Musical Murder Mystery Boxed Set #1 Books 1-3 by K.L. Montgomery – Review by Jennifer Gordon

Musical Murder Mystery Boxed Set #1 by K.L. Montgomery
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I thoroughly enjoyed this boxed set of wonderfully written cozy mystery stories, all with a musical theatre theme. Each story follows plus-size chorus girl, Ruby Ecco, as she and her travelling theatre troupe travel from city to city all over the world, performing musicals. However, everywhere the troupe goes there seems to be a murder, but luckily Ruby is an excellent amateur sleuth. In, ‘The Sound of Murder’, Ruby is just starting out with her new travelling theatre troupe as a chorus girl. When one of her cast-mates is murdered, Ruby goes into amateur sleuth mode in order to find out who the murderer is, and why they killed a women who was playing a nun!

In, ‘West Side Murder’, Ruby along with The Melody Street Players, are in town to perform at the local theatre. However, Ruby soon finds herself investigating a decade old case, of a body found on a local retirement community’s golf course. Police at the time said it was natural causes, but several of the West Vista del Boca residents are still convinced it was murder. Ruby’s investigations are complicated by the two rival factions, who are battling for control of the community council, but Ruby believes the ongoing war might explain what happened on the golf course. In the final story, ‘Little Shop of Murder’, Ruby finds herself attending her boss’s nephew’s wedding as a spy. Her boss wants her to do some sleuthing at a family wedding, as the groom’s younger brother appears to be dating a rather mysterious and elusive woman. Ruby fears that the horror on stage will spill over into real life, as every show seems to coincide with a murder!

I literally ‘binge read’ this boxed set, and was hooked from book one till book three. I love the heroine of the stories, Ruby, as she is such a likeable and relatable character, and so well defined that I felt as though I was alongside her as she did her sleuthing. The descriptive narrative brought both the settings and characters to life, making me feel fully immersed in each story. The storyline’s flowed well and the plots kept me guessing in each story. I enjoyed the added musical theatre references, and I definitely recommend this entertaining and engaging boxed set.

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