Cursed in the Act

Dracula creator Bram Stoker plays crime solver in this strong series debut set in 1881 London from YA author Buckland (Atomic Sunrise). Stoker is the business manager of the Lyceum Theatre, the home stage of the two most prominent actors of the day: Henry Irving and Ellen Terry. Irving falls sick just before a performance, and though the thespian goes on with the show, Stoker assigns his stage manager, 22-year-old Harry Rivers, to investigate. Suspicion that the star was intentionally poisoned is bolstered by word that some in the theater world knew about it in advance—and by a series of gruesome incidents targeting the Lyceum. Irving’s understudy is trampled to death in the street, his head crushed to a pulp, after being pushed into a horse’s path. And in the midst of a performance, a backdrop unfolds to reveal a severed head. Well-defined, if eccentric, characters and a suspenseful plot make this one a winner. Agent: Grace Morgan, Grace Morgan Literary Agency. (Jan.)