Guest Review: DON’T UPSTAGE THE BODY by Naomi Stephens

ABOUT THE BOOK

Hippolyta Halfpenny and her family of professional mourners have perfected the theatrical art of grief. When the reclusive Lord Basil Monfort engages her family's services for his own funeral, she vows it will be her last performance as she's tired of the disguise. Then she discovers the undertaker's body in the library and finds herself cast as an amateur sleuth in an undercover investigation. 

Rain washes away the roads, trapping the funeral party at Lord Monfort's estate—with an unidentified killer in their midst. Bound by her father's wishes to maintain their charade, Hippolyta must navigate a web of secrets spanning decades. But sorting truth from deception proves even more difficult when Lord Montfort's charming yet perceptive heir suspects Hippolyta is not all she appears to be. 

Concealing her family's true identities while unraveling secrets might be the role of Hippolyta's life, but with a murderer among them, she must unmask the truth before the final curtain falls. 

With her Agatha Christie-inspired voice, Naomi Stephens pens a 1950s manor house murder mystery where no one is who they seem. 

OPENING LINES

“The first body was exactly where it was supposed to be.”

Don't Upstage the Body by Naomi Stephens. Published by Bethany House Publishers, July 23, 2026.

GUEST REVIEW by Sophia Rose

When a disguised professional mourner stumbles across a body (no, not the one in the grave), she finds her careful life turned upside down as she reluctantly investigates the murder with a man suspicious about her secrets. Naomi Stephens is a new-to-me author, but I was all kinds of eager to try her Agatha Christie-esque 1950s-era country-house murder mystery, Don't Upstage the Body.

Hippolyta Halfpenny is part of a thespian family, and she is the only non-actor among them. After grieving her mother’s death, her father came up with the new business venture of taking the family's acting skills into a new occupation. Her father, brothers, and sister are now discreet, professional mourners. People hire the Halfpennys for various reasons, and her father set rules to ensure the service is done right. Hippolyta finds herself breaking several of the rules meant to protect the family's reputation, which will be destroyed if word ever gets out that they are fake funeral mourners.

Lord Montfort, the deceased, hired them and didn’t want even his nearest and dearest to know.  Hippolyta is not keen on the subterfuge like the rest of her colorful family are, but she feels the weight of the secrets when she is stuck in her role as a distant relation after she discovers the dead undertaker, the new Lord Montfort finds her near the body, and the police have lots of questions for all the family and funeral guests in the house. She has no choice but to partner with the young man about town and now Earl of Montfort, particularly when her own eccentric relations look like suspects to the police.

Don’t Upstage the Body is a historical cozy mystery with a good balance of suspense and development. The mystery unfolds slowly, and I liked the twists and surprises, even as a strong unease builds, wondering when someone will expose the Halfpennys.

Hippolyta is the central figure and the sole narrator of the book. I liked her from the start. She is different from the rest of her family and ambivalent about the family career. But, once she realizes the man was murdered, her clever thinking and attention to detail stand her well, and she starts investigating—even though she told the rude, arrogant gadabout, Crispin Montfort, that she wouldn’t do any detecting with him. As they get to know each other and see beyond the public personas they both wear for different reasons, they become quite the detecting pair, with their opposite personalities bringing different strengths and reluctant attraction to the case.

I was well-satisfied with this engaging cozy, witty dialogue, colorful characters, and intriguing, layered plot. I’ve eagerly added Naomi Stephen’s backlist to my stack and hope for more from her pen. An entertaining historical charmer that readers should exit stage left and make all haste to add to the stack.

Naomi Stephens, author

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Naomi Stephens is a bookworm turned teacher turned writer. She received a B.A. in English from Concordia University in Ann Arbor and an M.A. in English from Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne. She currently teaches introductory writing classes at Westchester Community College. 

Her first novel, Shadow among Sheaves, was an Inspy Award shortlist contender and winner of the 2020 Carol Award in Debut Fiction. She is also the author of The Scarlet Ribbon and The Burning of Rosemont Abbey, which won second place in the cozy mystery category of the Daphne du Maurier Awards. Her next murder mystery, Don't Upstage the Body, will be released in the summer of 2026. 

Though she's called many places home over the years, she currently lives in New York with her husband, her two children, and a rascal of a dog named Sherlock. When not writing or having adventures with her family, she can be found drinking tea, baking scones, and pining for London. You can connect with Naomi via her website.

Sophia Rose, reviewer

ABOUT GUEST REVIEWER, Sophia Rose

Sophia is a quiet, curious gal who dabbles in cooking, book reviewing, piano-playing, and gardening. Road trips and campouts, museums and monuments, restaurants, and theaters are her jam. Encouraged and supported by an incredible man and a loving family. A Northern Californian transplant to the Great Lakes region of the US. Lover of Jane Austen, baseball, cats, Scooby Doo, and chocolate. As a lifelong reader, it was inevitable that Sophia would discover book blogs and the joy of blog reviewing. In 2012, she submitted her first book review and is currently an associate reviewer.

Sophia is a prolific reader and audiobook listener, which allows her to experience many wonderful books, authors, and narrators. Few genres are outside her reading tastes, but her true love is fiction, particularly history, mystery, sci-fi, and romance. Sorry, no horror...or she will run like Shaggy and Scooby. Connect with Sophia via FACEBOOK GOODREADS TWITTER