A Fatal Finale

<b>Kathleen Marple Kalb debuts with the first book in a new historical mystery series set in Gilded Age New York and <br>following the adventures of swashbuckling opera singer Ella Shane, an Irish-Jewish Lower East Side orphan who finds fame and fortune singing male "trouser roles."</b><br><br><i>On the cusp of the twentieth century</i>, Manhattan is a lively metropolis buzzing with talent. But after a young soprano meets an untimely end on stage, can one go-getting leading lady hit the right notes in a case of murder?<br><br><i>New York City, 1899</i>. When it comes to show business, Gilded Age opera singer Ella Shane wears the pants. The unconventional diva breaks the mold by assuming "trouser roles"--male characters played by women--and captivating audiences far and wide with her travelling theatre company. But Ella''s flair for the dramatic takes a terrifying turn when an overacting Juliet to her Romeo drinks real poison during the final act of Bellini''s <i>I Capuleti e i Montecch