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Joan Spencer #3
Murder and Sullivan
A tornado sweeps through the town of Oliver, Indiana, catching Joan Spencer and a young girl named Laura Putnam in its wake. Joan saves the young girl's life and receives a hero's welcome from the members of the Putnam family, including Judge David Putnam.
As both Joan and the town settle down to repairing the damage caused by the tornado, the director of the Civic Symphony convinces Joan to play viola for the local production of Ruddigore. Reluctantly - her house and her neighbor's are in near shambles - Joan agrees. Joan's decision means that she is witness to a murder when David Putnam dies onstage during opening night.
Together with Lieutenant Fred Lundquist, Joan follows the clues which lead to a fateful confrontation with a man whose mind is set on nothing but revenge.
As both Joan and the town settle down to repairing the damage caused by the tornado, the director of the Civic Symphony convinces Joan to play viola for the local production of Ruddigore. Reluctantly - her house and her neighbor's are in near shambles - Joan agrees. Joan's decision means that she is witness to a murder when David Putnam dies onstage during opening night.
Together with Lieutenant Fred Lundquist, Joan follows the clues which lead to a fateful confrontation with a man whose mind is set on nothing but revenge.
241 pages, Hardcover
First published May 1, 1997
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
May 19, 2015
Light, fun murder mystery. Appealed to the G&S geek/community theater performer in me.
August 22, 2026
Oliver, Indiana is hit by a tornado which leaves a path of destruction in its wake. Joan Spencer--director of Oliver's Senior Citizen Center, musician, and sometimes amateur sleuth--has to take shelter in a ditch, protecting a young girl who had wandered away from her family. The family belongs to Judge David Putnam. Near-tragedy is followed by tragedy when David is killed while performing in a local production of Gilbert and Sullivan's Ruddigore.
Putnam plays one of the "ghosts"--the family portraits on the leading characters wall. During the second act, the portraits come to life. Except for Sir Roderick (David's character). David is found stabbed through the heart. Joan was playing in the orchestra and her beau, police lieutenant Fred Lundquist, was in the audience--neither of them saw anything suspicious until David's body fell to the stage. Investigation seems to prove that only those playing the parts of the ghosts could have had the opportunity, but who had motive. David was well-liked--or so it seemed.
Further digging reveals that several of the cast members had been involved in court cases that had come before the judge...not always with the results they would have liked. Dr. Robert Cutts--malpractice suit. Christopher Eads and his wife Liz MacDonald--divorce case. Virgil Shoals--builder, over a house he had built (but settled out of court). They also find out that Chris Eads blamed David more directly for his divorce than for just the ruling. Liz has carried a torch for David for years and seems to have added fuel to the flames recently. Chris thinks they were carrying on an affair, but he still wants Liz back--is that enough to kill over? Fred and Joan keep asking questions and looking for answers. Until somebody thinks Joan is getting a little to close for comfort.
Another solid entry (#3) in the series. Good plot with plenty of red herring suspects--my only quibble is not enough time is spent investigating the possibilities of these suspects. A little more muddying of the waters would have gone a long way. Once we learned the nature of the weapon I quickly spotted the culprit. But I enjoy Joan and Frommer's portrayal of southern Indiana (being a resident of the fictional Oliver's near-neighbor, Bloomington). I look forward to the next installment sitting on my TBR shelves (Witness in Bishop Hill).
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block.
Putnam plays one of the "ghosts"--the family portraits on the leading characters wall. During the second act, the portraits come to life. Except for Sir Roderick (David's character). David is found stabbed through the heart. Joan was playing in the orchestra and her beau, police lieutenant Fred Lundquist, was in the audience--neither of them saw anything suspicious until David's body fell to the stage. Investigation seems to prove that only those playing the parts of the ghosts could have had the opportunity, but who had motive. David was well-liked--or so it seemed.
