This image is the cover for the book Old Die Young, The Nathan Shapiro Mysteries

Old Die Young, The Nathan Shapiro Mysteries

It’s curtains for a vain actor in this Nathan Shapiro whodunit—the final book written by the coauthor of the “excellent” Mr. and Mrs. North series (The New Yorker).

Nathan Shapiro might be the gloomiest member of Manhattan’s finest, but that doesn’t stop the dour detective from getting the job done when the going gets tough . . .

Called upon to investigate the suspicious death of actor Clive Branson, Det. Lt. Nathan Shapiro and his right-hand man, Det. Anthony “Tony” Cook, are confronted with something strange: a dead man in makeup. It seems the thespian was keen on hiding his real age, and made himself up to appear much younger. Now, that’s the mortician’s job.

The cast and crew of Branson’s current Broadway production, Summer Solstice, are all shocked by the actor’s sudden death. Or so they seem. But when it’s revealed that barbiturates were used to take Branson out, Shapiro and Cook start auditioning suspects—because one of them is putting on a most-convincing performance to hide the fact that beneath a mask of innocence lurks a cold-hearted killer.

The Old Die Young is the 10th book in the Nathan Shapiro Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

Richard Lockridge

Frances and Richard Lockridge were some of the most popular names in mystery during the forties and fifties. Having written numerous novels and stories, the husband-and-wife team was most famous for their Mr. and Mrs. North Mysteries. What started in 1936 as a series of stories written for the New Yorker turned into twenty-six novels, including adaptions for Broadway, film, television, and radio. The Lockridges continued writing together until Frances’s death in 1963, after which Richard discontinued the Mr. and Mrs. North series and wrote other works until his own death in 1982.

MysteriousPress.com/Open Road Media