Death
in Daytime
A
Soap Opera Mystery with Alexis Peterson
Eileen
Davidson
Signet
(Mass Market Paperback)
ISBN-10: 0-451-22564-3 (0451225643)
ISBN-13: 978-0-451-22564-1 (9780451225641)
Publication Date: October 2008
List Price: $6.99
Synopsis (from
the publisher): She’s bold. She’s beautiful. And
she’s about to go to jail for murder ...
Soap opera actress Alexis Peterson has starred in the
nation’s top soap opera for almost 20 years. But her career
takes a nose-dive when Marcy Blanchard is hired as the head writer.
Little did Alexis realize that Marcy’s been holding a grudge
all these years—and is ready to take her revenge.
So when Marcy turns up dead, bludgeoned to death with her Emmy, no one
is surprised that Alexis is the prime suspect. No one except Alexis,
that is, who knows she has to take matters into her own hands if she
wants to avoid being arrested for a crime she didn’t
commit—and becoming the real killer’s next victim
...
Review:
Eileen Davidson, herself a star of daytime drama (most recently playing
the role of Ashley Abbott on The Young and the Restless), sets her
debut mystery in the world she knows best, introducing soap opera
actress and amateur sleuth Alexis Peterson in Death in Daytime.
Alexis has been a regular member of the cast of The Yearning Tide for
over 20 years. To add new life to the show, the producers hire a
seasoned head writer, one Marcy Blanchard. Alexis immediately fears she
may be written out of the updated soap opera plot. Marcy certainly
seems to be trying to put Alexis in a bad light in the eyes of the
producers, sending her the wrong script for the day's filming, or not
sending one at all. When Alexis, in a fit of anger, faces off with
Marcy, it's heard by everyone on the set. A day or so later, Alexis
goes to Marcy’s office to try to apologize and maybe clear
the air, but instead finds Marcy dead. She had been bludgeoned with her
Emmy and shoved under her desk. The authorities put Alexis at the head
of their list as prime suspect because when they were questioned, most
of the cast told the police about the altercation between Alexis and
Marcy. They, too, did not doubt Alexis’ guilt. Alexis decides
to take on a little amateur detective work of her own to prove her
innocence. Who would want to kill Marcy, and why? Against the wishes of
her mother and the advice of her lover, she begins to go in search of a
killer. She questions other cast members who she knows, or at least has
heard, to have been at odds with Marcy, only to have them say that,
although they are glad Marcy is dead, they did not kill her. And they
resent Alexis for trying to cast doubt on their own innocence. But she
learns of greed among the writers, unrest among the actors, even
discontent with the make-up artists. Poor Marcy, it seems, was hated by
everyone. Now Marcy's killer is on a mission to murder Alexis and to
make it look like suicide, giving the police the ultimate performance
of a guilty person.
Death
in Daytime is a breezy read
and, in the context of a typical soap opera, seems at times to be all
too believable. The author clearly knows her milieu and brings her
characters and setting to life. There are a lot of natural suspects
together with a good amount of misdirection, the result being a
credible whodunit. Other elements that add to the fun are the
activities of what happens behind-the-scenes of a soap opera and the
interpersonal relationships Alexis has with her mother, friends, and
co-workers.
Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of Death in Daytime and to Penguin Group for providing a copy of the book for this review.
Review Copyright © 2008 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved
Have you read Death in Daytime? How would you rate it?
Mysteries in this series ...
Death in Daytime
Signet (Mass Market Paperback), October 2008
ISBN-10: 0-451-22564-3 (0451225643)
ISBN-13: 978-0-451-22564-1 (9780451225641)
Dial Emmy for Murder
Signet (Mass Market Paperback), June 2009
ISBN-10: 0-451-22825-1 (0451228251)
ISBN-13: 978-0-451-22825-3 (9780451228253)
Omnimystery
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