On Pointe Mystery

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?

Ballerina Leah Siderova belongs onstage. Not in an interrogation room at Manhattan's Twentieth Precinct. And yet, for the second time in less than a year, that's where she has a starring role. It wasn't her fault someone murdered the autocratic new director of American Ballet Company. And, it wasn't her job to find the killer. Leah is determined to stay as far away as possible from the murder investigation. After all, if she were going to kill someone, it would have been the woman who's been relentlessly trolling her on social media. And that's where things get complicated. Because when dancers say, "ballet can be murder" they don't mean it literally. Most of the time.

The Nutcracker ballet is filled with holiday cheer, but no one is happy, least of all lead dancer Leah Siderova. It's bad enough when Maurice Kaminsky forces her to perform upon a shaky platform, which teeters high above the stage. It's worse when the curtain opens on the first murder victim, and the scene looks more like the end of Romeo and Juliet than a child's vision of Christmas. The dancers were unanimous in their dislike of Maurice, and they eagerly anticipated his departure. What they didn't foresee is that he would exit in a body bag, and not on a nonstop flight to LA. Leah doesn't want to get involved in the ensuing murder investigation, but when suspicion falls upon Tex, her dance partner and friend, she has no choice but to act. She enlists the Choreographers of Crime for help, but it's her life, her career, and her complicated romance with homicide detective Jonah Sobol that's on the line. With opening night less than a week away, and the future of American Ballet Company hanging in the balance, can Leah save Tex in time to save the show?