Death By Drama

Josiah Reynolds Mysteries #11

by Abigail Keam

Josiah joins an amateur thespian group that puts on plays in quirky places like public parks and crumbling antebellum mansions. It is a way to socialize, and Josiah feels lonely when her friend Hunter stops calling. Since the new play is being staged at Hunter’s ancestral home Wickliffe Manor, Josiah sees this as a win-win situation. She gets to have fun and remind Hunter that she is still alive and kicking. Hint. Hint.

What could go wrong? Everything!

Hunter ignores the acting group including Josiah, and it doesn’t help when the leading lady, Madison Smythe, drops dead on Hunter’s antique Persian rug. To make matters worse, Franklin, Hunter’s brother, is arrested for her murder!

Josiah does the only thing she can. She sends an S.O.S. to her daughter Asa to investigate the murder. Asa must also discover why a love note from Hunter was found in the dead woman’s coat pocket. Josiah is ready for romance, but she doesn’t want to fall in love with a cheater . . . and possibly a murderer!

Genres: Mystery, Cozy, Cozy Mystery

156 pages, ebook

Published July 24, 2018

About the author

Hello Gentle Reader,

I am Abigail Keam, the award-winning author of the Josiah Reynolds Mystery Series and the 1930s Mona Moon Mystery Series.

I am a professional beekeeper and have won 16 awards for my honey. I live in a metal house overlooking the Kentucky River. I have the great fortune to live near some of the most beautiful horse farms in the Bluegrass.

In addition to the Josiah Reynolds Mysteries, I also write the Princess Maura Tales (Epic Fantasy) and the Last Chance Motel Series (Sweet Romance).

I love animals, Kentucky bourbon, and chocolate. Now if they could combine bourbon and chocolate together, I would be in heaven.

I come from a family of storytellers, so it was only natural I would put my stories to paper. I do so hope my tales give you some pleasure and enjoyment. I would certainly love to hear from you. Signing off now to get back to writing. Yours truly,
Miss Abigail

AWARDS
2010 Gold Medal Award from Readers’ Favorite for Death By A HoneyBee: A Josiah Reynolds Mystery

2011 Gold Medal Award from Readers' Favorite for Death By Drowning: A Josiah Reynolds Mystery

2011 USA BOOK NEWS-Best Books List of 2011 as a Finalist for Death By Drowning: A Josiah Reynolds Mystery

2011 USA BOOK NEWS-Best Books List of 2011 as a Finalist for Death By A HoneyBee: A Josiah Reynolds Mystery

2017 Finalist from Readers’ Favorite for Death By Design: A Josiah Reynolds Mystery

2019 Honorable Mention from Readers’ Favorite for Death By Stalking: A Josiah Reynolds Mystery

2019 Murder Under A Blue Moon: A 1930s Mona Moon Mystery voted top ten mystery reads by Kings River Life Magazine

2020 Finalist from Readers' Favorite for Murder Under A Blue Moon: A 1930s Mona Moon Mystery

2020 Imadjinn Award for Best Mystery for Death By Stalking

2022 Finalist in Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Finalist for Best Historical Category - Murder Under A Full Moon

2022 Finalist the Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award for Best Historical Category - Murder Under A New Moon

2022 Death By Chance: A Josiah Reynolds Mystery Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Finalist for Best Cozy Mystery

Reviews

[Mary Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Death By Drama
A Josiah Reynolds Mystery, Book 11
Abigail Keam
5 Stars

Synopsis:

Josiah joins an amateur thespian group that puts on plays in quirky places like public parks and crumbling antebellum mansions. It is a way to socialize, and Josiah feels lonely when her friend Hunter stops calling. Since the new play is being staged at Hunter’s ancestral home Wickliffe Manor, Josiah sees this as a win-win situation. She gets to have fun and remind Hunter that she is still alive and kicking. Hint. Hint.
What could go wrong? Everything!
Hunter ignores the acting group including Josiah, and it doesn’t help when the leading lady, Madison Smythe, drops dead on Hunter’s antique Persian rug. To make matters worse, Franklin, Hunter’s brother, is arrested for her murder!
Josiah does the only thing she can. She sends an S.O.S. to her daughter Asa to investigate the murder. Asa must also discover why a love note from Hunter was found in the dead woman’s coat pocket. Josiah is ready for romance, but she doesn’t want to fall in love with a cheater . . . and possibly a murderer! (Goodreads)

Review:

The characters are well developed and well rounded. Josiah is quite a character, she is quirky, bossy (in a good way) and she knows her mind, and does not like taking no for an answer. But she is also caring and loving and is very willing to help those in need, especially her friends. I like the fact that she was an older protagonist and I think it would be fun to spend time with her and her friends. There were a lot of characters to meet in this book, and at times I had a little trouble keeping them straight in my mind. That was probably because this was the first book that I read in this series, otherwise I would have already known them. And that is only my opinion and other readers may not agree with me. All of the characters added a lot to the story.

