Mystery at the Ruby by Holly Hertzel & Mike Prittie

Authors Holly Hertzel and Mike Prittie offer a thoroughly entertaining cozy mystery with Mystery at the Ruby, a densely packed and carefully penned novel that will please thespians and thriller readers alike. The cast of larger-than-life characters keeps the plot entertaining, while their tangled past histories, overinflated egos, and well-rehearsed lies keep readers guessing throughout this surprising mystery. The exposition is a bit sluggish at the front of the book, and there is some heavy-handed narration that occasionally shoves the plot forward, but this locked-room murder mystery gains steady momentum, and the whip-smart dialogue makes the prose a pleasure. A swirling mix of suspicion, rising stars, and psychotic killers, this theatrical novel is a modern mystery with old-school charm.