DEATH SCENE

A move into programming proves anything but routine for Salem, Massachusetts, TV reporter Lee Barrett Mondello.

Married less than a year ago to Det. Sgt. Pete Mondello, Lee expects and hopes for greater stability as program director than she enjoyed as a reporter. But Bruce Doan, station manager at WICH-TV, likes his staff to be willing to “wear more than one hat.” So Lee finds herself snarled in late October traffic as she races to meet with someone from Paragon Productions about a documentary story on the making of their upcoming feature film, Night Magic. Rumors about budget overruns and preproduction headaches abound, but it’s the antics of the temperamental star, Darla Diamond, that cause the most grief and provide the biggest potential draw for Lee and her audience. Of course, someone kills the troublesome diva, but her death doesn’t end the story. Lee begins a search for answers to the mystery and for anything that will help hook her audience into her narrative, from the history of the Salem Witch House to an 1898 poisoning in Dover, Delaware, the first documented case of the U.S. Postal Service being used to help commit murder. Perry’s account of what a field reporter turned program director needs to pay attention to in covering an evolving story provides a novel twist on the small-town-snoop formula. As every reporter knows, getting the scoop is every bit as important as getting the bad guy.

A little history and a little mystery provide just the right mix in this good-natured tale.