The Pantomime Killer (DI Jack Dawes #14)

The show must go on. Even with a killer waiting in the wings!

Christmas in sleepy Kings Richington means one thing: pantomime season. This year, brassy soap star Elizabeth Bonavita will be treading the boards as Cinderella. But behind the garish glitter, backstage tantrums and hammy acting, someone is hiding a dark secret . . .

One beloved cast member won’t live to see opening night.

When a stage light falls from the gods — conking the unfortunate actor on the head — everyone’s ready to chalk it up as a tragic accident. Everyone except DI Jack Dawes.

Someone was in rehearsal that night, watching from the shadows. A mysterious stranger who had no business being backstage.

And Jack’s instincts tell him they’re not done yet.

The curtain rises on opening night — and a second actor drops dead in the spotlight’s glare.

Now Jack has two bodies, a theatre full of suspects and a very real problem on his hands.

Can he crack the case before the killer returns to take a final bow?

A wonderfully wry and twisty British whodunit, packed with eccentric suspects, backstage skulduggery and murder most theatrical.