First published 2000
Sarah Kelling's Aunt Emma finally gets her chance to play Lady Sangazure in Gilbert and Sullivan's The Sorcerer. Emma casts Charlie Daventer in the title role, but Charlie turns out to be a well-connected confidence man. When Charlie turns up dead on his bathroom floor, everyone assumes it was an accident. Everyone except Cousin Frederick, who knew Charlie well and refuses to accept the official explanation. Frederick pulls Sarah into the investigation, convinced that someone murdered his friend. With her detective husband Max away in Finland, Sarah takes on the case alone. She discovers clues without much difficulty, but sorting through them proves more challenging. The theater troupe continues rehearsals with Frederick stepping into Charlie's role. Sarah works methodically through the evidence as opening night approaches. When the final curtain falls, she realizes the real drama extends far beyond the stage.
Genres: fiction, drama, mystery, contemporary
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: amateur-sleuth, found-family
Setting: Finland
Period: 20th-century
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