The Plain Old Man

Sarah Kelling Bittersohn has agreed to help her Aunt Emma put on her swan song, a production of Gilbert & Sullivan's "The Sorcerer," and is happily fetching and carrying and painting flats when one of the cast, who plays the small but significant role of the notary (the Plain Old Man of the title) dies at home alone. Other disturbing events are marring the production: Emma is being threatened, and a full-length portrait of a Kelling ancestor is stolen and held for ransom. It soon becomes clear that Charlie's death was not accidental, and Sarah must unravel all the threads of the complicated case while bearing in mind that, for Emma's sake, "the show must go on." I thoroughly enjoyed the backstage operations of the amateur dramatic company, the references to Gilbert and Sullivan, and the delightful characters that populated this story.