IT HAPPENS IN THE DARK,by Carol O'Connell

13/series. Sociopath and New York City detective Kathy (never call her that) Mallory's back, in this grisly theater-oriented murder that revolves around the plot of a play that can't get past the first act without finding a (real) dead body. A patron dies of a heart attack (really?) the first night. The second night, the playwright dies in his seat (read it to find out how, you know how I am about spoilers). Mallory and her partner Riker must not only navigate the cast's obfuscations, but the meddling by all layers of the city's hierarchy, from the mayor on down to a glory-seeking police Captain.  Click to read more...
With trademark deftness and literary sleight-of-hand, the story slowly unfolds, bringing in a popular movie star doing his stint on Broadway, a nervous gofer with a fascinating past, a pair of psychopathic boys, the sheriff of a small Nebraska town, drug dealers, a cringing cat, a terrorized leading lady, and an ancient theater critic. And, of course, Charles. Never one to be merciful with her characters, OConnell wrings them out until they've shed every last drop of blood and tear. If only she hadn't used so many italics. It's a 4.
You won't find an author website; O'Connell doesn't believe in them.
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