Stagestruck: A Jubilee Showboat Mystery (Five Star First Edition Mystery) [Hardcover]

Cynthia Thomason (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1594140782 | ISBN-13: 978-1594140785 | Publication Date: October 2003 | Edition: 1

Small-town librarian Gwen Barlow gets more than she expected when she inherits her uncle's lavish Mississippi showboat and discovers that the Jubilee Palace is in serious financial straits, her uncle?s death by a falling theater backdrop is under suspicion, and the showboat family of actors and musicians are the prime suspects. Her life is further complicated when she hires handsome Carson Stockwell to captain the Jubilee, and he becomes a suspect as well. Gwen and Carson must team up to find the murderer before he or she can strike again.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Librarian Gwen Barlow is happy in her little town of Apple Creek, Ohio, where she helps support her mother, Lillian, and her younger brother, Preston. Life is calm and peaceful--until Lillian inherits her uncle's brand-new wedding cake-shaped showboat. Amazingly, Lillian decides that the three of them need to leave Ohio immediately and go to Hickory Bend, Missouri, where her inheritance is docked on the banks of the Mississippi. Gwen soon discovers that her uncle's death was no accident, and that almost everyone in the town, and on the boat, had reason to hate him. Forbidden by a rather inept sheriff to leave until the murder is solved, Gwen, too, begins looking for clues. Although a second murder is committed, the need for food and supplies forces Gwen, now the theatrical manager, too, to go on with the show. Thomason has written an interesting turn-of-the-century mystery with a nice balance of humor and suspense, leaving the reader eager for the librarian-turned-sleuth's next adventure. Shelley Mosley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

"Stagestruck is a delightful read ... The characters are fully fleshed and interesting. The pace is steady and satisfying and there are enough plot twists to keep readers turning the pages. The setting of the showboat is well drawn and colorful, taking readers back to a more innocent time when virtue was prized and honesty was paramount. It was a time when heroes and heroines were cheered and villains were booed and hissed and readers will enjoy their visit to the past via the pages of Stagestruck."
-- Murder on the Beach (UNKNOWN )

"Readers will enjoy this engaging historical amateur sleuth."
-- booksnbytes (UNKNOWN )

"Stagestruck is a winner due to Cynthia Thomason making 1898 Missouri seem vividly alive."
--AllReaders (UNKNOWN )

Product Details

• Hardcover: 241 pages
• Publisher: Five Star; 1 edition (October 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1594140782
• ISBN-13: 978-1594140785
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,691,527 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I'm Cynthia Thomason, writer of romance and some mystery. I am from America's heartland - born in Indiana and raised in Ohio. While working my way through college, I took a job at a radio and TV station and got hooked on journalism. To make a living, I taught high school English for several years before moving to south Florida where my husband and I started an auction company. I became a licensed auctioneer and estate buyer which fed my love for uncovering unusual and oddball items. Luckily I haven't yet crossed the line between collector and hoarder! Recently my writer husband, Walter, and I sold our business. I miss the excitement of the auction but I can write full time now. I also have time to experiment with the new Kindle craze. I have some back list titles up now for purchase. I have won the HOLT Medallion Award, the Golden Quill and Readers' Choice Awards and I've been nominated several times for the prestigious Maggie Award. Though I haven't won the Maggie, "It was an honor just to be nominated..." (Practicing for my Oscar speech :-) I love to write about American's small towns, similar to the one where I grew up in Summit County, Ohio. I like to travel the U.S. especially in the travel trailer we just bought so we can take Sparky, our adorable silky terrier mix. I have one son, also a writer. My favorite place to spend an afternoon is the mountains of North Carolina, but I haven't been to Ireland yet.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars engaging historical amateur sleuth, December 26, 2003

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Stagestruck: A Jubilee Showboat Mystery (Five Star First Edition Mystery) (Hardcover)

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

5.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing Historical Romance, November 22, 2011

By 

Nancy J. Cohen (Florida USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Stagestruck, a Jubilee Showboat Mystery, Book 1 (Kindle Edition)

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.

2.0 out of 5 stars U.S.A. Missouri - 1898, July 14, 2009

By 

Lyn Reese (Berkeley, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Stagestruck: A Jubilee Showboat Mystery (Paperback)

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.