Dead Behind the Curtain
(2026)(The third book in the Murder Mystery Book Club series)
A novel by Millie Hartwell
In Mapleoak, the show must go on.
Even if the leading man doesn’t.
When an egotistical theater director collapses mid-death scene during a dress rehearsal, the audience assumes it’s dramatic flair.
Until he doesn’t get back up.
Interim library director Tilly March only agreed to help with the community theater fundraiser'''not investigate a murder committed under stage lights. But when the dagger turns out to be real, the Murder Mystery Book Club finds itself knee-deep in rivalries, secrets, and perfectly timed alibis.
Every suspect had a reason to want Graham Lockhart off the stage.
A humiliated ingénue.
A furious actor.
A meticulous stage manager.
A costumer with decades of quiet grievances.
As gossip spreads faster than curtain calls and clues tangle like loose threads, Tilly must separate performance from truth—before the killer takes their final bow unseen.
Because in Mapleoak, everyone’s acting.
But one mistake was all too real.
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Even if the leading man doesn’t.
When an egotistical theater director collapses mid-death scene during a dress rehearsal, the audience assumes it’s dramatic flair.
Until he doesn’t get back up.
Interim library director Tilly March only agreed to help with the community theater fundraiser'''not investigate a murder committed under stage lights. But when the dagger turns out to be real, the Murder Mystery Book Club finds itself knee-deep in rivalries, secrets, and perfectly timed alibis.
Every suspect had a reason to want Graham Lockhart off the stage.
A humiliated ingénue.
A furious actor.
A meticulous stage manager.
A costumer with decades of quiet grievances.
As gossip spreads faster than curtain calls and clues tangle like loose threads, Tilly must separate performance from truth—before the killer takes their final bow unseen.
Because in Mapleoak, everyone’s acting.
But one mistake was all too real.
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Used availability for Millie Hartwell's Dead Behind the Curtain