Further digging reveals that several of the cast members had been involved in court cases that had come before the judge...not always with the results they would have liked. Dr. Robert Cutts--malpractice suit. Christopher Eads and his wife Liz MacDonald--divorce case. Virgil Shoals--builder, over a house he had built (but settled out of court). They also find out that Chris Eads blamed David more directly for his divorce than for just the ruling. Liz has carried a torch for David for years and seems to have added fuel to the flames recently. Chris thinks they were carrying on an affair, but he still wants Liz back--is that enough to kill over? Fred and Joan keep asking questions and looking for answers. Until somebody thinks Joan is getting a little to close for comfort.
Another solid entry (#3) in the series. Good plot with plenty of red herring suspects--my only quibble is not enough time is spent investigating the possibilities of these suspects. A little more muddying of the waters would have gone a long way. Once we learned the nature of the weapon I quickly spotted the culprit. But I enjoy Joan and Frommer's portrayal of southern Indiana (being a resident of the fictional Oliver's near-neighbor, Bloomington). I look forward to the next installment sitting on my TBR shelves (Witness in Bishop Hill).
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block.
September 22, 2019
So I was watching the Mikado and was thinking, hmm, someone should write a mystery with Gilbert & Sullivan for a backdrop...and of course it's been done ten times over, this being one such effort, set during an amateur production of Ruddigore, which I actually don't know since it's not one of the big G&S operettas, but will watch now.
It was a *very* cozy mystery in the sense that the protagonist doesn't have any official standing to participate in the investigation, and doesn't even get any pushback for her gentle inquiries of her neighbours and fellow participants in the operetta, and even at the denouement it's not really her investigative skill that nets the murderer, though she is valiant enough to rescue the ending.
Besides this, there were a couple of things I would have liked to see changed: first, I would expect a novel featuring G&S to have some humour in it, but this didn't; second, there were many instances where we see the protagonist's thoughts but they're not italicised as is conventional. This could be a problem with Kindle formatting, but it was pretty bad. There were a couple of other editing errors.
Overall it wasn't quite what I was looking for, but it was a decent effort.
It was a *very* cozy mystery in the sense that the protagonist doesn't have any official standing to participate in the investigation, and doesn't even get any pushback for her gentle inquiries of her neighbours and fellow participants in the operetta, and even at the denouement it's not really her investigative skill that nets the murderer, though she is valiant enough to rescue the ending.
Besides this, there were a couple of things I would have liked to see changed: first, I would expect a novel featuring G&S to have some humour in it, but this didn't; second, there were many instances where we see the protagonist's thoughts but they're not italicised as is conventional. This could be a problem with Kindle formatting, but it was pretty bad. There were a couple of other editing errors.
Overall it wasn't quite what I was looking for, but it was a decent effort.
May 18, 2015
Among the things I particularly like about this book is that it's one of the few set during a community theater production that gets community theater right. And as with all of the other Joan Spencer books, the characters and story are engaging and the book is well written.
The only quibble I've had with these books is that Joan's teenage son is probably better behaved any other teenager I've ever met, but that's a very small quibble in an otherwise very enjoyable series.
The only quibble I've had with these books is that Joan's teenage son is probably better behaved any other teenager I've ever met, but that's a very small quibble in an otherwise very enjoyable series.
February 6, 2016
Number three in the Joan Spencer series. This time a local judge, David Putnam, dies onstage during the opening performance of Ruggidore, while Joan is in the pit orchestra. Joan had recently met him when she had "saved" his daughter during a tornado. Joan is also nearly a victim herself when the killer tricks her by telling her that her son Andrew is injured at a quarrly. SPOILER ALERT: Virgil Shoals killed Putnam to prevent him from exposing Virgil's shoddy construction methods.
January 10, 2015
OK. Not fabulous, but OK. It's a nice diversion. I did not figure out the killer as early as in some other books.
March 19, 2015
This book took me a bit to get into. The end went fast as I was waiting for someone to have same day surgery.
August 6, 2015
Good characters
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews