On a sultry afternoon in the summer of 1936 a woman accidentally interrupts an attempted murder in a London hotel room. Nina Land, a West End actress, faces a dilemma: she's not supposed to be at the hotel in the first place, and certainly not with a married man. But once it becomes apparent that she may have seen the face of the man the newspapers have dubbed 'the Tie-Pin Killer' she realises that another woman's life could be at stake.
Jimmy Erskine is the raffish doyen of theatre critics who fears that his star is fading: age and drink are catching up with him, and in his late-night escapades with young men he walks a tightrope that may snap at any moment. He has depended for years on his loyal and long suffering secretary Tom, who has a secret of his own to protect.
Tom's chance encounter with Madeleine Farewell, a lost young woman haunted by premonitions of catastrophe, closes the circle: it was Madeleine who narrowly escaped the killer's stranglehold that afternoon, and now walks the streets in terror of his finding her again. Curtain Call is a comedy of manners, and a tragedy of mistaken intentions.
From the glittering murk of Soho's demi-monde to the grease paint and ghost-lights of theatreland, the story plunges on through smoky clubrooms, tawdry hotels and drag balls towards a denouement in which two women are stalked by the same killer. As bracing as a cold Martini and as bright as a new tie-pin, it is a poignant and gripping story about love and death and a society dancing towards the abyss.
Review: This is an utterly delightful read, made to appear easy, effortless and brilliantly suspenseful, while never becoming predictable or cosy... I can't recommend this book highly enough. Observer It had me on the edge of my seat. The only disappointment...is when the curtain finally has to come down Daily Telegraph (five stars) This is unputdownable.
Sunday Express Quirky, charming and full of atmosphere. Good Housekeeping Curtain Call is a beautifully written, absorbing work of historical fiction. -- James Kidd Independent
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