Exit, Pursued by Death - Keira Willis

Welcome back to the Ballroom... Manchester, 1987 The Ballroom - an obscure police department on Tib Street known for using unconventional methods to solve cold cases - is once again thrust into a spine-chilling investigation. Lady Bancroft's Rose is a play with a grim history: three mysterious deaths have occurred during performances in Manchester theatres since 1922, all on opening night. When the desperate director of an upcoming production seeks the Ballroom's help, Detective Inspector Andrew Joyce and his eclectic team plunge headfirst into the sinister tale of a cursed play and stories of a malevolent entity known as The Shadow Man. Joyce, still a sceptic at heart, dismisses such notions and sets out to prove that the current cast's tormentor is merely human, but when reluctant 'consultant' Peggy Swan confirms that the production is being haunted, it becomes a race against time to reveal the secrets hiding within the play's dark history before another victim is claimed. As the clock ticks down to opening night, Joyce will need to put his doubts aside and once again trust Peggy's judgement; not only to protect the cast, but perhaps to save his own life too. The thrilling second instalment in the Tib Street Ballroom series.