During her maternity leave, Cambridge academic Cassandra James gets involved in a production of EAST LYNNE. There is as much drama behind the scenes as there is on stage. The director is desperate to revive his flagging career. The maker of a fly-on-the-wall documentary is equally desperate to launch his. The crisis is reached when the leading lady disappears before the first night. Cassandra thinks it is more than stage fright, for Melissa has left six-month-old Agnes behind. Cassandra’s struggles to uncover the truth lead her deeper and deeper in a maze of illusion and deceit. Someone close at hand is not what they seem. Cassandra and her baby are in grave danger . . .
UK Edition
USA EditionStage Fright was published in the USA by St Martin’s Press in 2005.
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Reviews for Stage Fright
‘absorbing second mystery . . . stunning resolution.’
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
‘Modern cosy is too restrictive a term for this exciting, well-plotted and very well written novel . . . . the mystery develops through a series of well observed scenes and characters into a surprising and very clever climax. You do not quite realise how tense events have become until two thirds of the way through you find it difficult to put the book down. Good to encounter eloquent prose and a minimum of gore in a contemporary crime novel.’
SHERLOCK MAGAZINE
‘My favourite type of mystery, suspenseful, and where everyone is not what they appear . . . Christine is great at creating atmosphere . . . she evokes the magic of the stage, and her characters [have] a past to be uncovered before the mystery is solved.’
Lizzie Hayes, MYSTERY WOMEN
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