Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: Script Swap
SERIES: The Last Picks
AUTHOR: Gregory Ashe
PUBLISHER: Hodgkin & Blount
LENGTH: 278 pages
RELEASE DATE: October 6, 2025
BLURB:
They say the show must go on. Thank goodness for intermission.
Dashiell Dawson Dane isn’t thrilled that a new play at the community theater is based (however loosely) on his life. But when Dash’s friend Fox asks him to attend opening night, things take a strange turn: the actor playing Dash’s role seems to have been given a different script. Even stranger, the new lines trigger a bizarre response from the rest of the cast and crew—right before the lights go out and the box office is robbed.
At Fox’s request, Dash agrees to investigate, but he’s surprised to discover that everyone at the theater seems more preoccupied with the altered (and now missing) script than with the robbery. And when one of the actors is murdered in what appears to be a burglary gone wrong, Dash is sure there’s something much darker afoot.
But someone is determined to keep the truth from coming out, and Dash will have to navigate aging starlets, a disgruntled custodian, and a reclusive stage manager—among others—to catch the killer before they can strike again.
REVIEW:
Note: This is the eleventh book in this series and it needs to be read in order. The whole dynamic of the Last Picks and Deputy Bobby and Dash builds from the first book.
This time, Dash and company are attending the theater that has been written by Dash’s one time nemesis, Pippi. It’s not so close that she has to pay him for “life rights” and his character is a bit bumbling, but it’s all in good fun right? Well it is until Dash is nearly killed by falling tools, actors fighting over dressing rooms, the script gets changed, their is a robbery and then a murder. Hmmmm.
Against this backdrop, Dash has pretty much stopped writing. He’s had numerous rejections and he’s just decided he is a bad writer. He’s trying to change who he is – to be a better someone from Bobby. Meanwhile Bobby is struggling as well. His mother’s death has changed him. He’s not sure what he wants to do next. Maybe they should just leave Hasting’s Rock?? But right now, there is a murder to solve and once again, Dash is in the wrong place and the wrong time. Repeatedly.
Yes, there is another murder (or two) that require Dash to get involved in solving, but that’s not the big story here. Dash has grown up a lot. With the help of his friends, he comes around to understanding that sometime plan A doesn’t work out. That doesn’t mean everything is a disaster or over. In many many ways, he and Bobby are both stuck professionally. Bobby is still dealing with his mother’s death and what that means to his life plans. Neither are doing what they want necessarily. Dash’s writing is stalled. Bobby doesn’t know what his next move should be. They are talking past each other instead of to each other. The murder is a distraction and once again, Dash finds himself in danger, which of course makes Bobby upset. They really need to work on their communication and being more honest with each other.
I also loved that Fox really comes into their own in this book. We learn more about their past, their art and their family 🙂 The Foxworthy Theatre is a fabulous setting for murder and mayhem! The fact that Fox’s dad Terrence is such a character is not surprising. The townsfolk are up to their usual shenanigans as are the Last Picks. Pippi and her family, Mr. Cheek, Mrs. Shufflebottom – they are all along for the ride 😉 I’m really looking forward to the next book – and I’m sad it will be the last one. I really want to find out how Bobby and Dash are going to figure out their future though 😉
RATING: 
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