Kit, an opera singer, is set to play the lead role in Barbarella, but it seems everyone around her believes her understudy better fits the part. When someone within the opera company is murdered, Kit takes it upon herself to investigate the understudy and dive into her past.

Although a bit slow at times, I really enjoyed this thriller by Morgan Richter. I've always been intrigued by the opera, ever since my childhood obsession with Phantom of the Opera, so I loved getting a glimpse into that world. The writing was fantastic and the storyline was interesting, though I found the ending to be a bit rushed. The story kept me hooked and I found myself thinking about it when I wasn't reading, excited to get back to it. I am looking forward to more by this author!

I love a show business story and this one did not disappoint! Set against the backdrop of the New York opera scene, this page turner has fake identities, illegal casinos, financial scams, poisoning, and ‘Showgirls’ style revenge. Kit freshly starring in a brand-new opera based on the cult classic film Barbarella. She thinks she’s perfect for the role but her understudy Yolanda, and the men she’s charmed, disagree.

The side characters are small but do have an impact on the plot and main character’s fact finding. I loved seeing Kit’s journey from mousy talent to a woman with leading lady energy. I wish the author would have explored her relationship with her mother and the ways in which that affected her rejection of her appearance more. This is great for fans of opera, divas, and films like ‘Showgirls’ and ‘All About Eve’.

Wow, what a story. I have never thought much about the back biting in the opera theater. But I guess every business has some personnel issues. In this book the understudy takes nasty to a whole new level. She is not likable in any way. But men thinks she is eye candy. The opera is a new one and the director what's to give up the singing ability to get some sex appeal. The whole story is a page turner. Why did the opera singer decide to look for answers? Made for interesting reading.

The book for the first third had me on the edge of my seat. When Yolo died I love how it was hard to narrow down who wanted her dead because so many people didn't like her. I didn't fully understand Niko's motivation to be with Yolanda other than her physical assets because she seems like a crappy person. Niko's brother, the one that ran Brio, became forgettable once Kit started her interviews in Maine. I know that those conversations are the building blocks that led us to finding out the murderer, but I felt like emphasizing the time crunch to get back to the theater would have made me more engaged for that part of the book. I thought the AirTag in the fake Burkin was a nice and realistic twist. Overall it was a fun read and I think it's a 3.7 star. The part in Maine was hard to stay engaged in because it felt like in information dump. I was super proud of Kit slowly growing into herself! Had she not grown in confidence she wouldn't had been able to grow closer to Niko. I think Yolo's neighbor was an interesting character and I wish we saw more of him, considering he's Niko's friend. I thought he was going to make a reappearance when Kit and Niko were going to see Charlie Globa. I would recommend it because the killer made sense, there was good character development, and I learned about opera.

Kit, a trained opera singer, lands the lead role in a new opera based on Barbarella. She meets her understudy, Yolanda, who is confident and embodies the physicality of Barbarella. Despite lacking formal training, Yolanda believes she deserves the role and is willing to do anything to get it. Yolanda's schemes become dangerous, and a murder within the company threatens Kit's role. Kit uncovers Yolanda's dark past and realizes the lengths Yolanda will go to achieve her goals.

I saw a lot of mixed opinions about this book, but for me, this was one of my favorite arc reads of all time! I think anything that has to do with being on stage or being in a production immediately reminds me of black swan, and The Understudy has the elements to become a screen adaptation. I think this book shows the lengths of how far some people will go to get what they deserve. Yolanda has the tell-tell signs to be a villain and the author does a really good job of painting her as such, but with that being said, I feel like Kit’s character fell flat when Yolanda was alive. If someone put eyedrops in my tea I would be filing a police report, also the dead rat thing, or the mouse thing, or any of it. I wouldn’t have let it get as far as it did for Kit. I think the murder mystery element plot was very interesting in this book because I just thought it was going to be Yolanda terrorizing Kit the whole book. I think Kit was the perfect character to hate but not hate enough to stop reading. I also felt like at some points the book had points where it was unrealistic. Overall, it was one of my favorite net galley reads so far!

This book really pulls you into the competitive world of New York City opera, and the drama between Kit and Yolanda, her ambitious understudy, is captivating. The backstage politics and tension are portrayed really well, and that’s one of the strongest parts of the story. Yolanda’s character is intriguing, but sometimes her scheming felt a bit over the top, and Kit’s responses were frustratingly passive. The murder mystery adds some suspense, but it wraps up a little too quickly and didn’t hit as hard as I hoped. Even with these flaws, the book is still a solid read, especially for the opera setting and the rivalry—it kept me hooked, even if the emotional depth wasn’t all there.

