The Fourth Wall
by Barbara Paul
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Description
A playwright searches the theater for a crazed saboteur Sylvia Markey sits in her dressing room, holding her cat's head in her hands. Just the head-the body is nowhere to be found. This gruesome act of violence was committed just a few minutes before curtain, and Sylvia has no time to grieve. She collects herself, and gets ready to perform. She makes it halfway through the second act before her nerves get the best of her, and she vomits onstage. As the run continues, so does the sabotage, show more and the unknown troublemaker attacks actors, vandalizes the set, and hurls acid at one of the designers. To playwright Abigail James, the meaning is clear: Someone is trying to murder her play. The police do all they can, but it will take someone who understands theater to unravel the mystery. This is a matter of revenge-and Abigail will settle it backstage. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
[2006-11-25] Early mystery from Barbara Paul, set in a New York theatre in the present day. A modern take on the Jacobean revenge tragedy, it's harsh and a traumatic read, but one hell of a book. One of my all-time favourite mysteries, and I'm pleased to see that it's recently been brought back into print.
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Survey of Mysteries and Crime Fiction
96 works; 17 members
Author Information
34+ Works 1,649 Members
Barbara Paul was born in Maysville, Kentucky in 1931. She attended Bowling Green State University and the University of Pittsburgh. She has written over 20 mystery and science fiction novels including the Marian Larch series. (Bowker Author Biography)
Common Knowledge
- Dedication
- for Kenneth and Lois Paul
- First words
- Sylvia Markey was holding her cat's head in the hands.
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 63
- Popularity
- 490,939
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (4.20)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 9
- ASINs
- 3
