Hattie Steals the Show by Patrick Gleeson – blog tour

Last May I had the pleasure of reading Gleeson’s first Theatreland Mystery, Hattie Brings the House Down, It introduced us to Harriet ‘Hattie’ Cocker, a theatre stage manager with decades of experience, who works primarily as a tutor on a stage management course at a minor acting college these days, whilst hoping to find theatre jobs in the vacations. On one of those jobs, she turns amateur sleuth when she discovers a body.Hattie proved to be a wonderful protagonist. As an expert at crisis management and negotiation between backstage crews and cast, she is a calming influence always ready to buoy up the confidence of a colleague in need, give a hug, join in a joke, whilst remaining totally professional.

Turning to her new adventure, it’s the end of the college year, and there’s every chance that the course may be axed come autumn. Hattie needs to get her hand back in in theatreland and her potential availability noted, and when a week’s cover of a west end production stage managed by an old friend and stage manager comes up, she takes the job. However, when she comes to the theatre to get the lowdown from Donna, they hear a scufflle in the flies and when they go up, they find a dead body. It’s Lel Novak, the composer of the show. On their way down to meet the police, Hattie bumps into Eoin, Lel’s lyric-writing partner, who seems to be in a hurry… The job becomes a crime scene and the theatre is closed.

Luckily, Hattie isn’t at a loose end for long – an invitation to join a fortnight-long workshop for a new production based at producer Sir Geoffrey Dougray’s country house in Norfolk comes. Meanwhile, she’s been contacted by Eoin, who as prime suspect is lying low. They’d known each other way back, and Eoin is desperate to prove his innocence, persuading Hattie that there is a missing score of their last musical together to be found at Trevelyan House; could Sir Geoffrey be the murderer?

The assembled cast and crew in Norfolk this form a sort of subsidiary locked room scenario for Hattie to decipher in addition to the original murder – but things get very complicated the more and more she finds out, risking her career and relationship with Sir Geoffrey. I don’t want to say too much more, but it kept me guessing with all the red herrings, misunderstandings and double crossings – it gets harder for Hattie to know who to believe as her investigations go on. And the missing score? It’s the McGuffin of the story.

As before, Gleeson is strong on the theatrics, how a show is built and how the cast and crew work together, all the behind the scenes stuff. We also get a slight appreciation of the business of ‘rights’, which will be crucial in this mystery. Hattie is just as loveable as before – and never more so than when she’s phoning Nick, her husband, who affectionately calls her ‘Cockatoo’ – he is Cocker One of course.

I really hope that Gleeson has more ideas for Hattie, as I enjoyed this second outing just as much as the first.

Source: Review copy – thank you! No Exit Press paperback 301 pages.

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