4-STAR REVIEW: DEADLY PERFORMANCE by Kate Parker

Deadly Series: Book 12
Publication Date: December 9, 2024

Behind the spotlights and glamour lurk secrets and murder.

Amid the grim realities of wartime Britain, inside during the blackout hidden from the tatters left by the Blitz, glitz and glamour live onstage in the West End. But at one theater, The Regent, a malevolent force is causing escalating problems. Sabotage, damage and injury feed mistrust among the cast and crew.

Then during opening night, the hated director drops dead from poison, and Olivia Redmond’s colorful, kindly editor is arrested for murder. Determined to investigate, Olivia finds secrets piling up among the bodies. But which secret leads to a crafty killer who won’t hesitate to remove anyone in their way, including Olivia.

Deadly Performance by author Kate Parker is a WWII cozy mystery based in the United Kingdom.

I loved that this book was based in the United Kingdom, as it made me think of my Nana Mickey, who was living in the United Kingdom during WWII before she came to the United States.

The main protagonist, Olivia Redmond, seemed down to earth and a lovely female character. I like to pretend that she and I would be friends in real life. I would love to be able to see plays and write about them, too.  I would be able to hobnob with actors and the entertainment industry.

I would love to explore more about why Olivia’s father is such a not-nice person, to put it mildly.  I don’t understand why he’s being so inhospitable to his own child and with her husband serving his country.

Another thing I liked about this book is the reader gets to see what life was like during WWII. Nothing is romanticized in this book. The reader gets the raw nitty gritty of living during a time when things were rationed, the enemy attacked and blew buildings up.  People were scared, times were challenging, and people needed to be tougher.

I’m not a fan of cliffhangers, but I think the way the author created this cliffhanger was clever and encouraged the reader to want to know what would happen next.

Deadly Performance is an immersive, cozy mystery focusing on the history of the UK during WWII. It’ll entertain the reader and bring them into another era of time that is so different than now.

Kate Parker has long wanted to build a time travel machine. However, after several false starts, she gave up and created time travel by going back in time inside her books. Since she’s fond of murder mysteries, it is probably best that all of her travel is inside books or police from various ages would be hunting her. When not recreating old time buildings and fashions, she can be found with a modern computer and modern air conditioning in North Carolina with her daughter and a 115 lb. puppy who could just crash through any time barrier.

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