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Adriana Hofstetter is back and still marching to the beat of her own sixteen-year-old band. When Hollywood High School begins production on their school musical, Adriana is there doing a story for the school paper. But when Bethany Miller, a student and cast member who has an unhealthy addiction to Instagram, doesn’t come home from school and remains missing, Adriana goes on the hunt to fi nd out what happened. Talking to irritating students, baffl ed teachers, and doubting detectives, Adriana is having no luck piecing anything together. With each passing day looking worse for Bethany Miller, Adriana must use all her wiles in trying to solve what happened. And then she receives a note, a one-word note: Stop. And then another threatening note is left on her apartment door. Can Adriana fi nd the culprit before the culprit comes after her? Of course, best friend Billy Feldman is there to lend his support while playing one of the leads in the show, mother Margaret is there to keep her eye on Adriana while listening to her loud, classic rock-and-roll, and Detectives Ramirez and Coyne are there to listen to and question what Adriana discovers. With colorful depictions of Hollywood, Adriana’s trademark sense of humor, and a crime to be solved, Murder at the School Musical is funny, suspenseful, and a cautionary tale of addiction to social media.
Bruce Kimmel is the author of twelve previous books, all of them published by Author House—he is, in fact, Author House’s most-published author. He has a successful record label called Kritzerland, and has worked either as an actor, writer, director, or record producer for over forty-three years. He also has the longest-running “daily blog” in the history of the Internet, having never missed a day since November 9, 2001. He lives in Studio City, California.
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“In Kimmel’s newest Hollywood High whodunit, his irrepressible teen sleuth Adriana Hofstetter delves into the disappearance of an Instagram-addicted student actress scheduled to appear in the school’s production of The Music Man. Once again, Adriana’s amateur investigation includes not only clues and deductions but also bits of Hollywood city lore, musical comedy history, fine and not-so-fine dining in the city of angels, fashion tips and musings on book collecting, all burnished by the sheer exuberance of youth. These tales of Hofstetter continue to be the literary equivalent of comfort food, satisfying and good to the last bite.”
— Dick Lochte,
author of the award winning mystery thriller SLEEPING DOG
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“‘I’m not part of this generation!’ huffs Adriana Hofstetter, defiantly declaring her independence from her fellow students at Hollywood High, as well as stating the obvious. For Adriana is the squarest peg never to fit in a round hole... not that she’d want to be pigeonholed by the usual teenage obsessions. Even she calls herself a freak. Her fashion sense has gone the way of the Dodo bird. She’s “new” technology-challenged. And she’s utterly confounded by social networking (understandable when your only friends are the musical-mad gay Billy and an octogenarian ex-film producer who rattles off more one-liners than Henny Youngman).
But Adriana has no time for the angst and self-absorption of her peers. Not when there’s a new mystery to get absorbed in. When a cast member disappears rehearsing the school’s production of The Music Man, our quirky amateur sleuth quickly realizes they’ve got Trouble, right there in Hollywood High, spelt with a capital “T”, that rhymes with “D” and stands for... “Dead”? It’s a sure bet Adriana will find out...despite suspicious cast members, admonishing policemen, threatening letters, and a meddling mother. Once again, Bruce Kimmel pays witty, wry tribute to the square pegs of the world and the enchanting town of Hollywood, both old and new.”
— Charles Edward Pogue,
screenwriter of THE FLY & DRAGONHEART
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