WEB OF MURDER by Jonathan Troy

Web of Murder is a gripping murder mystery who-dunnit filled with dark family secrets, blackmail, greed, and revenge. Set in a brooding mansion high atop a remote cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean, the play centers on the wealthy heiress Minerva Osterman, who has convened her potential heirs for an advance reading of her will. Confined to a wheelchair for many years, the domineering Minerva has turned her desolate mansion into a virtual prison – not only for herself, but also for her quiet and long-suffering daughter Stephanie and her gentle and sympathetic housekeeper Nora, as they daren't disobey lest they be disinherited. She is cared for by her personal physician, Dr. Adler, who also resides in the mansion. Fearing that her death may be imminent, Minerva has summoned all her possible heirs to watch their reactions as the will is read. She knows that it will please some and disappoint others – unless they take the sinister steps necessary to protect their interests. She asks her two nieces, Mary and Belle, to come alone, but they arrive with their respective fiancés, whom Minerva grudgingly allows to stay. Before revealing the contents of her will, however, she has the mysterious Dr. Adler put her into a hypnotic trance, during which she picks up a deck of cards and turns over the three of clubs – the card of death. Her prediction is that someone in the room will die before the weekend is over – a prediction that comes true when she herself dies. After that, more bodies turn up, and fear and suspicion grow among those remaining. The will mysteriously disappears before it was ever read. In the end, after agonizing twists and turns a murderer is unmasked – in a chilling, exciting climax that is held off until the final perilous moments of the play.