The writing style flows smoothly and the book is an easy read. It allowed me to get a better insight into the characters lives and thoughts. I thought the author gave enough descriptions of places and events without getting overly wordy. The mystery was well plotted and had enough clues to sift through and suspects to consider and it was not easily solved.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a well crafted cozy mystery. I will have to read the other books in this series.

[Icy-Cobwebs-Crossing-SpaceTime · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review of DEATH BY DRAMA
by Abigail Keam
A Josiah Reynolds Mystery 11

Ms. Keam is one prolific author, in at least 3 genres (cozy mystery; epic fantasy; sweet romance), and simultaneously is an award-winning beekeeper. So it's not unlikely that Josiah Reynolds, the protagonist of this eponymously-titled series, also practices beekeeping. What is more unusual in a series protagonist is that Josiah is older in ill health from a fall suffered some time back that might well have instead been fatal. But she doesn't take poor health lying down; she stays active, keeping bees, bonding with friends, trying to straighten out her daughter Asa, who owns her own insurance fraud investigation company and lives in London (instead of in Kentucky, as does Josiah), and even developing a lovely (if possibly not requited yet) love interest. Also naturally, when Love Interest's brother is charged with murder, even before the death is declared unnatural, Josiah is not going to let this continue and if Asa knows what's good for her, she'll be right alongside helping sleuth.

[Elisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

The drama and mystery with Josiah are always over the top hilarious with a murderous edge, I love it.

Death by Drama was a fantastic story all my favorite characters were back and sassier than ever, I loved having Asa in this story more and I'm hoping she comes home more often I think Mother and Daughter make an awesome sleuth team.

As usual, I want to smack Matt upside the head, I want to hug Franklin and as for Hunter well let's just say he is my least favorite at the moment, Josiah needs a man in her life who will put her first for once Matt, Franklin and Hunter always think of themselves first but where would they be without Josiah.

[Mary Ann Olsztyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Always enjoy the cast of characters in this series. An easy and enjoyable quick read.

[No-Genre-Unread · Rating 5 out of 5]

Twists upon twists upon twists, and zero loose ends❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ Another winner👏 I did not see that ending coming. I was a little confused about how The three sleuths were able to add up what happened, by the looks of the cranberry juice in the decanter and the goblets, but other characters in the book couldn't figure that out either. It was cute how the author included her own name in the story, as a playwryte. That made me have two search to see if she had written a book called The Murder Trap.
Man, do I hate Meeria! I've heard about what moms can go through after deciding to give up their baby. How they think they're OK with it at first, but then the maternal hormones might kick in months later, which could drive The mother to do irrational things to get close to her baby again. Even so, it's hard to not feel judge mental towards those women who just decide to rip The baby away from whoever they gave it up to without caring who they hurt in the process. I never gave up a baby, so I wouldn't understand how it feels. Still, moms like Meeria are appallingly selfish. I want to jump into the book, and shoot Meeria! SPOILER: In The next book, the rich bitch wins the custody battle, and takes the baby to LA with her. Even worse, Mat moved to LA to be close to his child, but Meeria Is trying to push him out of there daughter's life. Aside from wanting to read the rest of the series for its awesome mysteries, i'm hoping to see if something bad will thankfully happen to Maria in a further book.

[Jesse Coffey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once again, Abigail Keam does it again.

Madison Smythe, leading lady of the play Josiah Reynold's amateur theater group is doing, drops dead and Jo's friend Franklin Wickliffe is arrested for a charge of Murder in the First. Jo makes a panicked call to the one person she can count on to find the real killer -- her daughter, Asa. And from there, the plot carried me along and the tension never lets go till the bitter end when the killer is finally revealed.

This is a first, exploring other points of view. We get to see through Josiah's eyes but also through Asa's as the Professional carries on the real investigation. Asa is part temptress and part cold blooded investigator, but her instincts are dead on. No pun intended.

I love Keam's strong women who are anything but stereotypical. They live and breathe, and they are as real as any of us are. Everyone has a story here and everyone has a motive. And EVERYONE is lying for some reason. To watch the mother/daughter team find the answers is a pure joy. And when I tell you that the thrills never stop, I mean that in a way that gives a breather now and again, but I couldn't stop reading. I had to know. I had to find out. I hated every moment I had to spend away from this novel.

Hunter Wickliffe is fast becoming my "Boyfriend of Choice". It's nice to see Jo with an older man. I am loving following their romance.

Another 5 out of 5 stars and truly an amazing read. Well done, Mrs. Keam! Well done!

