ARC to be published this summer. Tasha Weaver is the manager of the costume department in the Eastbrook Playhouse in Connecticut. Since her mother died when she was a teenager, the playhouse, her coworkers, and the magic of the theater have been the center of her life. The playhouse's next production is Annie Get Your Gun, and Broadway star (although it's waning) Kurt Mozer is on board to play Frank Butler opposite rising star Olivia Grace. But suddenly, Kurt decides to back out of the show, jeopardizing the financial health of the playhouse and possibly setting it up to be closed permanently. Tasha manages to convince Kurt to not leave the show in a lurch, but moments later, Kurt is killed. But by whom? The police are zeroing in on one member of playhouse staff, but Tasha has her doubts as to their guilt. She decides to investigate to prove his innocence, and almost gets murdered herself in the process. The story is pretty goody although the focus on Tasha's stunted emotional growth was a little overdone; to me anyway, and I 'fess up that I'm all about the mystery and less about character development than most readers. I really dislike it when the amateur detective thinks they know better than the detective, and Tasha definitely falls into this category, despite not having ever had any interaction with the police before. I really dislike this ploy to get the character involved in the mystery; it just reads as lazy writing to me. The author provides an interesting backstage look at live theater which I enjoyed, as I did Tasha's interactions with her costume department colleagues. Overall, I'd grade this a slightly better than average debut novel. Although I figured out who had done it early on, I enjoyed most of the characters, the pace is perfect (not too fast and not too slow), and the setting was both unusual and interesting. This is a good vacation book, and I'll probably read the next in the series despite my minor quibbles. I'd give it .5 out of 5 stars, so I rounded up.

The Eastbrook Playhouse has finally scored two big names for their latest production. This may be the break they need to prevent the theater from going under once and for all. As the head of the costume department, Tasha Weaver is a full time employee of the theater and has a vested interest in the theater’s success. So when the male lead decides to quit the show, she talks him into staying….and a short while later he is murdered in the theater.

With the star dead, can Tasha figure out what happened and help save the production and theater? She’s going to give it everything she’s got…and the killer may see that it’s the last thing she does.

This was a really fun and fast moving read for me. A mystery with a hunky love interest, a cute kitty and a nosy parker amateur sleuth with her heart in the right place, this makes for a great cozy series!

I enjoyed this book. It has a lot of details about show biz, the author obviously has been in showbiz or has done a lot of research. I did think it got a bit tendentious in the middle. Lots of guesses who the bad guy was and trying to fit suspects into the role. Going around in circles. I did start to suspect who the killer is, I narrowed it down to 2 people and one of them is the killer. #There’sNoMurderLikeShowMurder #NetGalley

Good book and an unique setting. This is a fast paced but a little predictable book with interesting characters and plot. Tasha has grown up at the theater and works there. It is important to her but when the main actor is murdered she feels a responsibility to finding out who did it and why because the show must go on and keep the theater open. Can she find the answers she needs or will she lose everything she knows. This is good book

Murder happens in the theatre all the time, but not for real. Tasha just wants to be in charge of costumes, not solving a mystery, but was it her fault someone was killed? Why are there so many secrets with the cast? Who is trying to stop the show before it opens? A fun read, especially it you love the theatre!

Tasha Weaver works in the costume shop at the Eastbrook playhouse.
She lives and breathes the theatres and loves watching all the stars take to the stage.
Then one day, Broadway has-been, Kurt Mozer, an egotistical actor whose demands drive the fast and crew crazy, decides to leave after a huge row with the director and artistic director.
But before he leaves he is shot dead.
Pain ensues as the bad publicity could harm the theatre’s reputation.
So Tasha swings into action to save the day and solve this puzzling murder.
The show MUST ago,on but who killed Kurt?
Was it one of her friends she works with?
To save the theatre she must find out.
This was a fun, cosy mystery set amidst the drama and flamboyance of the theatrical world.
The characters were fun and I just loved Hillferty the cat.
Really enjoyed this, very much my kind of thing as I read a lot of murder mysteries and would definitely read more by this author,
Thanks to Net Galley and the author for the chance to read this.

The first in a new cozy mystery series. This was very delightful. I really enjoyed the unique theater setting. The story was easy to read and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Thank you to Net Galley and the Author for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed this cozy mystery set in a theater more than I thought I would and that is mainly because I haven't read any cozy mystery set in a theater before.

This is an incredibly cute and cozy mystery. The backdrop of musical theatre mixed with very real drama created an excellence setting in which the characters were able to seem realistic instead of cliché, despite the inherent coziness of the mystery.

