A big-city journalist joins the staff of a small-town paper in cottage country and finds a community full of secrets . . . and murder.

Cat Conway has recently returned to Port Ellis to work as a reporter at the Quill & Packet. She’s fled the tattered remains of her high-profile career and bad divorce for the holiday town of her childhood, famous for its butter tarts, theater, and a century-old feud.

One of Cat’s first assignments is to interview legendary actor Eliot Fraser, the lead in the theater’s season opener of Inherit the Wind. When Eliot ends up dead onstage on opening night, the curtain rises on the sleepy town’s secrets. The suspects include the actor whose career Eliot ruined, the ex-wife he betrayed, the women he abused, and even the baker he wronged. With the attention of the world on Port Ellis, this story could be Cat’s chance to restore her reputation. But the police think she’s a suspect, and the murderer wants to kill the story-and her too. Can Cat solve the mystery before she loses her job or becomes the next victim of a killer with a theatrical bent for vengeance?

I picked up ‘Bury The Lead’ off the back of a review from someone I follow. The title made me smile because it managed to say Murder, Journalism and Theatre in one phrase. The premise, which combines amateur sleuth in a Canadian small town AND drama backstage in the theatre, called to me. It’s also the first book in a new series so, if I liked it, I’d have a new set of cosy mystery comfort reads available to me.

So, did it live up to my expectations?

For the most part, yes. Certainly enough for me to want to read ‘Widows And Orphans‘, the next book in the series, when it comes out next month. 

I liked that the amateur sleuth was a journalist who wanted a story rather than to beat the police to solving the murder. It gave a credible reason for most of her actions. It helped that both the journalism and the small-town theatre parts of the story felt real.

The mystery had just enough twists to keep me interested without making me feel we’d lost touch with reality. OK, our heroine took a few more risks than any sensible person might but it made the story more fun and didn’t leave me thinking she was either an innocent or an idiot. 

There were strong #metoo themes to the story that were a little outside the norm for a cosy mystery. Nothing happened on screen but the story didn’t back away from showing either how sleazy the men were/are or from describing the damage they did to the women’s lives. 

I’d have liked the main character to be a little more engaging. She felt a little flat in terms of personality. I think some of that was the need to get her backstory on the page. I’m hoping she’ll become more interesting as the series continues. 

I listened to the audiobook narrated by Marnye Young, who I thought did a good job. Click on the Youtube link below to hear a sample.

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