Death Mask: A Jocelyn O'Roarke Mystery

Jocelyn O'Roarke #3

by Jane Dentinger

An invigorating new theatre-world mystery by the author of Dead Pan. Actress/sleuth Jocelyn O'Roarke has her hands full when she stages and directs a fund-raiser to save an old theatre from demolition--and an unpopular actor dies right in front of the audience on preview night!

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1988

About the author

Jane Dentinger was born and raised in Rochester, New York. She graduated magna cum laude from Ithaca College with a BFA in theatre, then moved to Manhattan, where she still resides. After making her stage debut in Joe Papp’s production of Pericles at the Delacorte Theatre, she acted off Broadway in All My Sons at the Roundabout Theatre and in Jack Heifner’s Vanities for ages.

By the time Vanities finally closed, there were a lot of people she wanted to kill, and hence, she wrote her debut mystery, Murder on Cue, on a grant of sorts from the New York State Department of Labor. It was the first of six novels featuring actress Jocelyn O’Roarke, whom the New Yorker dubbed “an artsy Philip Marlowe.”

While writing her novels, Dentinger managed Murder Ink, a preeminent mystery bookstore in New York City, for eight years. In October of 1999, Dentinger became senior editor of the Mystery Guild Book Club. In 2005, she was made editor in chief, a position she held until December, 2013.

Reviews

[Stacy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series is custom made for me - murder mystery set in the Broadway world. Jocelyn "Josh" is back and this time she's directing a play. Along with pre-opening jitters she now has to deal with the sudden death of one of her actors, an attempted break-in to her apartment, and lingering feelings for her ex-boyfriend. I'm happy that they were able to work in Philip mainly because his police partner Tommy is then along for the ride and he amuses me. I love the inside look at behind the scenes of a play and there are plenty of clues along the way.

[Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid genre mystery along the lines of Ngaio Marsh, Marcia Muller, or maybe Janet Evanovich. More plot than character driven, which is a deficit for me, but what a lot of people like in a cozy mystery (I think).

Because the plot was driven by backstage Broadway intrigue, I may come back for a few of the entries in the series. I particularly loved that the David Ames character was clearly based on the asshole former NY Daily Post critic Michael Riedel. I hope some of Dentinger's other books include similar roman a clefs.

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good stuff! More psychogically astute and fascinating insights into the theater world of the 1980s. As with Dentinger's earlier books, I wished there was a character list at the front, but this one was the least confusing thus far. Also, the mystery was a little less straightforward--more of a piece with the milieu and the relationships, which I found interesting.

[Cece · Rating 2 out of 5]

It dragged a bit, and I figured it out before she did, so only 2 stars. Plus, I don't like where the character relationships are going.

[Lesley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finally filled in this gap in the sequence.

[Jack Heath]

Synopsis: sleuth Jocelyn O'Roarke stages a fund-raiser to save an old theatre, and an unpopular actor dies on stage!