Scott Lyerly: The Last Line
Debut
This dark theatre cozy is set in Avalon, Massachusetts, in the tiny Kaleidoscope Theater. Theater owner and producer Ellie Marlowe, our main character, is opening a solid sounding show titled Murder in a Teacup. The attendance numbers look good and the show looks to be a success, with just one problem: the leading man is not a nice guy. In the first few scenes, in encounter after encounter, the reader is shown (not told) of the man’s arrogant, demeaning, and downright rude behavior to basically all other humans in his orbit. Since this is a murder mystery, he is quickly dispatched, though the question remains: did he simply have a heart attack? Again, this is a murder mystery.