A vengeful spirit haunts a theatre production of Macbeth. How fitting, right? Well, this spirit, who just happens to be the murdered leading lady of the play, wants to find her killer and she’s made a deal with a young and ambitious actress who had just joined the cast. Will their combined forces be enough to stop a killer?
Title: A Walking Shadow
Author: Elizabeth Ireland
Series: A Backstage Mystery #1
First Published: February 13, 2019
Categories: Historical Fiction, Mystery
Acquired: from blog tour organiser Rachel’s Random Resources
*** Thank you to Rachel’s Random Resources for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. ***
Newly minted actress Lillian Nolan makes a deal with a haunting spirit – but will it be worth it?
In 1871, Lillian Nolan accepts a small role in Macbeth, and finally fulfills her dream of becoming an actress. That is until the renowned, but venomous, female star of the production is murdered onstage opening night. When her enraged spirit haunts the theatre, Lillian is shocked to discover she can communicate with her. Offered a Faustian bargain in which she will be given talent and expertise way beyond her ability in exchange for uncovering the killer, Lillian can’t resist.
Her quest for the truth causes her to descend into the Underworld, the den of inequity below the streets of Chicago. What Lillian finds soon embroils her in a battle between her passion for performing and control over her own body as it all plays out in a supernatural game of good and evil.
An engaging story
I found the backdrop of a theatre in Chicago in the 1870s fascinating. It was interesting to see how little actresses were thought of in those days (which is such a difference from our celebrity culture now).
Irene Davenport, the leading lady of the times (and murder victim) was, to put it nicely, a vain, mean-spirited diva, but even so, the suspect list isn’t as forthcoming at the start of the story.
I really enjoyed seeing the story from Lillian’s viewpoint, which is written as a memoir for her great-grandniece. Lillian, who is now 96, writes about how she caught the acting bug as a teenager. Her nice, upper-class family is horrified and promptly disown her for wanting to purse a stage career. They offer to take her back, provided she gives up acting and marry the man of their choosing, but determined as any 17-year-old can be, Lillian follows her heart onto the stage.
I liked that we get to see all the different characters that can make up a stage cast and crew – they were a varied bunch and I wish we had gotten to know them a bit better. You can tell the author is intimately familiar with the theatre as her description are detailed, but in a way that makes the entire story come to life. Even I, who has never had any interest in theatre, found myself wanting to immerse myself in this world.
And WOW – that climax. I can’t really say much without giving too much away but let me just say that the climactic confrontation was intense. I don’t know if I’ve ever read so fast – I just NEEDED to find out what happened. And it was just incredible pacing – the description will leave you breathless.
I was initially hesitant about accepting a book that included paranormal aspects, as that’s not generally something I enjoy very much, but honestly, the inclusion of the vengeful spirit of Irene Davenport felt very natural and quite in character. I’m really glad I took a chance on this book as I enjoyed it a lot and I’m really looking forward to the next book in the series!
THE BACKSTAGE MYSTERY SERIES
Tagline: Life upon the wicked stage can be deadly.
Set against the backdrop of the Gilded Age, the Backstage Mystery Series stars Lillian Nolan, an unconventional member of Chicago’s upper class who dreams of a career of fortune and fame in the theatre. Talented and ambitious, she possesses a hidden skill which she is extremely reluctant to use—the ability to communicate with those who have died and now live in the world of “The Beyond.”
The series chronicles her adventures in which she continually becomes enmeshed in solving mysteries which often require her accessing the realm of the paranormal. Filled with an incredible cast of characters—factual, fictional, and sometimes non-physical—who either help or hinder her quest for the truth, the stories take place during a a period considered to be the golden age of both acting and spiritualism in America.
Elizabeth Ireland discovered her passion for theatre early. After receiving undergraduate and graduate degrees in Theatre, she accepted a teaching position in a vibrant performing arts department at a college in northern Illinois. For ten years, she taught, directed and ran front-of-house operations. American Theatre History—particularly that of the 19th century—has always been of particular interest to her.
She has been a quarter-finalist and a semi-finalist for the Don and Gee Nicholl Fellowship in screenwriting sponsored by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Two of her screenplays have been optioned, but remain unproduced. Her nonfiction work, Women of Vision: Ordinary Women, Extraordinary Lives, was published in 2008. Her work has also been published in a collection of paranormal short stories, Paramourtal: Tales of Undying Love and Loving the Undead. She lives in metro Atlanta with her ever-patient husband, and two quirky dachshunds.
You can follow Elizabeth online on the following:
READ IT FOR YOURSELF
(The following Amazon Canada link is an Affiliate Links. Click here to read my Advertising & Affiliate Disclaimer.)
