Murder in First Position Book Review - Christy's Cozy Corners

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Welcome to my stop on the Great Escapes Virtual Book Tour for Murder in First Position: An On Pointe Mystery by Lori Robbins. Stop by each blog on the tour for interviews, guest posts, spotlights, reviews and more!

Murder in First Position: An On Pointe Mystery

by Lori Robbins

I received this book free; however, all opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive compensation at no cost to you.

Murder in First Position: An On Pointe Mystery
Traditional Mystery
1st in Series
Publisher: Level Best Books (November 24, 2020)
Paperback: 260 pages

Ballerina Leah Siderova knows the career of a professional dancer is short. But rarely is it as brief as that of her rival, Arianna Bonneville, whose rise to stardom ends when she is stabbed in the back.

New York City police detective Jonah Sobol fixes upon Leah as the prime suspect. After all, she was the one who found the body, she had the most to gain from Arianna’s death, and it was her name Arianna whispered, just before she died.

Leah is desperate to clear her name, and she begins her own investigation, collaborating with her best friend and her ballet coach. As the three dancers sort through backstage intrigues, attempted blackmail, and a tangle of romantic liaisons, the noose around Leah’s neck grows tighter.

Ballet, with its merciless discipline, is all Leah has ever known. Is that enough to keep her one step ahead of the police—and the killer?

My review of Murder in First Position

Murder in First Position by Lori Robbins is a very good story. It’s got a well-crafted murder mystery with multiple suspects. Robbins makes you care about the characters by giving them flaws, thus making them seem more realistic.

I don’t know much about ballet, and the average reader probably doesn’t either. We know actual ballets and what pointe shoes are, but we probably have no idea what goes on backstage. A whole lot of work goes on not only for the dancers, but the costume makers, choreographers, hair, make-up, etc. work very hard too! But, you don’t need to know anything about ballet to enjoy this mystery.

Though the book’s composition could use some editing for conciseness, the actual mystery is very gripping. I’m unfamiliar with most of NYC, the setting of Murder in First Position, but the author’s description of the area in which Leah lives brought the setting to life.

There’s a little “possible” romance thrown into the book. I liked one of the possibilities and felt it was realistic but the other seemed a little far-fetched. Who knows? That one could have just been trying to seduce Leah. Murder in First Position is a traditional mystery (not cozy), so expect more language than you would in a cozy mystery.

As a whole, I enjoyed Murder in First Position because it kept my attention and kept me flipping the pages (figuratively….Kindle!). I liked the multiple red herrings, the fact that the main characters were well-developed, and the way that the case wrapped up. I give this one 3 1/2 stars rounded to 4.

About Lori Robbins

Brooklyn-born Lori Robbins began dancing at age 16 and launched her professional career three years later. She studied modern dance at the Martha Graham School and ballet at the New York Conservatory of Dance. Robbins performed with a number of regional modern and ballet companies, including Ballet Hispanico, the Des Moines Ballet, and the St. Louis Concert Ballet.

After ten very lean years as a dancer she attended Hunter College, graduating summa cum laude with a major in British Literature and a minor in Classics. Her first mystery, Lesson Plan for Murder, won the Silver Falchion Award for Best Cozy Mystery and was a finalist in the Readers’ Choice and Indie Book Awards. Murder in First Position is the first in her new mystery series, published on November 23, 2020, by Level Best Books.

She is currently working on the second book in both series. She is also the author of “Accidents Happen” a short story that will appear in the 2021 Malice Domestic anthology: Murder Most Diabolical. Robbins is a vice president of the NYC chapter of Sisters in Crime. She is also a founding member of the Damsels of Distress, a group that offers writing workshops and book readings. She is an expert in the homicidal impulses everyday life inspires.