Staged

by John M. Green

When a Hollywood star is killed live on stage, the entire cast falls under suspicion … Can a disgraced journalist and a rule-bending detective with a PhD in AI crack the case?

A Sydney Opera House production of The Rocky Horror Show ends in tragedy when a stage prop kills Hollywood star Dane Cooder in a spectacularly gruesome fashion. The whole theatre, including his wife and co-star Angelique Swan, watch in horror.

The death is ruled an accident, but Dick Sonntag, disgraced journalist with online gossip site WTF, disagrees. Sonntag is in the audience that night and investigates further. He launches a smash-hit podcast about the celebrity death and, due to the public outcry, the case is reopened.At the same time, a small boy is kidnapped and held for ransom.

Detective Harry Stiles is brought in to lead both cases. She despises the last time they crossed paths, he derailed her investigation involving police corruption. Will Harry’s artificial intelligence skills help them pin down the culprits this time?

As the investigations unfold, Sonntag and Stiles uncover affairs, dark secrets and blackmail against the backdrop of Sydney Harbour.

Staged is an electrifying, fast-paced crime thriller for readers of Jack Heath and Benjamin Stevenson.

322 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 28, 2026

About the author

When it dawned on John that what got him up in the morning was writing, not his day job, he quit the job. That was after 30 years in executive life. He was then an executive director in a leading investment bank. Earlier, he’d been a partner in 2 major law firms, and a director of a publishing house. ABC Radio says John's thriller-writing has "the sophistication of John le Carré and the pace of Jeffrey Archer."

His novels are: Nowhere Man, a financial thriller with a futuristic twist.
Born to Run, a political thriller about a US presidential election that gets derailed by murder, terror & treason.
The Trusted, an eco-cyber-thriller: When saving the planet means destroying it!

John's also a well-known business writer and commentator. His pieces have appeared in a variety of Australian and overseas publications including: ABC Drum Online, Company Director, Business Spectator, The Australian, The Australian Financial Review, The Age, The Bulletin, and the UK’s Financial Times.

As well as writing, John's on the governing council of the National Library of Australia, is a board member of two stock-exchange-listed corporations and not-for-profits, as well as a co-founder of Pantera Press. He lives in Sydney with his wife, a sculptor.

John is currently working on his next thriller, due for release in 2016.