NIght at the Vulcan

By Ngaio Marsh

Martyn Tarne is a young actress recently arrived in England from New Zealand. On her arrival her travelers checks were stolen and, since it will be a few weeks before she can get her money refunded, she needs to find work quickly. After making the rounds looking for acting jobs, she arrives at the Vulcan theater only to find she is too late. Despairing and loitering in the theater to rest her weary feet, she overhears that the leading lady's dresser has taken suddenly ill and a replacement dresser is needed immediately. Martyn steps forward to apply for the job since being a dresser is better than sleeping on a bench in the park.
All is not well with the play that is to open in a couple days. The main problem is the young actress hired to play a small but significant part in the play. But the part is beyond her limited acting skills. Her uncle got her the part and is insisting on her staying in the play against everyone else's objections and this is causing a lot of tension.
When the other actors meet Martyn they are all astonished at how much she looks like the leading man, Adam Poole. And since the part taken by the other young actress calls for her to resemble Adam Poole's character and when they all find out that Martyn is also an experienced actress, the push is on to replace the other actress. But the uncle won't back down and Martyn is signed on as understudy to the other actress, who has hysterics on opening night, giving Martyn her chance at the role.
However the uncle has been making threats and he ends up dead before the night is through. Although his death was an apparent suicide, when the police arrive, a little investigation reveals he was murdered. Since he was a rather unpleasant person, there are lots of suspects to choose from.

This book grabbed me from the first page. Martyn's predicament and the timely arrival of a job and the details of life in a theater all hit the perfect note. Reading this book I could practically smell the greasepaint, it was a real trip into a strange world, full of interesting characters, with just enough detail to interest and yet not overwhelm or bore. I really enjoyed the book.