The Doll's Done Dancing

the long version

Theatrical murder set in London, solved in the last chapter by Anthony Bathurst; very light reading. *“It was the bloke they thought it was,” retorted Naylor, “by name of Sir Adolphus Dance.”* *“Doll who?” queried the young constable.* *“What I said was Sir Adolphus Dance.” Then a sadistic smile spread over his face. “But whatever perishin’ doll it is – it’s done dancing. That’s a certainty.”* Sir Adolphus Dance, a theatre critic who could make or break a show with a single review, fails to show at the theatre for the next target of his reviews. Instead, he is lying dead in an unsavory part of London with his head bashed in. Is his death due to a jealous lover or a slighted husband? Who was the mysterious Salvation Army man who approached him in a pub? And, more importantly, how did Dance manage to review the play that he missed – given that he died over an hour before it started?