Final Curtain

When the new musical she is starring in is plagued by murder, actress Polly Pepper is faced with a cast of suspects as she tries to clear the name of her co-star, who was the last person seen with the victim, while trying to stage her own comeback.

Jordan's second Polly Pepper mystery (after 2007's Remains to Be Scene) delivers a fun romp through the underworld of regional theater. Polly, a Hollywood actress of a certain age, is cast as the lead in a revival of the musical comedy Mame, newly set in post-Katrina New Orleans. Polly admires Karen Richards, the play's young, talented director, and Sharon Fletcher, one of her co-stars—so Polly is understandably distressed when Karen gets killed and Sharon is fingered for the crime. Along with her devoted son and her maid, Polly sets out to find who really brought down the curtain on Karen. Even among a cast of such well-developed, eccentric characters, Polly steals the show, drinking champagne constantly and even naming her mansion's staircase the Scarlett O'Hara Memorial Staircase. Jordan's entertaining plot moves briskly and its plucky heroine is sure to charm old fans and win new ones. (Feb.)
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