Galley and the author for the chance to read this.

The first in a new cozy mystery series. This was very delightful. I really enjoyed the unique theater setting. The story was easy to read and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Thank you to Net Galley and the Author for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed this cozy mystery set in a theater more than I thought I would and that is mainly because I haven't read any cozy mystery set in a theater before.

This is an incredibly cute and cozy mystery. The backdrop of musical theatre mixed with very real drama created an excellence setting in which the characters were able to seem realistic instead of cliché, despite the inherent coziness of the mystery.

The one aspect of this book that I didn’t like was how slow it felt, especially in the middle. Between the murder and the reveal, I felt that not much of importance was happening. Even though the middle of the novel had Tasha investigating the circumstances and those around her, it didn’t feel all that climactic or interesting. I would say that the last 50 pages or so was where the plot really picked back up again and I felt very intrigued for the reveal.

All in all, I thought that this was a nice but slow casual mystery (with an adorable cat) and it did leave me uncertain as to who the killer was until the very end.

3.5/5