A Village Theatre Murder is the seventh in the Julia Bird Mystery series by Katie Gayle (actually two women writing together). The murder happens on stage, in full few of an audience. First it's thought to be good acting, the play is a murder mystery after all, where someone gets shot. It's not, of course, and the prop gun turned out to be anything but ... It won't be easy to find the 'who', just about everyone in the small village had something to do with the play. Although the wife appears to be upset, Julia later sees her kissing another man, and learns that Graham (the victim) was about to serve divorce papers. Could it be that easy? Or was it the actor who was sure he deserved the lead role? When a member of the stage crew also ends up dead Julia determines there is more going on and sets out to figure out just what.

In the 1930's, in London, mystery books and stories were considered to be pulp fiction and not given much serious thought when it came to literary awards, or even notice. A group of authors set out to rectify that. Mostly men, but they did include a few women, who, quietly, brought that number up to five. Then they decided they should solve a real mystery to prove their worth. Queens of Crime, by Marie Benedict, is a blend of fact and fiction, be sure to read the notes at the back! I loved the process of them figuring things out, a case the police had dismissed, the victim being a young woman, on holiday, after all! A most interesting read.

Reading Hermit With Dog