The Retired Assassin’s Guide to Amateur Theatrics

A small-town theatre production should be an opportunity for drama on stage—not a reason to fear what might happen behind the scenes. But in Te Kohe, New Zealand, the past has a way of making itself known. In The Retired Assassin’s Guide to Amateur Theatrics, Naomi Kuttner returns to the coastal community where Dante, a former assassin seeking a quieter life, keeps finding himself drawn into unexpected mysteries. This time, the town is preparing a production of Shakespeare’s Macbeth. The choice of play proves unsettling: something sinister happened the last time it was performed in Te Kohe, twenty years earlier, and the old events are threatening to resurface. As Dante and his friends become entangled in the theatrical production and its troubling history, the line between ordinary community drama and something far more sinister begins to blur. The familiar routines of small-town life provide little reassurance when old secrets and unexplained happenings threaten to disrupt the present. Kuttner blends the conventions of cosy mystery with paranormal elements, an eccentric community, and the dry humour that characterises the series. The theatrical setting adds a playful layer of Shakespearean atmosphere, while the unresolved history gives the investigation a darker edge. Readers can expect an entertaining mix of suspicious circumstances, local relationships, supernatural possibilities, and the complications of a retired professional trying to leave his former life behind. The novel is suited to readers who enjoy amateur-detective mysteries, quirky small-town characters, gentle supernatural intrigue, and humorous crime fiction. Fans of the earlier Retired Assassin’s Guide books will find another mystery centred on Dante’s uneasy transition to civilian life, while newcomers can discover a distinctive setting where murder, mystery, and community theatre make an unusual combination.