For the inaugural performance at the newly opened Sheridan Center for the Performing Arts in Chicago, the organizers have brought in a much-discussed new staging of Carmen. Even though it has been sold out for weeks, Emily Charters and a friend have secured tickets for the opening-night performance. Despite widespread rumors of backstage troubles, the performance goes off without a hitch - up until the climactic scene, when the actor playing Don Jose dies onstage.It is soon evident that the actor didn't die of natural causes, and Jeremy Ransom, a detective with the Chicago Police Department and a friend of Emily Charters, is assigned the case. But as he quickly discovers, there is no lack of potential suspects. Between the out-of-control opera company diva, intrigues among the cast, and the dubious financial situation of the company, not to mention the behind-the-scenes drama at the Sheridan Center itself, Ransom is facing his most complex case yet. Read Less