Untimely Death

A Shakespeare in the Catskills Mystery, Book 1

By: Elizabeth J. Duncan

Narrated by: Sarah Nichols

This witty and wise work is the first in Elizabeth J. Duncan's charming new mystery series.

A Catskills resort's production of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet takes a wickedly ironic turn when the leading lady, Lauren Richmond, is first poisoned and then stabbed. Who would extinguish the life of such a beautiful young thespian? It seems like just about everyone had a motive to pull the ropes on her final curtain call.

At the center of this Shakespearean tragedy is Charlotte Fairfax, formerly the costume mistress of the Royal Shakespeare Company. Upstate New York is a long way from the royal stage, but Charlotte is always the queen of her domain. As this small production's costume designer, she has stitched her way into everyone's lives, learning more than anyone could possibly imagine about the rise and fall of Lauren Richmond.

©2015 Elizabeth J. Duncan (P)2015 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Thoroughly Enjoyable

Enjoyable story, charming setting , and a delightful main character, enhanced by outstanding narration!

A Bit Flat

I forced myself to finish this book. The characters were flat and uninteresting and the mystery was average. It provided good background noise while I cleaned my house. I might get the next book to see if there is improvement. If there is nothing else available.

A charming cozy mystery.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book. Great story and narrator. I'm looking forward to listening to the next book.

Entertaining, informative, delightful.

What a wonderful surprise. I don't recall a cozy that not only made me smile and laugh so often, but was also so interesting and informative. This new series involves a costume designer who works for an annual summer Shakespeare festival at a small hotel in the Catskills. OK, that's a lot to take in, and I was suspicious of such a convoluted premise. Upstate New York is, of course, beautiful, and that was a big plus, but the biggest surprise was the angle of designing costumes for theater productions. The author did her homework and you learn all kinds of truly interesting information about the theater, including how actors like to be treated, how costumes are organized throughout a theater season, how dress rehearsals work, and much, much, more. I knew nothing about these things, I had no idea there was so much to learn, and it was fascinating. The character of the costume designer / detective herself was warm and comfortable, a real person with a solid, well-defined background whom you like and enjoy listening to. That likability was enhanced by the excellent narrator. And, the mystery itself was neatly done. I thoroughly enjoyed it, I learned a lot, my eyes were opened to new experiences, and I'm very glad I discovered this book.

Confusing and not for me...

What disappointed you about Untimely Death?

I really couldn't get very far because of the narrator and because so many characters were introduced all together. I couldn't follow. Not for me.

Disappointing

Good premise but disappointing execution in both writing and performance. The writing is mediocre and could use the efforts of a good editor. Any one who spent even a little time in the U.K. will see the ending coming a mile away.

The narration is also disappointing. The narrator makes the 40ish main character sound like she's about 90.

Narrator spoiled it

The narrator made no distinction between characters' voices. I could not tell who was speaking, a man or a woman. Unfortunately, this is the worst book I have heard by Audible.

Damned by faint praise

The writing was okay. There was no gratuitous sex or swearing but the motive for the murder was unconvincing. NOT another Agatha Christie by any stretch of the imagination.