You’d think that running a summer theater meant that I was only employed in summer, wouldn’t you?

Well, you’d be wrong. As the general manager of the Cliffside Theater Company, I’m busy all year long. Especially since we added A Christmas Carol to our season to help raise funds for the next summer. We’ve had varying degrees of success with that one, and last December’s show was a killer. Literally. But I digress.

Usually my work slows down in January and February. But this year, not so much. Dimitri Traietti, our artistic director, is down in Boston directing Romeo and Juliet. But it isn’t his Romeo and Juliet. The production is what we in the business call troubled. Troubled as in the original director was fired, which is why they brought Dimitri in at the last minute. Troubled as in Romeo quit, with opening night less than a month away. Troubled as in someone thought a white plastic set with water features was a good idea.

From what I’ve heard, a Dimitri storm is brewing. And since I’m an expert at Dimitri storms, I’m going to go down to Boston for a few days. I have a grant due, and I can work on it there. In fact, it will be good to get away. The drive to Boston is only about an hour, but it might as well be across the country for as often as I’ve visited lately.

There’s a lot going on in Boston, so it will be fun to visit for a few days. My friend Eric has offered me a place to stay on Beacon Hill, a perfect location to plant myself. I’ve missed Boston, but I needed a good reason to visit. I’ll calm Dimitri down, visit a museum or two, and do my best to avoid old friends. See, the last time I lived in Boston was not my happiest time. If I’m being honest, I burned a few bridges. Torched them, actually. But those days, that life, is behind me now.

Or it was, until my ex-husband Gus bumped into my new life last December. Gus. Sigh. Handsome and charming. Likely the great love of my life. Certainly my greatest regret, mostly at ignoring the advice of my late father and giving Gus another chance. Sometimes I wonder if the magic we had is still there. Though I haven’t heard from Gus since December, which indicates his interest in me. Or lack thereof.

Romeo and Juliet is not the best show to sit through when you’ve got a rocky romantic history. I don’t plan on sitting through any rehearsals, though. No, this trip is to all about letting Dimitri vent, finishing my grant application, and making up with Boston.

What could possibly go wrong?

You can read more about Sully in With A Kiss I Die, the second book in the “Theater Cop” cozy mystery series, released April 8, 2019.

Will the kiss of death claim Romeo and Juliet―and Sully―before opening night?

When Edwina “Sully” Sullivan, a retired cop turned theater manager, learns that a production of Romeo and Juliet―which Cliffside Theater’s Dimitri Traietti left town to direct―is in serious trouble, she sets aside her grant applications and heads to Boston to help.

Between managing Dimitri, consulting with costume and set designers, and schmoozing with potential funders, Sully puts on nearly every hat in the biz. But the one hat she doesn’t expect to wear is that of her old job as a cop. When a socialite is murdered in Boston’s Public Garden, Sully’s ex-husband becomes the prime suspect. So she reprises her role as an ace investigator and once again steps into the spotlight to solve a crime.

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About the author
With A Kiss I Die is the second in J.A. Hennrikus’s Theater Cop series. The first was A Christmas Peril. Julie also writes the Garden Squad series as Julia Henry, and the Clock Shop series as Julianne Holmes.

To learn more about Julie, visit her website at jhauthors.com or on Facebook.

All comments are welcomed.