My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Scroll down for a short excerpt...(provided by the author)
Murder at Macbeth is a treat for crime and mystery lovers.
It starts with stage actress Nikki, stabbing herself while hundreds of audience watching. When the scene ends, claps drown the theatre. Only behind the closed curtains, Nikki pleads unsuccessfully to her colleagues with her eyes before losing consciousness.
The director and everyone first thinks that she got too much into the character. But when she doesn't move even when it's time for the next scene, to their horror they realize what had happened.
Nikki is rushed to the hospital and the detectives get to work, slowly unraveling the knots of mystery. The more they dig more politics and propaganda comes out. The anticipation only keeps on building from there on.
They are led on a tail chase as they follow each bread crumbs, so are the readers. The success of this author lies in the factor that readers are led on to suspect anything and everything they come across. The story is well plotted that readers don't narrow down their suspects for at least 90% of the story.
Even if a few had succeeded in guessing the killer, there is still a suspense that you never expected. Like I said, this crime drama is a treat to crime and mystery lovers.
When I started reading I felt a wave of nostalgia. I grew up reading crime mysteries. And this book reminded me of my childhood days when I was first introduced to books. Such a good old memories.
The book sucked me in, taking me to London along with the characters. It's a while since I got lost into a story so religiously.
Author Samantha had done an great job in her debut novel, which only increases the expectation of the readers for her next. Highly recommend this read.
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Excerpt:
Chapter
One
The
Way to Dusty Death
Friday 23rd March
Nikki
Gowon was dead. Neil Hillton was sure of it. Dumbfounded, he stared blankly down
at the young woman’s lifeless body. A crimson stain had blossomed on her white
dress like a macabre flower and a pool of blood was seeping out from beneath
her, discolouring the wooden floorboards. Her dark, tangled hair resembled a
spider running across the stage. The sharp knife had clattered to her side,
where it lay forgotten, the blade glinting ominously red.
A hushed silence
had fallen backstage, punctuated only by Megan’s intermittent sobs. A sense of complete and utter panic was setting in fast. Beyond the red
velvet curtains currently obscuring the stage, Neil could hear the distant
murmuring of the impatient audience waiting for the next act of the play to
commence. Of course, they could never have guessed the real reason for the
delay.
What
exactly was he meant to say? Oh, so sorry
for the temporary setback but our lead actress has just been killed. I do
apologise for the inconvenience.
As
a seasoned London theatre director, Neil had experienced his fair share of live
disasters over the years, but tonight’s current predicament made all those
previous quandaries fade into insignificance. He couldn’t foresee how the old
showbiz adage ‘it’ll be alright on the night’ applied here.
It most certainly will not be, he thought bitterly. Everything
will definitely not be alright in this scenario.
Neil was
painfully aware he should have already sprung into action. But he felt rooted
in position, rigid in shock. He was at a loss to explain the circumstances
leading to this horrific moment. All he could think about was the motionless
body of the beautiful young actress slumped across the stage.
His stage.
He
was vaguely aware of the other cast members milling around him in equal states
of shock and confusion. A grief-stricken Jimmy knelt on the floor unmoving,
staring down at Nikki’s still body in disbelief. His trembling hands were
pressed against the ugly stab wound in her abdomen in a vain attempt to stem
the gushing blood flow.
Neil
regarded the desperate lover grimly. It was already too late for such heroics.
Ben
stood awkwardly to the side of Jimmy, hand placed stiffly on his shoulder as
though it offered some semblance of comfort. Standing behind them was Violet,
frozen still as a statue, silent tears rolling down her rosy cheeks. Eyes wide,
deep blue pools of despair. The teenage girl frustrated the hell out of Neil. Sure,
she served her purpose and had proved eager to offer her help and assistance as
a dutiful stagehand. But recently she had taken to following him around like a
lost puppy, as though she was afraid to be left alone. It had been driving him
crazy.
An
inconsolable Megan started wailing hysterically. Clutching her boyfriend,
Peter, she sobbed as he gently stroked her hair in a futile attempt to calm
her. Neil had half a mind to berate her for crying so loudly the audience might
be able to hear, but he restrained himself. While the audience’s opinion was
usually paramount, this was hardly a run-of-the-mill night.
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