A Pantomime of Peril

Cotswold Antique Mystery, #3)

by

Victoria Tait

A villain onstage and in real life meets his end during the village pantomime!

A Pantomime of Peril is the third book in author Victoria Tait’s cozy Cotswold Antique Mystery series, featuring friends Dotty Sayers and Keya Varma, who have both been recruited into helping with Dr. Peter Wimsey’s production of a traditional holiday pantomime. When the obnoxious newcomer to the village of Colm Akeman, Wickham Vane, collapses onstage during the first performance of Jack and the Beanstalk, everyone immediately believes it’s the combination of his exertion, the heat from the stage lights, and underlying medical conditions that’s to blame. But when Keya, the local Crime Scene Manager, discovers differently, there’s almost an unlimited number of people who had reason to wish the man ill. 

Dotty, Keya, and all the friends and neighbors from their small village are back, and as the holidays close in, it’s up to the ladies to figure out who is actually behind the man’s murder. Dr. Peter Wimsey had launched the pantomime as a means to get their elderly residents out of their houses for some seasonal socializing. Wickham Vane, a well-known but overbearing professional actor and director, who had recently relocated to the village, barges his way into the production, grabs the reins of the show, the role of the giant, and runs off many of the local volunteers. Dotty, busy with a large winter auction at work, has no intention of participating in the theatrical but steps up to fill in where she can. Keya, while engaged in her own business and looking forward to the holidays and a much-deserved escape with her partner, Sujin, volunteers as well, so she is in the wings when the actor utters his final “Fee Fi Fo Fum.” Between her experience and Dotty’s keen observations, there are plenty of folk who had the means and motives to stop the dead man in his tracks. 

The holiday season and the victim’s renown all increase the number of suspects on hand, and there are some good red herrings to distract armchair detectives from guessing the perpetrator too quickly. Twists and turns in the plot make for a clever holiday-themed homicide from start to finish. 

Although this is the third book in the series, readers new to it will easily be able to read and enjoy this latest installment. I recommend A PANTOMIME OF PERIL to cozy mystery fans.

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