The Plain Old Man, Charlotte MacLeod
The Plain Old Man, Charlotte MacLeod
List: $19.99 | Sale: $13.99
Club: $9.99

The Plain Old Man

Author: Charlotte MacLeod

Narrator: Charlotte MacLeod

Unabridged: 6 hr 13 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 07/20/2021


Synopsis

Murder upstages a Kelling family theatrical production—and Boston's art sleuths are on the case. "The screwball mystery is Charlotte MacLeod’s cup of tea" (Chicago Tribune).

Producing a Gilbert & Sullivan opera requires a special kind of madness, and the Kelling family is large enough and peculiar enough to undertake an entire company by themselves. For years now, Sarah Kelling's Aunt Emma has supervised these annual productions—from The Pirates of Penzance to The Mikado—and this year she has invited her cast of relatives to rehearse The Sorcerer in her stately mansion. The show is nearly ready when a team of burglars drugs the cast and crew to make off with a priceless portrait. Theft or no theft, Aunt Emma insists the show must go on. Even when one of the cast dies suddenly, she finds a replacement and continues rehearsal. But when Sarah begins to suspect the actor was murdered, it becomes clear that dear Aunt Emma may be in danger of taking her final bow.

About Charlotte MacLeod

Charlotte MacLeod (1922-2005) was an internationally bestselling author of cozy mysteries. Born in Canada, she moved to Boston as a child, and lived in New England most of her life. After graduating from college, she made a career in advertising, writing copy for the Stop & Shop Supermarket Company before moving on to Boston firm N. H. Miller & Co., where she rose to the rank of vice president. In her spare time, MacLeod wrote short stories, and in 1964 published her first novel, a children's book called Mystery of the White Knight.

In Rest You Merry (1978), MacLeod introduced Professor Peter Shandy, a horticulturist and amateur sleuth whose adventures she would chronicle for two decades. The Family Vault (1979) marked the first appearance of her other best-known characters: the husband and wife sleuthing team Sarah Kelling and Max Bittersohn, whom she followed until her last novel, The Balloon Man, in 1998.


Reviews

Goodreads review by C. (Comment, never msg). on May 08, 2022

I can count my theatre attendance on one hand: one of my friends was in Winnipeg’s Fringe Festival, I beheld our wonderful, outdoor Rainbow Stage twice, and was amazed by “The Phantom Of The Opera” with my middle Brother. I have only heard of the theatre writer & composer duo Gilbert & Sullivan, who......more

Goodreads review by Lyn on October 08, 2020

At first I was overwhelmed by the many characters who were at Sarah's Aunt Emma's house to take part in the play. But then I realized it was me not Charlotte MacLeod, I was distracted. I started over and all was well. WHAT A MYSTERY! A huge oil painting of a Kelling ancestress goes missing. For vari......more

Goodreads review by Susan on July 09, 2018

Widowed Emma Kelling is the heart of the little theater group that's presenting Gilbert and Sullivan's operetta "The Sorcerer." Naturally, when she wants an aide, she calls her niece, Sarah Bittersohn, whose husband is in Europe chasing a lost Picasso. When Emma's valuable Romney is stolen, apparent......more

Goodreads review by Carol on November 22, 2014

This book was grand fun. The coziest of mysteries -- no direct blood and gore, lots of wry humor. Since the background of the story is an amateur production of Gilbert and Sullivan's The Sorcerer, there are MANY quotations from the songs in that play. G&S fans, beware -- you, too, may find yourselve......more

Goodreads review by Jenny on March 16, 2010

Delightful. I love Gilbert and Sullivan.......more