Murder at the People's Theater — Laura Shea

Starting a new job at the prestigious People's Theater, Erica Duncan soon finds that the position holds more drama than she expected when Claudia, one of her co-workers, is brutally murdered, her body staged in a manner that echoes the company's upcoming new musical Michelangelo. Erica is stunned and shares details of the crime with her actor boyfriend Alan, who made his name in one of the People's productions. He advises Erica to lay low and just do her job--which is taking orders from her immediate superior, Dessie Harris, a feisty former actress who is the power behind the People's boss, Alexa Wallace, a seemingly unflappable business woman. Erica has a front row seat as the murder investigation unfolds, and she soon discovers there were any number of people at the People's Theater who might have bashed in poor Claudia's head. Working in the main office where she overhears many pertinent conversations, along with updates on the police investigation, Erica soon develops her own ideas about the identity of Claudia's killer--and she resolves to test her theory.