The Spectacular

A dancer joins forces with a psychiatrist to find a bomber targeting New York City in the kinetic latest from Davis (The Magnolia Palace). It’s 1956 and dancer Marion Brooks, 19, has just joined the Radio City Rockettes, having defied her father Simon’s wishes that she marry her childhood sweetheart and settle down. Though she’s sad to not have her dad’s approval, Marion is thrilled when her older sister, Judy, agrees to attend the Rockettes’ Christmas show. But tragedy strikes when a pipe bomb explodes in the theater, killing Judy. The Big Apple Bomber claims responsibility in a note, in which he also disparages Met Power, where Simon is an executive. Determined to stop the bomber, Marion seeks help from Peter Griggs, a psychiatrist she met on a blind date. Though police officers initially discount Peter’s profile of the bomber, one officer acknowledges Peter might be onto something. Emboldened, Marion and Peter surreptitiously search Met Power’s records to see if a disgruntled former employee could have set the bombs. As the plot builds to a dramatic climax that sees Marion putting her life at risk, Davis expertly incorporates behind-the-scenes details of the Rockettes, including the intricate choreography of their wooden soldiers number. This page-turner delivers the goods. Agent: Stefanie Lieberman, Janklow & Nesbit Assoc. (June)