A very enjoyable book, if perhaps a bit unrealistic at times. It was both very cool/interesting to be thrust into this strange new world of opera singing, but also confusing and annoying at times as the narrative kept getting slowed down by my need to look up every third word since I didn't know what things like comprimario and dramaturg meant. Part of me was excited to learn new things but part of me felt like uncultured swine since there was so much I didn't know. However, some lines of the book, despite how unknown opera is to some of us, can translate across all fields, like this one: "Receiving praise for working hard is much less satisfying than receiving praise for being exceptional."

As with most books where someone who isn't a cop or a detective investigates a crime, there were a few times where I had to roll my eyes at the motivations behind our main character going to great lengths to figure out the perpetrator. It's always just a little silly when random citizens figure things out that the professionals missed, but in this book, the bigger issue for me is why the main character cared enough to investigate at all. It was pretty flimsy. There was a bit of "just doing my duty to the deceased" going around, but she had no duty, so it didn't make much sense. Lines like this drove me nuts: "I was willing to bet I could tell if I was chatting with [BLANK]'s killer." It was hard for me to ignore why anyone would go to such great lengths to solve a murder of someone they barely know, but also that so many people willingly opened their mouths and told the truth to someone who had no business asking the questions they were asking. People heard the questions then opened their doors and let our main character into their homes for comfy chats like they were all old friends instead of literal strangers. Maybe I'm in the minority, but I don't care how unthreatening they look, without a badge or a hell of a good story, I'm not letting any strangers into my living room where they could stab me and no one could hear me scream.

But through my few eye rolls, I couldn't stop reading and really wanted to see how the book was going to end. No spoilers but I was less interested in the murder mystery than I was in the opera mystery. I couldn't wait to find out what was going to happen with that opera, but I can't give any specifics without ruining things. It was the mystery of the opera that kept me reading late into the night.

I received this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This novel delivers an intriguing setup in the competitive world of New York City Opera, offering plenty of drama and suspense. Kit’s journey as she navigates her big break and the arrival of her dangerously ambitious understudy, Yolanda, creates a compelling tension that carries much of the narrative. The backstage politics and the cutthroat dynamics of the opera world are vividly portrayed, making the setting one of the book’s strongest elements.

Yolanda’s character is fascinating, if somewhat exaggerated. Her manipulative nature and reckless ambition keep the plot moving, though some of her schemes strain credibility. On the other hand, Kit serves as a more grounded foil, though her responses to Yolanda’s actions can sometimes feel frustratingly passive. Their rivalry is engaging but lacks the emotional depth that could have made it truly memorable.

The murder subplot adds a layer of mystery and raises the stakes, though its resolution feels rushed and less impactful than it could have been. Exploring Yolanda’s past provides interesting twists, but some revelations are predictable or underdeveloped, leaving the story’s climax less satisfying than expected.

Despite these shortcomings, this is an enjoyable read. While it doesn’t quite deliver on all its promises, the glamorous and high-stakes opera setting, combined with the central rivalry, makes for a decent page-turner.

The publisher provided ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Imagine finally getting the lead role in a new opera based on Barbarella. Kit has been practicing night and day and feels she will be perfect for the part. Then on the first day of rehearsals, her understudy, Yolanda is there. That is very strange, but what is even worse is that Yolanda clearly believes that she should have the starring role. Oh, and Yolanda will do whatever it takes to get it.
I happen to enjoy opera and getting a glimpse behind the curtain was a real treat. I honestly didn’t know where the author was going with this. I wound up with two pages of mostly scribbled out guesses. New York City’s dark side plays a role too and I really enjoyed how everything came together.

The Understudy was my second Morgan Richter novel and I enjoyed it as much as the first. Kit Margolis is an opera singer in NYC. Kit is desperate for her big break, but despite her perfectly executed singing, Kit hasn't quite convinced the opera world she can be a star.

The story opens with Kit being poisoned by her understudy, Yolanda Archambeau and gets more wild from there. This is a fast-paced, hard-to-believe thriller with a bit of raciness and sleaze, but oh-so-readable. Yolanda is a serious villain; she has left obsessed lovers and enemies in her wake for years. Kit is a sometimes likable, sometimes not-so-likable, protagonist who does some stupid and ridiculous things, and I occasionally pitied.

