Jessie Beckett is working at the PickFair Studio in 1925 and is asked to investigate the death of Joe Petrovitch, the husband of a co-worker, bue to her success in previous murder investigations. But how could this killer, a man in a red coat, who fired three shots at Petrovitch leave a crowded theatre without being noticed.
Although this is the fourth in the series I didn't find it was necessary to read the previous books. I found the story entertaining and a good mystery, and some good rounded characters.
A NetGalley Book ( )

This is such a fun, and easy to read series. Pure entertainment. The waning days of vaudeville, the beginning of motion pictures, prohibition, bootlegging, such interesting times. Jessie, herself is a spunky woman, with a moralistic sense of justice, an amateur detective who seems to find out information through her past vaudeville connections, that the olive cannot.

The series is lively so much going on behind the scenes, interspersed with interesting tidbits about vaudvillr acts, and historical happenings. Mob connections, medicinal alcohol and a murdered projectionist with past ties to Serbia, are all part of this one. Add to it challenges of a personal nature, and Jessie has her hands full. Somehow or another things get done, put together, often not in a straightforward manner. Curious too see where the next in series will have her land. Many changes for this intrepid Heroine.

ARC from Netgalley. ( )

4.5 stars

Mary Miley’s Roaring Twenties series continues to provide a fascinating glimpse into the later years of the silent film era. In Murder in Disguise, Jessie tackles the murder of a movie projectionist. The man murdered is the spouse of a fellow employee at the Pickford-Fairbanks Studio, and his wife engages Jessie to solve the crime. Jessie works as a script girl for the studio during the day but continues to pursue her interest in solving mysteries on the side. Her search for the murderer sends Jessie on a surprising path that I thoroughly enjoyed. The story line was creative and original which made the book very enjoyable.

Miley’s characters are well-developed and highly entertaining, and numerous famous individuals from that era make appearances such as her roommate Myrna Loy (prior to her career taking off), Adele and Fred Astaire (whose mother changed their last name from Austerlitz to Astaire to sound more patriotic during the Great War), and Douglas Fairbanks. Miley also incorporates fascinating vaudeville trivia including that Helen Keller performed with her interpreter for a few years on a circuit and that Adele Astaire was more famous than her brother Fred during their lifetimes even though he is the only one remembered today. As a fan of 1920’s Hollywood, I particularly enjoyed Miley’s focus on silent filmmaking and the details regarding making early technicolor movies. The filming of Fairbanks’ movie The Black Pirate features prominently in the story, with stories about Fairbanks doing his own stunts, Pickford standing in for actress Billy Dove in a closing scene, and the techniques used to make that film. My next project is to track down that movie and watch it after reading about its creation.

While Miley didn’t focus much on the relevance of movie projectionists in this novel, the subject matter resonated with me because I recently watched The Dying of the Light, a documentary about the switch from film reels to digital films which has eliminated the need for movie projectionists. This is an intriguing subject that I knew very little about before watching the documentary and was excited to see the subject matter addressed again in Murder in Disguise.

I continue to absolutely love this series, and Murder in Disguise is a fabulous addition. Each book provides a detailed glimpse into Hollywood and the vaudeville circuit in the 1920’s, and I always learn so much with each Roaring Twenties book I read. I am already anxiously awaiting the next installment. My one hope for the next book is that Jessie will resolve her love life; I am much more partial to one of her love interests than the other and am rooting for him. Thanks to Severn House and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. I also want to give a shout out to Mary Miley’s Roaring Twenties blog that every fan of the era should follow; it can be found on her author site: http://marymileytheobald.com. ( )