Deadly Theater
When I read the first in James J. Cudney’s Braxton Campus Mysteries several years ago, I intended to read more. I let several years go by before I got back to it, but I finally read Broken Heart Attack, the second in the series.
This series feature Kellan Ayrwick, who has recently moved back to Wharton County from Los Angeles, bringing his daughter with him. His family lives there, and his father has gotten him a temporary (for now) job teaching at Braxton College. However, Kellan is finding that settling back into his family life is more complicated than he had envision. And the murder rate spiking isn’t helping.
It’s only been a week or two since Kellan Ayrwick solved a mystery on the Braxton campus, but he’s found himself involved in another one. Kellan is attending a dress rehearsal for King Lear with his Nana D. and her group of friends. One of them is Gwendolyn Paddington, the head of the powerful Paddington family who helps underride the theater production at Braxton. Not long into the second act of the play, Gwendolyn leans over onto Kellan’s shoulder. But she isn’t sleeping; Kellan quickly realizes that Gwendolyn is dead.
Gwendolyn had recently expressed concerns that a member of her family was trying to kill her. Nana D. insists that Kellan investigate to find out what happened to her friend. As Kellan gets drawn into the case, he finds a dysfunctional family. But can he figure out who of the bunch actually committed the crime?
Dysfunctional families truly make me appreciate my own family. These characters are so bad, it makes me thankful that I don’t have to deal with them in real life. But it also makes for wonderful drama and complications and plenty of suspects, all of which are perfect for a mystery. I was kept guessing and each twist kept me engaged. I was surprised by the ending, although it did make sense.
There are also several strong sub-plots involving Kellan and his family. I’ll admit, a couple of them veer into soap opera territory, at least a little more so than most of the cozies I read. Still, I was on board for them. And the way a couple of them ended definitely made me want to read the next book in the series sooner rather than later.
It really helps that the characters feel real. Yes, they are over the top, but I came to care about enough of them to be pulled in and care about the outcome. Kellan’s groundedness certainly helps with this.
I will say that some of the intended humor didn’t work for me. The interactions that were supposed to be funny sometimes came across as mean. Other interactions definitely showed the affections the characters feel for each other.
I also noticed some errors that should have been caught by a good edit. In addition to some timeline errors, there was a piece of the storyline that felt like changed between drafts and the pivotal scenes for the new iteration weren’t included. Yes, these annoyed me, but overall, I enjoyed this book.
The ending of Broken Heart Attack makes me glad I already have the third in the series. I need to check back in on Kellan sooner rather than later.
Looks like a good overall mystery series. Nice review, Mark.
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