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Monika Paniatowski #9
Best Served Cold
Old grudges resurface with deadly consequences in this gripping, twisty mystery featuring DCI Monika Paniatowski.
On the night the Whitebridge Players staged their last ever performance, the idealistic young actors in the company resolved that twenty years on they would return to the same theatre and stage the same play.
But two decades later, old resentments have grown and new jealousies have germinated, and it is a very different company that returns to re-enact the Spanish Tragedy. The cast members all have their axes to grind - and some have clear targets for those axes . . .
It is in this world - where normal rules and standards have no meaning - that DCI Monika Paniatowski finds herself, once a tragedy within the Tragedy has occurred. But how can she uncover the killer's motive when everyone seemed to want the victim dead? And how can she decide who is telling the truth - when all these people lie for a living?
On the night the Whitebridge Players staged their last ever performance, the idealistic young actors in the company resolved that twenty years on they would return to the same theatre and stage the same play.
But two decades later, old resentments have grown and new jealousies have germinated, and it is a very different company that returns to re-enact the Spanish Tragedy. The cast members all have their axes to grind - and some have clear targets for those axes . . .
It is in this world - where normal rules and standards have no meaning - that DCI Monika Paniatowski finds herself, once a tragedy within the Tragedy has occurred. But how can she uncover the killer's motive when everyone seemed to want the victim dead? And how can she decide who is telling the truth - when all these people lie for a living?
224 pages, Hardcover
First published August 1, 2015
17 people are currently reading
86 people want to read
About the author
Sally Spencer
84 books152 followersA pseudonym used by Alan Rustage.
Sally Spencer is a pen name, first adopted when the author (actually called Alan Rustage) was writing sagas and it was almost obligatory that a woman's name appeared on the cover (other authors like Emma Blair and Mary Jane Staples are also men).
Before becoming a full-time writer, he was a teacher. In 1978-79 he was working in Iran and witnessed the fall of the Shah (see the Blog for what it was like to live through a revolution). He got used to having rifles - and, one occasion, a rocket launcher - pointed at him by both soldiers and revolutionaries, but he was never entirely comfortable with it.
He lived in Madrid for over twenty years, and still considers it the most interesting and exciting city he has ever visited, but for the last few years he has opted for a quieter life in the seaside town of Calpe, on the Costa Blanca.
His first series of books were historical sagas set in Cheshire (where he grew up) and London. They were very popular with his English readers, but his American readers find the dialect something of a strain.
He has written twenty books featuring DCI Woodend (a character based partly on a furniture dealer he used to play dominoes with) and ten (so far!) about Woodend's protegé Monika Paniatowski.
His DI Sam Blackstone books are set in Victorian/Edwardian London, New York and Russia, and the Inspector Paco Ruiz books have as their backdrop the Spanish Civil War.
Alan is a competitive games player who likes bridge and pub quizzes. It is only by enforcing iron discipline that he doesn't play video games all the time.
He now lives on Spain's Costa Blanca.
Sally Spencer is a pen name, first adopted when the author (actually called Alan Rustage) was writing sagas and it was almost obligatory that a woman's name appeared on the cover (other authors like Emma Blair and Mary Jane Staples are also men).
Before becoming a full-time writer, he was a teacher. In 1978-79 he was working in Iran and witnessed the fall of the Shah (see the Blog for what it was like to live through a revolution). He got used to having rifles - and, one occasion, a rocket launcher - pointed at him by both soldiers and revolutionaries, but he was never entirely comfortable with it.
He lived in Madrid for over twenty years, and still considers it the most interesting and exciting city he has ever visited, but for the last few years he has opted for a quieter life in the seaside town of Calpe, on the Costa Blanca.
His first series of books were historical sagas set in Cheshire (where he grew up) and London. They were very popular with his English readers, but his American readers find the dialect something of a strain.
He has written twenty books featuring DCI Woodend (a character based partly on a furniture dealer he used to play dominoes with) and ten (so far!) about Woodend's protegé Monika Paniatowski.
His DI Sam Blackstone books are set in Victorian/Edwardian London, New York and Russia, and the Inspector Paco Ruiz books have as their backdrop the Spanish Civil War.
Alan is a competitive games player who likes bridge and pub quizzes. It is only by enforcing iron discipline that he doesn't play video games all the time.
He now lives on Spain's Costa Blanca.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
October 14, 2017
Reunion of actors that all were in a play in 1957, putting on the same play with the same actors in 1977. Rivalries and jealousies abound. Eventually one of the actors is murdered and the investigation begins. Well written and a twist at the end.
September 28, 2018
Another great mystery
I have followed Monica since she was Woodends rookie, and love the story that has unfolded over the series. This story is ripe with suspects, motives, and just enough mystery to keep you guessing.
I have followed Monica since she was Woodends rookie, and love the story that has unfolded over the series. This story is ripe with suspects, motives, and just enough mystery to keep you guessing.
October 22, 2018
Good read
A very English detective story, set in the 70s with all the vibes of that period. The storyblinecis believable and entertaining.
A very English detective story, set in the 70s with all the vibes of that period. The storyblinecis believable and entertaining.
November 2, 2021
Okay
Better than the last few books — but I admit I skipped over a lot of the actors’ scenes. 😶
Better than the last few books — but I admit I skipped over a lot of the actors’ scenes. 😶
August 9, 2023
mildly entertaining
December 18, 2025
It took me a bit longer to read this book in the series....a bit on the boring side for me. And a bit predictable.
