Linda Barnes: Blood Will Have Blood (USA 2015)

From the Publisher:
Anthony Award-winning author Linda Barnes introduces dashing private eye turned actor Michael Spraggue who must unmask a deadly prankster in a haunted theater
Boston Brahmin Michael Spraggue believes distinguished director Arthur Darien has invited him to the old Fens Theater because he needs financial backing for his new production of Dracula. But Arthur has a different kind of problem: His actors believe the theater is haunted. One even quit when he discovered that his pitcher of Bloody Marys had been replaced with real blood. The director offers the part to Michael on one condition: He will not only be playing Dr. John Seward; he will also be playing detective.

Behind the scenes, this Dracula is a true horror show. Infighting among the cast, money problems, and deadly threats are just the beginning. When the pranks turn lethal, it is up to Michael to find the killer lest the curtain come down on them all forever.

Blood Will Have Blood is the 1st book in the Michael Spraggue Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

Linda Barnes: Blood Will Have Blood. A Michael Spraggue Mystery. Open Road Media, ISBN: 9781504014496 (July, 2015), eBook, 0.70 MB (ca. 188 p.), $7.99.

Linda Barnes: Blood Will Have Blood (USA 1991)

From the Publisher:
Famed theater director Arthur Darien is in trouble. His production of Dracula should be a hit, but strange and macabre "jokes" -- beginning with a batch of Bloody Marys that are all too bloody -- are being played on the increasingly nervous cast. The play may close before opening night.

Enter Michael Spraggue. The wealthy sometime actor and former private detective is Arthur Darien's only hope for making sure the show goes on. Spraggues assingnment is to find the "joker" -- before the jokes get any less funny.

But in his double role as cast member and sleuth, Spraggue is up against a group of actors playing parts not written in any script -- and a killer bent on giving the performance of a lifetime.

Linda Barnes: Blood Will Have Blood. Murder on stage. A Michael Spraggue Mystery. Fawcett Crest, ISBN: 0449209016 (November, 1991), 191 p., $4.99.

Linda Barnes: Blood Will Have Blood (USA 1982)

From the Publisher:
SPOTLIGHT ON DEATH
Director Arthur Darien's new blockbuster production of Dracula promises to be the hit of Boston's theatre season. Until a string of sick practical jokes threatens to close the play before opening night.

A garlic nosegay for the leading lady, a blood bath for the bride of the vampire, and a bit player's Bloody Mary spiked with O negative blood have spooked the cast. A desperate director convinces actor/sleuth Michael Spraggue to accept a part as company spy... and stop the grisly prankster before the final act turns into a theatrical masterpiece of murder.

MICHAEL SPRAGGUE INVESTIGATES
He has enough bucks to live the good life. He has the training it takes to play Shakespeare. And he has the talent to be Boston's best private eye for catching the kinky crooks and show-biz psychos who think the play's the thing when it comes to murder.

Linda Barnes: Blood Will Have Blood. A horror play sets the stage for a ghastly killer's finest pefrormance. A Michael Spraggue Mystery. Avon Books, ISBN: 0380793687 (March, 1982), 191 p., $2.25.