Okay, it’s Joe Cosentino back with the Jana Lane mysteries. In CHINA DOLL (The Wild Rose Press), Jana heads to New York City to star in a Broadway play, enchanted by her gorgeous co-star Peter Stevens, and faced with murder on stage and off. It is old home week and nepotism in action as the play is produced and written by the same producer (Stanley Rothman) and author (Katrina Wright) who produced and wrote Jana’s first Broadway play when she was five years old, Sweet Nothings. Jana’s co-star from Sweet Nothings, the aging but still gorgeous and mysterious Savannah Stevens, is co-starring in China Doll, along with Savannah’s incredibly handsome and muscular son, Peter Stevens, in his Broadway debut. Rounding out the cast are Rothman’s granddaughter Bella, Jana’s nephew Brad, and Jana’s youngest son B.J. And the play is directed by Katrina’s new and much younger husband, the studly Tony Cuccioli. Also in the cast are Sally Chen a recent Tony Award winning actress, and Tate Moonglow a transplant from Off-Broadway.
During rehearsals, attractions come to the surface between Tony and Sally, Brad and Bella, Tate and Gary (B.J.’s new nanny), and even Jana and Peter.
Art imitates life as members of the production team of China Doll are murdered, personal secrets are revealed, and Jana once again uses the skills she learned as a child star to solve the crime.
Also, Jana and her husband go through a personal crisis, however, her son B.J. is bitten by the acting bug and has the time of his life.
I really enjoyed writing the comically neurotic Gary Royale, B.J.’s (Jana’s youngest son) new nanny, and of course the Broadway musical buff Detective Douglas was great fun. Savannah Stevens is an aging beauty with fond memories from her past on Broadway and as a movie star in Hollywood, yet she carries the burden of an aging actress in a youth-oriented society. Savannah is a smart, strong, talented woman like Elizabeth Taylor, however, she doesn’t have anywhere near as many husbands or such a troubled life. Katrina Wright is a highly successful mystery writer like Agatha Christie, but Christie wrote many novels and a few plays, Katrina has written many many plays and no novels. Also unlike Agatha Christie, Katrina has a young stud husband.
To purchase CHINA DOLL:
Purchase from The Wild Rose Press here
Purchase from Barnes & Noble here
Do you like backstage romance mystery stories? If so, which ones? Post a comment below and let me know. As I mentioned above, at the end of the day ONE reader who posts the comment on the blog that tickles my inner child star the most will win an e-book of PAPER DOLL!
I’ll be back soon to tell you about my other books and what’s to come!
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