Vamps, Villains and Vaudeville - Ellen Collier Mansoor

In 1920s Galveston, society reporter Jazz Cross is in for a surprise when she attends a traveling vaudeville show with her beau, Prohibition Agent James Burton, and discovers that an old flame acts in the production. That night, they find a stabbing victim behind the Oasis - her half-brother Sammy's speakeasy - who's identified as an actor in the troupe. When the victim disappears and later turns up dead, Jazz must help prove that Sammy wasn't the killer. After a second vaudeville actor is found murdered, Jazz discovers that the events behind the scenes are much more interesting than the outdated acts onstage. To make matters worse, Sammy's old nemesis demands that he settles a score and forces him into yet another illegal scheme involving the troupe's money-making ventures. Can Jazz help solve the murders and prove her brother's innocence-so he can escape the Downtown Gang for good? A historical Jazz Age mystery inspired by real-life Galveston gangs and local landmarks.