With a divorce looming, antiques picker and P.I. Jane Wheel has been spinning her wheels, unsure what to do with herself. She could use a good shove in the right direction, and while she may know this, she isn’t about to admit it. Luckily, her best friend, Tim Lowry, has her interests at heart, and he has the perfect answer.

Not only does he have a mansion he needs help prepping for an estate sale, but he has unearthed an old play, a murder mystery, that he’s dying to put on. The play would be just the thing to get Jane back on track—that is, if it weren’t cursed. Thankfully, Tim isn’t buying into any curse and pushes forward in spite of the ominous notes that keep showing up in the actors’ scripts warning against a performance. It’s only when the show’s carpenter dies in a suspicious accident that Jane is convinced someone definitely doesn’t want the show to go on and might be willing to kill to stop it.

Lively and intriguing as ever, Sharon Fiffer’s Backstage Stuff is as much fun for the puzzling mystery as it is for sneak peek at all of the surprises that Jane has collected backstage for the big show.