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are two definite reasons for Josiah's daughter to rush home. A murder has been committed and Asa's expertise is required to prove Franklin, the accused, is innocent. That is not enough, as he can't live the rest of his life having people even suspect he could be a murderer. Finding out who did commit this horrendous crime is even more important.

As Asa works to untangle this twisted caper, we learn deep secrets about many of Josiah's society friends. Poor Franklin not only isn't feeling the support of his best friends, he must learn the difficult truth about his brother's financial situation, while sitting in jail. The infant he feels almost as if she is his own, is being kept from him to keep the baby's mother from stealing her away.

Finances and romance and other dark secrets all play a role and must come to light before the truth plays out.

[Terri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Death by drama

This was another book in the series by Abigail Keam. I enjoy the series, which has recurring characters. However, I think each book can stand alone as well.
Having said that, I have this quick read 4 stars as opposed to 5, because the main plot -that if Josiahs friend being charged with murder- was enough of a plot for the book. However, there were a few subplots which imho, detracted from the main one. Josiah daughter As a plays a more prominent role in the book, and I would have liked to see that develop even further.
Overall though,it was an enjoyable read and I look forward to the next book!

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Josiah Louise Reynolds--beekeeper, horse boarder, partner in an event business, and owner of a farm in the Bluegrass called the Butterfly. When there's trouble she calls on her daughter Asa, a female Dirty Harry. When Josiah's friend Franklin Wickliffe is arrested for the murder of Madison Smythe, she needs Asa's help. She can also count on help from her lawyer Shaneika Mary Todd. I loved that the play the theater group was putting on was called The Murder Trap by Abigail Keam! My favorite lines in the book were: "Think of a wisecracking Jessica Fletcher. She's sugar. I'm spice." I like reading this series because I like the cast of characters and the setting.

[Marian Gosling · Rating 5 out of 5]

Within the many books of the Josiah Reynolds Mystery series, it was my first. Loved the encounter with Abigail's snarky wit offering snappy dialogue coming from the addictive Josiah. Then, there is the female version of the classic films' Thin Man- Nick Charles morphed into Josiah's daughter, Asa. Fast paced, with sticky tentacles of love, fraud, and jealousy ...all leading to the climax angst! At 217 pp., I had just under 4 hours of great fun! I'll be tracking down Keam's Death by Stalking next! You should join me.
Series is available on Amazon

[Valerie Irwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh Josiah...how I've missed you!

This book, like the others in the series, keeps you on your toes and keeps you reading all night long to get to the end of the book. I love this series, and wish there wasn't so much time in between the stories. Now, for the cliffhanger, what is wrong with Josiah's kidneys and what's up with her health?

[Amy Rosenkoetter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brevity is the soul of wit

I have loved every single Josiah Reynolds mystery. They are short, but they pack a solid punch. They are well balanced and full of action, and in spite of their brevity, the characters are fully fleshed out. I never feel like I'm being shortchanged. Josiah is a HOOT!

[Lisa Norvell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it

The Josiah Reynolds series is one of my favorites. This story has her daughter Asa helping her discover who killed a member of the theater group she has joined. Franklin has been accused and Josiah is determined to find the real killer.

[Rebecca Boehringer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Josiah and her friends never disappoint. A story with a sassy main character, eccentric friends and an intriguing plot, short and sweet. I think of Abigail Keam's book as 'pallet cleansers', just what you need after reading something heavy.

[Chris Blackton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Will Josiah find happiness again? Will this series take a less depressing direction? I know it is a murder mystery but even Franklin is not providing comic relief any more. Despite that this series of books is an addictive interesting read which I will continue to read.

[Donna Ann Sutcliffe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely brilliant again. Franklin get accused of murder whilst being manger of a amateur dramatic club. Josiah needs help so enlist Asa to help. Lots of twist and turns. Loving the Lexington scene.

[Shanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sad to See the Last Page!

I Loved the Book! Can't wait for the next one to be written! Kept me guessing to the last page!

[Diana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great book fromAbigail Keam!

[Gail Gowland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it!

Kept you wondering who the culprit was. Enjoyed this book and this series. Always entertaining. One of my favorite authors.

[Shelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good light mystery.

[Dottie M. Ostendorf · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great read

Abigail has done it yet again! Loved the mystery. Being a Ky gal, this makes me proud. Thank you again Abigail.

[Wayne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good enough.

[Kris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great Josiah Reynolds mystery. Amusement read!!!

[Rae Hollingsworth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting

All the books in this series are terrific. I was surprised to find out who the cuprit actually was. Can't wait for the next installment of "Josiah Reynolds Mystery 12"

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great series. I have enjoyed every one. I love books that let older characters not be fuddyduddy or bumbling idiots. Looking forward to number 12