May 13, 2015
In 1957, the Whitebridge Players act their last performance due to the closure of the theatre. One of the actors suggests that in exactly 20 years time they meet up and put the same play on again.
Moving on to 1977, their individual life stories are very different and there is tension amongst the group for various reasons, both past and present. When one of them is murdered , DCI Monika Paniatowski is assigned to the case.
The plot is clever as it soon becomes apparent that the murderer must be one of the actors and as the reader you are trying to work out who and why. There are a couple of references made to Agatha Christie’s works in the novel and this plot does bear some resemblance.
The depiction of the 1970’s is really good with women taking senior roles in the Police Force; no mobile phones and smoking anywhere etc.
I also liked the unusual writing style of an act taking place or a character’s recall and then straight away the reader is in the present again. This gives the novel real pace.
This was an enjoyable mystery and one that would work well on television.
Thank you to the Publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to read “Best Served Cold”.
Moving on to 1977, their individual life stories are very different and there is tension amongst the group for various reasons, both past and present. When one of them is murdered , DCI Monika Paniatowski is assigned to the case.
The plot is clever as it soon becomes apparent that the murderer must be one of the actors and as the reader you are trying to work out who and why. There are a couple of references made to Agatha Christie’s works in the novel and this plot does bear some resemblance.
The depiction of the 1970’s is really good with women taking senior roles in the Police Force; no mobile phones and smoking anywhere etc.
I also liked the unusual writing style of an act taking place or a character’s recall and then straight away the reader is in the present again. This gives the novel real pace.
This was an enjoyable mystery and one that would work well on television.
Thank you to the Publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to read “Best Served Cold”.
May 18, 2015
DCI Monika Paniatowski is a few weeks away from giving birth and is reluctant to take on the investigation into a death in the local theatre. But the Chief Constable insists and she sets about it with her usual energy. The Whitebridge Players have returned to the town twenty years after their last performance of Kydd's The Spanish Tragedy to stage the play again.
Resentments and old feuds have festered over the intervening twenty years and this time they lead to real tragedy. This is a intriguing mystery and just about everyone involved had reason for wishing the victim dead. I thought the plot was well constructed and the characters and their motivations believable.
The tension builds up over the course of the book - not just because of the need to catch the killer but because of Monika's impending maternity leave and it is a toss up whether the case will be solved before Monika gives birth.
I have only read one previous volume in this series and I thought this one was even better. I shall definitely go back and read the previous books in this well written police procedural series set in the 1970s. I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley for review.
Resentments and old feuds have festered over the intervening twenty years and this time they lead to real tragedy. This is a intriguing mystery and just about everyone involved had reason for wishing the victim dead. I thought the plot was well constructed and the characters and their motivations believable.
The tension builds up over the course of the book - not just because of the need to catch the killer but because of Monika's impending maternity leave and it is a toss up whether the case will be solved before Monika gives birth.
I have only read one previous volume in this series and I thought this one was even better. I shall definitely go back and read the previous books in this well written police procedural series set in the 1970s. I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley for review.
June 12, 2016
Sally Spencer writes a good story.
This is the latest in the Monika Paniatowski series.
Close to giving birth, Monika, and her team, are investigating a murder at a local theatre. This theatre has been hastily rebuilt. Twenty years ago the theatre staged the last play of a local theatre group. Since then, it has been used as a bingo hall, but has now been redone as a theatre.
A member of the previous cast, Mark Cotton, has made a name for himself as a character in a tv series. He wants to fulfill the pact that was made twenty years ago, at the close the final play, that the cast would meet again, and stage this very last play.
Each member of the group had their own reasons for returning. One of them had murder in mind.
This is the latest in the Monika Paniatowski series.
Close to giving birth, Monika, and her team, are investigating a murder at a local theatre. This theatre has been hastily rebuilt. Twenty years ago the theatre staged the last play of a local theatre group. Since then, it has been used as a bingo hall, but has now been redone as a theatre.
A member of the previous cast, Mark Cotton, has made a name for himself as a character in a tv series. He wants to fulfill the pact that was made twenty years ago, at the close the final play, that the cast would meet again, and stage this very last play.
Each member of the group had their own reasons for returning. One of them had murder in mind.
August 16, 2015
Sally Spencer is another of what I consider underrated mystery authors. This book is another in the series featuring DCI Monika Paniatowski. But even if you have not read earlier titles, the author provides enough background information to let this be a stand alone. The police are assigned to help protect a popular actor who stars as a detective in a TV series. As he is in town to recreate a play originally done 20 years before, and with all the same players, there are both new and old loves and hates to deal with. The investigation is made more difficult as pressure is felt from both press and high level police.
Another excellent police procedural.
Another excellent police procedural.
December 6, 2015
I love going to the library and finding a new book by a favorite author on the shelves. I've long enjoyed these British novels written by Sally Spencer (Alan Rustle) from the time her main character was Charlie Woodend who has now retired and left his legacy to Monica Paniatowski. In this theatrical mystery, Monica is very pregnant and almost ready to deliver once she has delivered up the murderer. These are well paced, complex, and straightforward mysteries of a little over 200 pages. After reading several that topped 400, it was such a quick and enjoyable journey. There is simply no extraneous material in these books. I love that my library carries a full range of British mysteries.
November 21, 2015
Another great entry in an engaging series...I enjoy the characters, the historical setting, & the relatively brief format.
August 17, 2015
Having read more than my share of "theater murders", I found this one above average. The writing was a 5 and the plot had several rather unique twists to the murders on stage.
November 24, 2015
Little predictable.
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March 20, 2016Pretty good
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews