Customer Reviews

Stagestruck: A Jubilee Showboat Mystery

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In 1898 Apple Creek, Ohio, Lillian Barlow learns that her brother Eli died in a freak accident on his showboat, the Jubilee Palace. Eli's lawyer informs Lillian that she inherited the showboat. The showboat is deep in debt. Still Lillian persuades her reluctant adult children, college librarian Gwen Barlow and hard good store worker Preston, that they need to move to Hickory Bend, Missouri to manage the boat.

In Hickory Bend, Gwen ends up taking charge of the showboat as her mother cannot handle anything negative and her brother is Stagestruck with one of the performers. Gwen quickly realizes that several people had the motive to murder Eli as she agrees with the constable that a homicide occurred. Gwen wonders if one of the performers, the workers, the townsfolk, or the handsome captain she just hired to run "Eli's Folly" killed her uncle.

Readers will enjoy this engaging historical amateur sleuth tale that emphasizes the Mississippi River at the end of the nineteenth century. The who-done-it is cleverly worked to the pleasure of mystery readers. The strong characters whether the troupe or the townsfolk are a delight especially the embattled Gwen. However, STAGESTRUCK is a winner due to Cynthia Thomason making 1898 Missouri seems vividly alive.

Harriet Klausner

This engaging historical romance will take you through the doors of a showboat to a unique place in American history. A spunky sleuth, distinctive secondary characters, and a solid mystery will keep you turning pages. Cynthia Thomason really places you in a scene and makes you feel as though you're there. You'll be wanting to cruise down the river after reading this charming whodunit.

Upon the murder of her uncle, 28 year old Gwen Barlow with her 19 year old brother and mother inherits the Jubilee Palace, a lavish Mississippi river showboat. Waiting for them to take possession is the theater company and a raft of debts incurred by her uncle. Before the theater can open its doors and set off for a hopefully lucrative season on the river, the perpetrator of the uncle's murder must be found. When others of the troupe meet the same fate, and the town constable seems notably incompetent, Gwen knows she must solve the murders herself.

The idea of a mystery involving a showboat, theater troupe, and life along the Mississippi has great appeal. This story offers nice details of the boat itself and the workings of a late 19th century stage. Expanded transportation in the latter part of the19th century greatly expanded the professional theater industry throughout the United States. Most of the plays embraced romantic plots, as seen by the one performed by the Jubilee Palace group. The difficulties of managing the Mississippi river also are touched on, including the disreputable "shanty boats." It is a bit of a push, however, to believe that Gwen, previously a librarian in a small Ohio town, could so rapidly relocate to Missouri and jump into the role of investigator, theater financier, manager, and director, all without the aid of her flaky brother and mother. And with no help from the sullen acting troupe. Readers might also spot a few minor historical lapses such as the importance to the plot of rolls of tape, given that adhesive tape was invented in the 1920s.

The author's main forte is as a writer of romance novels. This, her first mystery, seems to lack crime solving tension. Gwen is a likable character, nevertheless, and descriptions of her dress, demeanor, and even her new found freedom riding a bike are right on. First of a Gwen Barlow series. No author notes.

It's 1898 and Gwen Barlow's mother, Lillian, has just inherited her brother Eli Willoughby's showboat, the Jubilee Palace. Lillian, Gwen and Gwen's younger brother Preston, leave Ohio for the Mississippi River to live on and run the showboat. Once they arrive, they find out that many called it Eli's Folly. It is best described as a "wedding cake with a pilot house."

Marianne Dresden, Dickey Squires, Anabel Whitedove, Sir Clyde Peacock, and Jason DeVane live on the showboat and are in the show Belle of the Ozarks. Gwen is unsure of what role Travis Veazey plays in the workings of the showboat. His appearance shows he has an aversion to soap and barber shops. He also lives on the showboat. Phineas Johnson, his wife Peaches, and their daughter Danita also live on the showboat as the hired help. The Barlows quickly find out that no one has been paid for a couple of months.

After they arrive, they find out that the showboat is not allowed to leave Hickory Bend until Eli's murder is solved. They also find out that Eli left debts around town. Gwen and Preston begin meeting with his creditors but soon find out that Eli wasn't well liked.

Gwen begins looking into solving her uncle's murder to help get the showboat on its way and making money to begin paying everyone.

This is a terrific story. Usually I don't like stories set back in time, but this one is a great exception. The characters and setting are so well written. I found it difficult to put the book down. I wanted to find out who did it and why. It is a very well written story with enough twists and turns that you don't figure it out ahead of time.

I highly recommend this book and look forward to more in this series!

Stagestruck is a clever turn-of-the-century cozy mystery. Readers will enjoy details of life aboard a showboat. There are enough quirky characters among the actors and musicians to keep the reader guessing, and a second murder which was a complete surprise. I hope this continues as a series. The heroine, Gwen, is bright and practical, a woman who must step out of typical Victorian morals to get the job done and solve the crime.