Overall, this is a fun whodunnit and I couldn't put it down. Recommended.

I really liked the first half of this book--All About Eve but set in the world of an experimental opera. The second half was a completely different book--solving a murder mystery of one of the opera performers. It just wasn't that interesting during the second half. 3 1/2 stars rounded up.

This suspenseful tale of ambition and deceit plunges readers into the glamorous yet cutthroat world of opera, where the stakes are as high as the notes. The Understudy masterfully unravels the rivalry between Kit, a seasoned yet self-doubting soprano finally stepping into the spotlight, and Yolanda, her dangerously alluring understudy who is determined to steal it all—at any cost.

The novel excels at weaving tension as Kit’s carefully disciplined world begins to unravel. The mystery surrounding Yolanda’s dark past, paired with the shocking murder that disrupts their production, creates an electrifying undercurrent that keeps you turning pages late into the night. The character dynamics are particularly gripping, with Yolanda’s charisma and chilling determination making her a compelling antagonist, while Kit’s vulnerability and resolve provide a perfect counterbalance.

Where The Understudy truly shines is in its exploration of the psychological toll of ambition. The detailed opera setting is both intoxicating and claustrophobic, adding layers of depth to the escalating suspense.

While the pacing stumbles slightly in the middle as the narrative delves into Yolanda’s backstory, the final act delivers a crescendo of twists that make the journey worthwhile. Fans of dark mysteries and intense rivalries will savor this enthralling look at how far some will go to achieve greatness—and how far others will go to stop them.

I loved Kit’s vibe of a grown up, slightly neurodivergent, opera singing Nancy Drew, and all the opera details worked to give me great context without being boring. This was just a great, classic mystery with interesting characters (also kudos to Richter for not adding any cliched gay actor best friends!!), plenty of action, and a solid wrap up. I loved to hate Yolanda and seeing her history unfold was fun. Also, I got a possible series feeling and I’m really hoping to read more Kit stories in the future.

I loved this as a opera singer and what you would do to get the part. The overall concept was tense and enjoyed the overall feel of this. The characters had that element that I was looking for and was engaged with what was happening with the opera. Morgan Richter has a strong grasp of the genre and the characters were perfectly written.

The Understudy will completely surprise you.
The story opens with Kit finally getting her chance to be the star of an opera. She has worked tirelessly, honing her craft and pushing herself to the limits, all for this defining moment. However, the showrunners of the opera are unsure if Kit truly has what it takes. Enter Yolanda—the understudy. She is everything Kit is not: voluptuous, confident, and drop-dead gorgeous. Yolanda exudes a magnetic charisma that makes it clear she will do whatever it takes to secure the lead role for herself.

As Kit prepares for her big moment, doubts from the producers loom over her like a storm cloud. It’s not just the pressure of performing; Kit begins to feel a real sense of danger. Her unease grows as she realizes that the stakes may be far higher than just the lead role in an opera. Yolanda, with her charm and determination, strangely starts to befriend Kit, drawing her into a complex and manipulative relationship. Against her better judgment, Kit allows herself to be swept along, and a fateful night out with Yolanda changes everything.

Morgan Richter paints a vivid and gripping portrait of the world of opera—a world full of beauty and artistry but also brimming with tension and hidden rivalries. The story doesn’t stop at the stage; it dives into the dark, seedy underbelly of New York City, where high-stakes drama takes on a whole new meaning. There are underground casinos, shady money-laundering operations, mysterious electrical fires, and skeptical cops who have their own doubts about what’s really happening behind the scenes. Kit finds herself caught up in a whirlwind of danger, deceit, and glamour, all while trying to hold onto her dreams of being a star.

Richter’s storytelling pulls you into the captivating and gritty world of high-stakes opera. The contrast between the professionalism of the opera house and the shadowy corners of New York's underground makes for a thrilling and atmospheric read. Kit's journey is one of resilience, ambition, and survival. The twists and turns in the narrative keep you guessing until the very end, with every chapter peeling back another layer of deception and intrigue.

This book is an absolute page-turner—so intriguing, so unique, and expertly paced. It takes readers on a journey that’s both glamorous and dangerous, blending the beauty of opera with the dark thrills of a mystery set in New York's hidden corners. The Understudy is a must-read for anyone who loves stories about ambition, rivalry, and scrappy underdogs.
#knopfanchorvintagepantheon #knopf #theunderstudy #morganrichter