Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

Princess Fuzzypants here: 60’s star Jessica Grey, ageless diva, is in town for a one woman show and to hawk her line of beauty products. She is quite the actress hiding her evil soul and her mean spirit. Angela attends the show with her friend who has been enlisted to do the diva’s hair while she is in town. She watches as the harridan humiliates bag ladies on stage before lambasting her own entourage. So when Jessica is poisoned by her own potions, there is no shortage of suspects who might want her dead. But Angela’s friend is framed for the murder and ends up in jail, his life and business in tatters, and facing the death penalty.
As a Death Investigator Angela knows her way around a crime scene. Now she needs to learn how to navigate the viper’s pit of the Hollywood legend and her hangers on. Perhaps, I am giving vipers a bad name. This is a nasty heartless trio and Angela could believe any one of them might have done the deed. Jessica provided both means and motive.
Angela is a cool heroine. She is excellent at her job and it’s interesting background going through her processes at a crime scene. She is smart and savvy and tough but she also skates on thin ice. Interfering in an investigation could get her fired but when the detective assigned to the murder is the most lazy and incompetent on the force, Angela feels she must help defend her friend and the best way is to find the real killer.
It’s a fast and fun read- perfection for the days of isolation. Four purrs and two paws up.

Angela Richman reluctantly spends some of her time off from her job as death investigator to attend the one-woman show of fading 1960s movie star, Jessica Gray. Angela goes to support her friend Mario Garcia who is Ms. Gray’s local hair stylist while she performs in St. Louis. Angela doesn’t care for Jessica’s mean-spirited humor and is appalled when she humiliates three homeless women up on stage as part of her show. Later, Angela learns that the star’s seemingly devoted entourage actually despise their controlling and vindictive boss. However, when Jessica dies in her limo on her way to return to California, it’s Angela’s friend Mario who becomes the prime suspect. Now Angela is determined to find the true killer to keep Mario from paying for a crime he didn’t commit.

I loved each of the prior books in this series which is set in Chouteau Forest, a fictional upscale suburb of St. Louis, Missouri. Some of the places in the book, such as the “Fabulous Lux Theater” are based on real St. Louis landmarks. This book stands on its own even if you haven’t read the prior books. For readers familiar with the author’s other series, the book isn’t what I would call graphic, but definitely not as cozy as booka in her “Dead End Job” or the “Mystery Shopper” series. Fortunately, the serious moments are interspersed with some humor to help lighten the overall mood of the book.

Angela is easy to like. She’s good at her job, a loyal friend, and an intelligent woman who still grieves her late husband. In addition to trying to solve Jessica’s murder on the side, the book also includes details of Angela working on other assigned cases that are part of her work as a death investigator. I enjoyed the other cases Angela works on as much as the main plot of the book. The story also shines a light on the differences between the “haves” and have-nots” in the wealthy St. Louis suburb. There are clues given in the the case of Jessica’s murder but there everyone in Jessica’s circle of friends are viable suspects, so I was kept guessing until the end. I liked the way the killer was unveiled and enjoyed the epilogue which gives a long-term look ahead at what happens to some of the characters in the story. I really like this installment in this well-written, well-researched book and hope this series continues. I would rate the book 4.5 stars.

I received this book from NetGalley through the courtesy of Severn House. The book was provided to me in exchange for an honest review.

An engaging and clever mystery. The smaller stories within the main tale added to the interest without being what some authors use to add words. They tend to pad the word count with clothing and food descriptions, crafting details, etc. Elaine Viets adds intriguing side issues throughout. The epilogue wrapping up the ending to them all was greatly appreciated. As one cares about these individuals even though they are not the main characters.

A Star is Dead
By Elaine Viet
Severn House
2020

Review by Cynthia Chow

When scandalous 1960s celebrity actress Jessica Gray sails into Chouteau Forest, St. Louis, it’s as much as to hock her “Captivating” youth beauty line as it is to present her one-woman “Just Jessica” show at the Lux. Jessica arrives with an entourage that now includes Mario Garcia, a local St. Louis hairstylist and also one of Angela Richman’s best friends. Despite her claims that her eternal beauty stems from her Captivating skin care regime, there’s not much natural about the geriatric celebrity. Even less real is her personal as America’s Sweetheart, an image that her lambasted assistants know is an absurd façade. That is never more evident than during her “hilarious” performance at the Lux, when she humiliates three homeless women in a mock makeover that includes forcing them to attend the after-show party at the estate of Reginald Du Pres.

With shades of being Joan Rivers but far crueler and less funny, Jessica continues her reign of terror at the prestigious affair. Even a bout of double pneumonia doesn’t stop the imperious celebrity from signing out of the hospital AMA, declaring that she is not about to die in the “hole” of a town. She’s wrong about that though, as her limo isn’t far from the hospital before she suffers an attack that has her dead before she can return. When evidence quickly mounts indicating that Jessica was poisoned, Angela’s duties as a Death Investigator have her meeting the late actress when she definitely does not look her best. With the laziest and most careless Detective Ray Greiman assigned to the case, Angela is going to have to do her best to prove that her friend Mario isn’t set up as an easy arrest for a headlines-grabbing murder.

