I love books set in Winnipeg because I can then visualize where the action is taking place. Raye Anderson called some places by slightly different names than they actually are but any Winnipegger worth their salt can probably figure them out. That said, I don't think you have to live in Winnipeg to enjoy this mystery but it does add to the enjoyment.

This is the second book in the Roxanne Calloway mystery series. The first one, And We Shall Have Snow, was set in the Interlake but RCMP Sargent Calloway has to investigate a murder in Winnipeg because the body was found outside of the city, making it an RCMP matter. The body was found in the trunk of a car in Lockport. The victim of a knife slash to the neck was the Artistic Director of Prairie Theatre Centre who had gone missing just after the dress rehearsal of the theatre's opening play. Gerald Blaise never missed an opening night so there was some concern. However, Blaise's wife, actress Annabel (Budgie) Torrance, who is performing in a play in Regina's Globe Theatre, said he has gone off before usually with a new romantic conquest when he is under stress. Gerald and Annabel have an open marriage with each free to see other people but they always come back to the marriage fold. This time, however, Gerald obviously isn't coming back. Roxanne Calloway has to figure out who in Gerald's life would have wanted him dead. He was generally well liked by his theatre compatriots. His wife, who might have had the motive to inherit his considerable wealth, seems to have a pretty ironclad alibi. Could it be a former lover or possibly even a current one? The RCMP can't even find where he was killed because there is no blood either at his condo or at the theatre. Some valuable paintings are missing from the condo so maybe robbery was a motive. Calloway is trying to sift through the possibilities when the body of a theatre professor (Thom Dyck) who was a close friend of the first victim is discovered in a city park. The two crimes are probably by the same perpetrator so the investigation now becomes a joint one with the city police. Detective Sargeant Cooper Jenkins tends to ruffle feathers wherever he goes but he does have good instincts. Calloway objects to him calling her Foxy Roxy but needs his insights and cooperation. It will take another murder and an attack on Calloway to unmask the killer. I have to say I certainly didn't have any inkling about the identity of the murderer. Good job Ms. Anderson.

Anyone who has attended a play at the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre is likely to recognize that it is the theatre called the Prairie Theatre Centre in this book. And there are lots of great theatre jargon and superstitions to delight theatre buffs. I understand the author is well acquainted with theatre; it shows. ( )