Little by little, Tiffany’s role is being whittled away, her clothes not as glamorous, her scenes not as steamy. Sometimes Alexis doesn’t receive her script or changes to the script don’t reach her, something that doesn’t endear her to the production staff.  Alexis confronts Marcy who has the drama queen act down quite well (after writing these scenes for years she should) and Alexis leaves after tossing Marcy’s Emmy at her, deciding the writer isn’t all there and not worth the effort. 

Someone else feels differently and a week or so later, Alexis finds Marcy dead in her office, beaten by the Emmy Alexis threw the week before. Alexis becomes the police’s primary suspect and can’t believe that she was the only one Marcy tormented and begins to start asking cast and crew about their relationships with Marcy. She learns there are plenty of people, including a recent ex-husband and abandoned teenage daughter, who wouldn’t have minded seeing Marcy dead. 

Apparently Alexis is getting too close because she is attacked in her garage and left for dead, something that is first written off as a suicide attempt, but Alexis is tenacious and convinces Detectives Davis (a huge fan of hers who has trouble keeping Tiffany and Alexis straight) and Jakes who appears not to like Alexis at first, though there is definitely something there, that she is a victim, not a murderer so guilty she tried to take her own life. 

With the help of boyfriend, forensics expert Paul, Alexis begins to explore all possible motives and finds another body all the while maintaining and trying to prove her innocence.  

As complicated as a soap opera itself, written by a veteran soap opera actress, Death in Daytime is a fun, light read.  Alexis is a pretty down-to-earth character, though her reaction to being dubbed a diva goes on a little too much sometimes.  She has a little girl upon whom she dotes and a very able and supportive mother who helps her as she tackles being a working single mom. 

Alexis’s relationship with Paul is hard to figure out, she readily admits to sleeping with him, he tells her he loves her, but she is not ready to commit to him and is intrigued when Jakes makes overtures to her.  The murder and investigation are solid, there are plenty of people who would have liked to see Marcy dead and while some of them are too vapid to be bothered, it’s easy to imagine others doing the deed. 

Death in Daytime is a fun start to a new series and readers won’t have to be soap opera fans to appreciate Alexis and company.                                        

--Jennifer Monahan Winberry