Showstopper

“Thoroughly enjoyable . . . Corie Geller is wonderful company.”—The New York Times on Bad, Bad Seymour Brown

From New York Times bestselling author Susan Isaacs, beloved private investigators Corie Geller and her retired cop dad take a case that sends them into the world of New York theater—a smart, twisty, and gleefully entertaining mystery that will have readers calling for an encore

Corie Geller thought she’d never hear from Ray Sundborg again. That was fine with her. Her old boss at the FBI was a charmless bureaucrat who went mysteriously deaf whenever a woman spoke. But when Ray calls up Schottland & Geller—the PI firm Corie runs with her father—he's distraught. Ray’s sister Michelle has been found dead in her apartment. The cops say it's an overdose, but Ray doesn’t buy it. Yes, she had her struggles with painkillers, but that was years ago. She got clean and built a successful career leading a theater non-profit. If Michelle was using, Ray would know.

Corie can’t stand Ray, but that doesn’t mean he’s wrong. Hidden in Michelle’s purse, the father-daughter duo finds something the NYPD missed: a pill case holding what looks like ordinary Tylenol. But two of the pills are laced with fentanyl. This was a murder, dressed up as a relapse. And other things aren't as they seem, starting with the victim herself. Michelle came to New York with dreams of becoming an actress. When she couldn't get the parts she wanted, she made her life an act instead. To her donors, she played the charming and effective executive. Her employees say she delegated everything and was notorious for her three-hour lunches. In private, Michelle indulged in kinky photo shoots, had a long list of short affairs, and was seeing a billionaire behind her boyfriend’s back.

With so many versions of the victim, Corie must work out exactly which Michelle someone wanted dead. And the suspects are giving convincing performances of their own. Luckily, she has help sorting the players from their parts—her mother Margo is an actress and podcast host with a dizzying list of theater-world contacts. But backstage gossip won't cut it. Without hard evidence, Corie needs a confession from a killer who’s been hiding in plain sight for months. To get one, she’ll have to stage a show of her own.