**Read 4.5 STARS!**
This eventful acting psychological crime novel is the 4th volume of very likeable "Alexander Gregory" thriller series.
At the begin of the book you'll find a phrase taken from Cassio, in Shakespeare's "Othello" about reputation, and a presentation of the play King Lear at the Old Palace Theatre in London and its main players.
Storytelling is excellent, the psychological elements in this story are very well observed and produced by the author, while all characters come vividly to life in this tale about reputation, consolidation, restoration and murder.
The book starts off with Dr Alexander Gregory back in London, after a dramatic outing in North America. facing a disciplinary panel and its decision at the Southmoor Hospital about his future there, when a death occurs live on stage, that of of the lead actor Sir Nigel Villiers, during the performance of King Lear and with both Alexander Gregory and his mentor and friend, Bill Douglas, in the audience watching the play.
The investigation of this death is to be lead by DCI Ava Hope of the MET, and Gregory is called as a criminal profiler, and while this investigation is going on another death body is found, that of Lance Beckett, using the same kind of killing method, while later on the brutal murder of DCS Campbell will shift the kind of killing pattern but not the clear fact that Cambridge University is at the heart of it all.
What is to follow is an intriguing and excellent crime thriller, that is superbly structured and that will end with a brilliantly executed plot, to reveal the culprit of the first two murders, and a strong clear indication of the identity of the killer of the third victim and the reason behind this murder, and what will supposedly follow in the near future.
Very much recommended, for this is an excellent addition to this impressive series, and that's why I like to call this episode: "A Captivating Suspenseful Mania Thriller"!