The Winter of Her Discontent: A Rosie Winter Mystery (Rosie Winter Mysteries)
By  Kathryn Miller Haines
Harper
July 2008

For the mystery lover who enjoys a tale with a well blended background of many facets, talented author Kathryn Miller Haines has crafted a great series placed in the New York City theater district during the World War II era. The background and characters are so well done, you’ll swear you lived in that era.

Mystery, murder, weird goings on in a theater after hours, a man confesses to murder and many other threads are woven together to make a compelling read, one you will not want to put down. You’ll meet Rosie Winter, actress and mystery solver, who manages to get herself in hot water and a job as a dancer in a chorus that seems guaranteed to fail.

The death of a well known actress is something Rosie doesn’t believe her friend and hoodlum, Al, is guilty of even though he confessed. While he sits in prison and won’t tell her the reason for his confession, Rosie and Jayne set out to prove his innocence.

Throughout the story other interesting characters draw your attention and you’ll be wondering, "what if". The search for evidence, the identity of the murderer and just what else is going on around her, will keep you and Rosie moving. Rosie learns things aren’t often what they seem in more ways than one.

The author has done a fine job on researching this era of shortages and the blackmarket, criminals and actors, and what goes on behind the scenes of the theater and the blackmarket.

Highly recommended as a tale well worth the time.

Anne K. Edwards, Reader to Reader