When the Devil Drives
*Starred Review* Two female crime fighters muster all their moxie and mental acumen in international best-seller Brookmyre’s second in a stellar series set in Scotland. Aspiring actress turned private investigator Jasmine Sharp’s search for a woman’s long-lost sister brings her back into the world of professional theater. (It is a bittersweet reunion; Jasmine always wondered what her life would have been like had she continued to tread the boards.) This time, however, the drama is very real: a 30-year-old unsolved mystery that could shatter the reputations of a few much-touted theater icons. Meanwhile, Detective Superintendent Catherine McLeod contemplates clues in the murder of a theatergoer who stepped onstage for a photo shoot following a performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. (Talk about your reverie turned nightmare.) The lives of the two sleuths seemed destined to intersect, and consummate crime-fiction writer Brookmyre (Where the Bodies Are Buried, 2012) is a master at rendering ingenious, intertwining plots. Sharply drawn characters and an idyllic Scottish setting add further appeal to this engaging entry in which foul play’s the thing. --Allison Block