What this series does so well is blend together the best aspects of forensic procedurals and cozy mysteries. Both fascinating and a little gruesome are the details involved in Angela’s profession as a Death Investigator, especially when involving her other cases. An unexpected domestic violence murder, the tragic poisoning of a Vietnam Vet, and a personal request by a wealthy widow testing her inheriting children all prove to be entertaining diversions without interrupting the main mystery of the novel. Chouteau Forest is itself a fascinating elite society filled with manners, rumors, and interweaving relationships. Angela’s physical and mental recovery from her near-fatal strokes that were so central to the early novels are no longer mentioned, and she is now up to her former outstanding capacity as an observant and talented investigator. Angela is never jaded nor inconsiderate of the victims she examines, and is frequently horrified by the callousness of the survivors. Friends and her own sense of humor prevent the darkness of her profession of clouding her life, which has its own share of tragedy. While Angela still considers her late husband to have been the love – and only love – of her life, there are hints that perhaps she may be open to moving on in the future. This continues to be a cleverly written mystery series that exposes the ugly underside of the wealthy elite and the pretenses money only superficially hides. A summary conclusion of characters’ fates is more than satisfying, with justice prevailing and everyone getting the punishment or reward they deserved. Hopefully readers will to continue to follow the adventures of Angela and her friends, especially as her personal life may be growing as strong as her professional one.

Jessica Gray was a hateful woman- a Hollywood star who thinks only of herself- who came to town to promote her business and ended up poisoned. Angela, a death investigator, is on the case and she doubles down when her friend Mario, who was hired to do Jessica's hair, is arrested. This is very much a classic cozy- Jessica alienated a lot of people, Mario is innocent, and Angela is intrepid. It's distinguished by Angela's personal circumstances. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Nicely written and plotted, it's a quick read that will keep you turning the pages (it's also fine as a standalone).

I have read and enjoyed all of Elaine Viets' cozy mysteries but had not read any of the series featuring death investigator Angela Richman. I plan to find the previous two books in this series so I can find out what I have missed. While I do like cozies, give me a well written grittier mystery and I'm a happy reader. This worked fine as a stand alone but I may have gotten even more out of A Star is Dead if I knew the characters a bit better.
Jessica Gray has arrived in Chouteau Forest and the town is excited. Jessica is a Hollywood star but not a nice person in any way. No surprise that she leaves town as a corpse. This was to be her last stop on her tour and somebody wants her dead. Was it a member of her entourage who was fed up with the way she mistreated them? Was it one of the homeless women she hired and then very cruelly embarrassed on stage? Was it somebody even closer to her? When Jessica dies and the cause is poisoning, Angela gets the case. When the police focus their investigation on her friend, Mario, arresting him for the murder, Angela disregards the rules and starts her own investigation to keep Mario off of death row.
Several cases cross paths with each other and I was drawn into all of it, wanting to read just one more chapter until it was well past my bedtime. The sign of a well written mystery. Now I have added the previous titles to my TBR list so I can find out what I have been missing.
My thanks to the publisher Severn House and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

A fascinating fourth book in the Angela Richman series. Angela is a death investigator for the Chouteau County Coroner. As a death investigator, she concentrates on the physical evidence of the body while the police handle the crime scene. She gets involved in several cases, but the most prominent is the death of Jessica Gray, a Hollywood personality. Jessica has managed to make enemies wherever she goes so there is no shortage of suspects. When Angela’s friend is arrested for the murder, she risks her own life to search for the evidence to find the murderer and clear her friend. I have read and enjoyed each book in this series and this is another unique, complex and twisted case that will keep you turning the page. I received an advance review copy at no cost and without obligation for an honest review. (by paytonpuppy)

It was an entertaining and engrossing read that kept me hooked till the end.
I liked the plot that flows, the cast of characters and the solid mystery that kept me guessing.
I look forward to reading other books by this author.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

Jessica Gray is not a nice person but she's famous and people love her. When she comes to a small town performance she makes snarky comments in private. She also brings in three homeless women as part of her show and embarrasses them on stage. So when she gets sick in the limo and dies no one is overly sad. But when it turns out to be murder, it's even messier. Someone doctored her kale juice with nicotine...

Severn House and Net Galley gave me the opportunity to read this book for review (thank you). It will publish April 7th.

She wouldn't let anyone smoke around her, so they vaped instead. That gives them plenty of suspects. Then they find that she's married one of her employees. He's moving up in suspicions.

Angela's friend, Mario, is arrested , mostly because he's Cuban. The cop tells her to stay out of it but she knows Mario didn't do it.

She starts asking questions and some of the answers don't make sense. Then one evening she almost gets run down in the parking lot. She must be getting close. Will she figure it out before they get her?