Victorian Mystery, Romance, and Dance

There are a handful of authors that I always read, no matter the title, no matter the subject, just bam! Buy it and read it. Joanna Davidson Politano is one of the few. Her latest, A Midnight Dance, did not let me down…and it won’t let you down, either.

As always, Politano’s characters are the sort that by the end of the story, you discover you’ve become best friends. I especially loved the mysterious Philippe. HIs story is woven in gradually, making you sit up and beg for more. But Jack…ahh, Jack. Yeah. ‘Nuff said.

And let’s talk about that plot, shall we? Because it gives the same effect. Snippets of backstory are sprinkled throughout, leading you on to wonder how and what and why, which of course all culminates in a very satisfying end.

I’ll admit I”m not a huge fan of dance, but after reading this one, you just. might see me in the audience at the next ballet.

All theater romances are tragedies. Ella Blythe knows this. Still, she cannot help but hope her own story may turn out different than most--and certainly different than the tragic story of the Ghost of Craven Street Theater. Yet as she struggles to maintain her tenuous place in the ever-shrinking ballet company, win the attentions of principal dancer Philippe, and avoid company flirt Jack, Ella cannot deny the uncanny feeling that her life is mirroring that of the dead ballerina.

Is she dancing ever closer to the edge of her own tragic end? Or will the secrets that are about to come to light offer release from the past?