Showing results by author "Elizabeth J. Duncan" in All Categories

A Catskills resort's production of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet takes a wickedly ironic turn when the leading lady, Lauren Richmond, is first poisoned and then stabbed. Who would extinguish the life of such a beautiful young thespian? It seems like just about everyone had a motive to pull the ropes on her final curtain call. At the center of this Shakespearean tragedy is Charlotte Fairfax, formerly the costume mistress of the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Local artist and amateur sleuth Penny Brannigan has been spending her summer painting views of the once-lovely Gwrych Castle, which is now in a heartbreaking state of disrepair. So when she hears that one of the locals, Mark Baker, is leading a team of enthusiastic volunteers to restore the castle, she is thrilled. However, after disagreements over how the work should proceed break out, the body of an overbearing volunteer is discovered and Mark is implicated.

It's the most important night of the year for the Catskills Shakespeare Theater Company: the annual fundraising performance at the country estate of the wealthy widow Paula Van Dusen. And this year promises to be even more special as the company will give a moonlight performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream as part of the wedding celebrations for Paula's daughter, Belinda, and her fiancé Adrian. But "the course of true love never did run smooth", and in the wake of a disastrous after-party, the stage is set for murder.

The competition is friendly and just a little fierce at the annual Llanelen agricultural show as town and country folk gather for the outdoor judging of farm animals and indoor judging of cakes, pies, pastries, chutneys, jams and jellies, along with vegetables, fruits, and flowers. But this year, there’s a new show category: murder.

The residents of Llanelen are brimming with excitement as a popular antiques show is coming to their Welsh town. People are flocking from miles around, hoping their treasures turn out to be worth a fortune. On the day of filming, quiet local sheep farmer Haydn Williams brings a generations-old long-case clock for evaluation while the woman he's always admired from afar, Catrin Bellis, turns up with a cherished handmade quilt. But by the end of the day, Catrin turns up dead, her quilt missing.