The Jocelyn O'Roarke Mysteries Series

In the first book of the Jocelyn O’Roarke series, when a Broadway show’s lead actress is murdered, her understudy must race to find the killer before it’s too late Struggling actress Jocelyn “Josh” O’Roarke just got a real offer. Well, something resembling a real offer. Her old friend Austin Frost has written a play for Broadway and cast the glamorous Harriet Weldon as the lead. Not wishing to leave his old friend Josh behind, he has invited her to be Harriet’s understudy. The role of understudy is a difficult one—and it becomes even more so when Harriet turns up dead and the police name Josh their prime suspect. With the NYPD breathing down her neck, Josh must find the people responsible while ensuring that the show will go on. Murder on Cue is the first book of the Jocelyn O’Roarke mystery series, which also includes First Hit of the Season and Death Mask.  

In the final book of the Jocelyn O’Roarke series, a middle-aged actor falls to his death during a preview night under mysterious circumstances, and it’s up to Jocelyn to find the culprit In theater, the actors who play Peter Pan are young, sprightly, and almost always female. So you can imagine the surprise of actress and sometimes-detective Jocelyn “Josh” O’Roarke when middle-aged director Rich Rafelson decides to step into the harness of the boy who never wanted to grow up for a regional production of Peter Pan. Even more surprising is Rich’s sudden death, caused by a fall from the stage during an ill-advised curtain call. Josh’s friends who had been in charge of the harness and stage carpentry are now prime suspects, and she has to clear their names. Complicating things are rival former lovers battling not only for Josh’s affections, but for the resolution to the case. But as Josh gets closer to the truth, a fairy tale ending seems ever farther away . . . Who Dropped Peter Pan? is the sixth and final book in the Jocelyn O’Roarke mystery series, which begins with Murder on Cue and First Hit of the Season.

In the second book of the Jocelyn O’Roarke series, New York’s most hated theater critic has been poisoned. Now the question is, Who isn’t a suspect? A lot of people have good reason to despise Jason Saylin. He has earned a reputation as New York’s most scathing—and powerful—theater critic. After-parties at his penthouse apartment are the most exclusive in the city. His knack for pointing out the key flaws of any production crushes budding starlets and delights readers. And his gossip columns are required reading for anyone aspiring to become someone on Broadway. Still, Jason has one weakness: an illness that he is desperate to hide. His illness is revealed in grandiose fashion when Jason staggers into a room during a party and falls dead on the floor. A man as controversial as Jason Saylin has a long list of detractors, and it is up to the intrepid Jocelyn O’Roarke to find answers. With the help of her friends (and lover) in the NYPD, New York’s greatest triple threat—actor-singer-detective—must get to the heart of a mystery that has taken center stage in the theater world. First Hit of the Season is the second book in the Jocelyn O’Roarke mystery series, which also includes Murder on Cue and Death Mask. 

In the third book of the Jocelyn O’Roarke series, the actress and amateur detective finally gets her big break; too bad a murder has to come along and ruin it It has been a tough road thus far for the audacious Jocelyn “Josh” O’Roarke. Every time she feels like she’s moving up in the theater world, her life is derailed by a murder. Now, she is about to make her big move with her directorial debut Off-Broadway. Even better, it’s a revival of Major Barbara—a surefire hit. It seems nothing could go wrong—until stage veteran Burton Evans collapses on stage during a preview, apparently from a heart attack. As the director of the play, Josh must get to the truth. Despite Evans’s kindly exterior, he was hiding a history that gave several people motives for murder. Could he have been killed for his sizable inheritance? Perhaps someone objected to his testimony to the House Committee on Un-American Activities in the 1950s? Jocelyn O’Roarke needs answers if the curtain is ever to go up on her debut. Death Mask is the third book in the Jocelyn O’Roarke mystery series, which begins with Murder on Cue and First Hit of the Season.

In the fifth book of the Jocelyn O’Roarke series, when the lead actress in a collegiate production of A Winter’s Tale dies, Jocelyn takes on a lot more than just a role Tessa Grant was one of Jocelyn “Josh” O’Roarke’s greatest heroes. She was Josh’s mentor in school and a continued inspiration throughout her career. When Tessa’s death from an apparent heart attack leaves her production of A Winter’s Tale at Josh’s alma mater without a Queen Hermione, Josh jumps at the opportunity to help out, taking over the role. But when she arrives at the school, Josh finds a journal among Tessa’s possessions with something major to say: Her death was no mere heart attack. Now determined to solve the case, Josh runs into Frankie Mauro, her old roommate, and Phillip Gerrard, her old flame. With their help, she must navigate the labyrinthine world of backstage politics, not only to find the killer, but also to convince the world that her mentor’s death was actually murder. The Queen Is Dead is the fifth book in the Jocelyn O’Roarke mystery series, which begins with Murder on Cue and First Hit of the Season. 

In the fourth book of the Jocelyn O’Roarke series, where the eponymous stage actress and sometimes-detective goes, murder follows—even all the way across the country . . . New York City has dried up for Jocelyn “Josh” O’Roarke. Her career on the stage has stalled. Her relationship with NYPD lieutenant Phillip Gerrard is through. She needs a way out, and a supporting role in a Hollywood TV movie seems like just the thing. But once on the West Coast, she discovers that her role is to support washed-up child star Ginger Jellicoe’s comeback attempt. When Buddy Banks, the production’s photography director and Ginger’s surrogate father, is murdered in a darkroom, Josh is pressed once again to put her sleuthing skills to use. With the help of dashing LAPD detective Dwayne Hamill, Josh races to clear Ginger’s name while keeping the former child star from becoming the killer’s next victim. Dead Pan is the fourth book in the Jocelyn O’Roarke mystery series, which begins with Murder on Cue and First Hit of the Season.