Die Upon a Kiss

by Barbara Hambly

Book 5 in the Benjamin January Mysteries series.

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In February 1835, an Italian impresario brings a controversial operatic version of Othello to New Orleans. Benjamin January is wounded while preventing an attack on the producer, and the violence raises questions about theatrical rivalry, sexual jealousy and hostility to a drama centred on a Black man and a white woman.

January follows the conflict through rehearsal rooms, masked Mardi Gras crowds and the competing social worlds of Creole and American New Orleans. When assault develops into murder, he must determine whether the motive lies in the opera company’s private relationships or in the city’s determination to control who may appear on its stages and in its society.