A boring and muddled murder mystery. The conceit is that it is a modern gender-swapped retelling of Hamlet but in a world like ours where Hamlet is also a famous play. Harper Hayes' father has been murdered, and his ghost -- attired in a Hamlet costume from his youthful performance of the role -- is haunting her to find out if her uncle or mother had something to do with it. Harper mopes accordingly as she fumbles slowly through her investigation. She suffers convenient memory lapses that make her a possible suspect also.

The Hamlet hook is not enough to overcome characters who are flat and lacking charisma. It seems like the plot here may twist away from the original, but as with a lot of murder mysteries I read, I really don't care whodunnit or who they dunnit to, so I don't feel much need to come back for future installments. ( )