The one aspect of this book that I didn’t like was how slow it felt, especially in the middle. Between the murder and the reveal, I felt that not much of importance was happening. Even though the middle of the novel had Tasha investigating the circumstances and those around her, it didn’t feel all that climactic or interesting. I would say that the last 50 pages or so was where the plot really picked back up again and I felt very intrigued for the reveal.

All in all, I thought that this was a nice but slow casual mystery (with an adorable cat) and it did leave me uncertain as to who the killer was until the very end.

3.5/5

‘There’s No Murder Like Showmurder’ is a interesting, cozy and engaging read (plus: extra points for the fun and creative title). I haven’t read a book set in a theater ‘world’ before, but I definitely enjoyed this one. I liked the plot with it’s twists and turns. Overall a satisfying cozy murder mystery.

This was pretty good. I enjoyed it, but it definitely wasn’t one of my favorites. The story was ok, just not as exciting as the description made it sound.

I think this is the first book in a new cozy series. I love the theater setter. Being a non-theatrical person (in all senses of the word), this setting is totally new to me, and it's loads of fun. I also really enjoy the main character, costume shop head Tasha. She has some good growth during the book, and she solves the murder. The plotting is fine, though it's a touch dry to me. I look forward to seeing how the series develops in the next book. I'd give this one 3-1/2 stars.

Review copy provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

M. S. Greene does a great job in this mystery novel, it had everything that I was hoping for when reading this mystery. The characters had a great overall feel to them and worked in the mystery genre. I was never bored when reading this and enjoyed the overall concept.

I enjoyed reading the book, for its description of the world of a private theatre somewhere in the USA. But the story was slow to unravel, and only told from the point of view of the main character. The descriptions of the people, the locations, and the events are quite corresponding to anything anywhere we can watch or read about. As a result, the book seems far too long. It is a shame because when, like me, you read it till the end, the way the mystery unravels is better paced. Still, I must be honest and explain that I skipped the laments or when the main character ruminates over and over the same elements (no spoiler). It is well written, and the chapters are well-structured, but it becomes monotonous by the lack of unexpected traits of character or twist. It might be the first of a series, the following plots could be more "nervous".

This book is a fun cozy mystery to curl up and read when you need something familiar. I was intrigued by the musical theater and mystery combination and I think it really worked for the plot. The main character is trying to launch an investigation of her own when she thinks that some people aren't who they say they are. Unfortunately for her, this ends in a lot of confusion and some very public outbursts. I was pleasantly surprised by the ending, as I truly didn't see it coming and I was not able to guess the murderer before the last couple of pages. Overall, this is a great cozy mystery with an even better cover.

Tasha Weaver plays not only in the background as a costume seamstress but on the main stage in solving a too close to home murder. I enjoyed the theater location, small town feel and unexpected ending of this fun who dun it. I felt even more connected as our local college performed Annie Get Your Gun last year.

There's No Murder Like Show Murder is a fun mystery that keeps you guessing until the end. I enjoyed the story very much, although I did struggle to get into it at first. I liked the character development, and the connections the main character, Tasha, finds to her deceased mother. At times it did feel over-wordy, for lack of a better term, and I was surprised to find a word I had to look up in a cozy mystery, which I normally find to be a very easy read.
Overall I would recommend this book to friends, especially those who have spent any time in theater.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read it!

I loved how the main character was portrayed in the book. I liked how I didn't immediately guess who the bad guy was. The whole book engaged me from beginning to end.

I am sometimes hesitant to read a new series by a new author. This one was a pleasant surprise. I found the concept of it taking place in a theatre to be interesting. Hearing about the difficulties of getting ready for a performance in a small town added to the story. Tasha happens to become involved with the death of an actor and then feels guilty and wants to find out who did it. There are enough red herrings to keep you guessing til the end.

Tasha Weaver lives and breathes her local off-Broadway theater. She is in charge of costuming. And a big show is coming up. The theater has experienced financial difficulty. To make matters worse, a local real estate developer is trying to buy up the theater and turn it into a commercial development. But the theater management has a plan. They are bringing in two "brand name" Broadway actors to do the show "Annie Get Your Gun".

While the male actor is difficult to work with, it looks like the plan is going to work. Until he shows up dead. Tasha realizes that she has to get to the bottom of the mystery. Using her group of fellow costumers, she sets out on the dangerous path to find the murderer.

The plot has a good share of twists and turns. The characters are well-developed. I loved the author's writing style. I highly recommend this book for readers of casual mysteries.