Stage Business

Stage Business

Written by: Gerry Fostaty

Published by: Deux Voiliers Publishing

Published on: November 22, 2014

Ages: Adult









Happy New Year! 2017 is a time for setting new goals or getting back into old grooves. For me that means jumping back into blogging. Thanks for coming back to read. 

There is no better book to start my renewed blog career with than Stage Business. I had read and reviewed Fostaty's first book, the non-fiction As You Were: The Tragedy at Valcartier. I enjoyed it immensely. But I was worried that what made that book so amazing, the personal connection and attention to detail, wouldn't be able to transfer over to a mystery novel.

I needn't have worried. Both of those elements are in this book. It is obvious that Fostaty knows and loves the theatre, the world of Stage Business' characters. He builds this world as deftly as he builds up the mystery.

Michael Dion is a Toronto actor whose days involve memorizing lines, inhabiting other characters, and going on auditions, as well as visiting with colleagues outside pubs. The object of his affection asks him to look for her friend's missing son and that seems like something anyone with a rudimentary knowledge of Google and Facebook could do. It isn't that simple and although Michael could quit at any time he keeps going, whether it is smart for him to do so or not, and brings his friends and neighbours into the heart of this mystery.

I think that this book would appeal to readers of Harlan Coben's Myron Bolitar series. Basically there is a regular guy, with a sense of morality that gets him involved in situations that he is more prepared for than he should be, thanks to the theatre. He also has a splendid group of friends to help him out, and I would love to spend an afternoon on the sidewalk of a Toronto pub with all of them. The mystery is what keeps you turning pages for the first book, the quirky characters are what will bring you back for a second book. Here's hoping there is a second book.