Murder on Theater Row: A Bill Donovan Mystery

This is the first Jahn mystery I've read and it's a good one. Capt. Bill Donovan of the NYPD specializes in exotic crimes and zeros in on a murder committed with an old crossbow in a theater that is being renovated for a new musical to open New Year's eve. There are connected crimes having to do with real estate machinations. There's a ghost story, spooky cellars under the theater, colorful characters, such as a NY Times critic who specializes in rock 'n roll and who has a major drinking problem, a black jazz musician doing a stint as an actor, the old agent of a long dead vaudevillian, who just may be the ghost. Capt. Donovan has an able sargeant and a personal life with a girlfriend who's a retired cop, now running a restaurant and while it's referred to, it in no way detracts from this modern police procedural filled with interesting bits about New York and it's theatre district. I look forward to finding other books in this series.

I just finished this novel, which I bought because I thought it might contain a magician, albeit a dead one. Milos the Magnificent turned out to be a vaudevillian expert with a crossbow and possibly now a ghost who has decided to take up murder with the crossbow he used in his performances. Thus, Captain Bill Donovan of the NYPD investigates murder in a theater being refurbished to put on, of all things, "Casablanca: The Musical."I don't read many current mysteries, they seemingly being much of a muchness. But this one was most enjoyable in plot, dialogue, and characterization. The solution was weak, but did not detract from what had gone before.

"Murder on Theatre Row" is a good book. Have no doubt about it--if you enjoy a detailed setting, local color, well crafted plot, plenty of humor and human interest, some good writing, and a surprise ending, this is the book. I enjoy the hero, Captain Bill Donovan. He has a good girlfriend, he's afraid of marriage, he's a recovering alcoholic, and a self-taught Renaissance Man who enjoys learning and solves cases with his intelligence and research. The women in the book are the blackbelts and the tough 'guys'; the men are less stereotypical and more human. But the main character is the City of New York, its ambiance and energy; Times Square; and the Theater District. Only in this setting could this story occur...and that's a tribute to the quality of this book.