Mortal Music: A Silver Rush Mystery (Silver Rush Mystery)

by Ann Parker

In this next adventure in the award-winning Silver Rush mystery series, pianist and amateur sleuth Inez Stannert must track down a murderer before he silences a famous vocalist—forever...
All Inez Stannert wants for Christmas is for the struggling music store she owns in San Francisco to be a success. When diva Theia Carrington Drake asks Inez to be her accompanist for several high-profile personal appearances, Inez is thrilled. This is the chance she was waiting for—a way to make some extra money and bring her store into the limelight of the city's polite society. She hesitates to dream of what she could do from there—the other female business owners she could help.
But life around the singer is far from pitch perfect. An unknown threat is stalking Theia; her pet bird is found slain, and her signature gown is destroyed. Soon, Inez realizes that a murderer is stalking the city's opera halls, and that it's only a matter of time before Theia is his next victim. She'll have to enlist the help of San Francisco detective Wolter Roeland de Bruijn to solve this mystery of music and uncover the killer before Theia's celebrated voice is silenced—permanently.
When a famous vocalist's life is threatened, sleuth and pianist Inez Stannert will stop at nothing to find an answer to this mystery of music. But will she catch the killer before the music stops?
The critically acclaimed and award-winning Silver Rush mystery series is:Perfect for fans of Rhys Bowen and Sandra DallasFor readers who enjoy historical fiction and Western themed mysteriesFor mystery fans who love a female sleuthOther Titles in the Silver Rush Mysteries Series:
Silver Lies
Iron Ties
Leaden Skies
What Gold Buys
A Dying Note

• ISBN10: 1492699489
• ISBN13: 9781492699484
• Publish Date: 27 February 2020
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Poisoned Pen Press
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 448
• Language: English

Reviews

[annieb123]

Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

Mortal Music is the 7th Silver Rush historical mystery by Ann Parker. Due out 27th Jan 2020 from Poisoned Pen Press, it's 448 pages and will be available in hardcover, paperback, and ebook formats.

Although shelved as a cozy mystery, this is quite a bit darker and more graphic/ambiguous than most of the genre. It's December 1881 in San Francisco and protagonist Inez Stannert is drawn unwillingly into the orbit of a world famous opera singer on her last tour before she retires. When the diva hears music shop owner Inez play the piano she's delivered for the opera performances, she fires her accompanist and insists on hiring Inez for her few remaining appearances.

There are murders, mistaken identity, betrayals, theft, double-crosses, and more skullduggery. The buildup and resolution/denouement were pretty significant downers. I found the plotting slow in places and some of the dialogue was both anachronistic (modern) and stiff. I really wanted to smack Inez's sometime partner/sidekick De Bruijn at several points in the narrative. I found the killing of the diva's pet over the top and unpleasant.

All around, not a very upbeat read, although it is admittedly well written and the author is adept at storytelling. Despite being the 7th book in the series, it works well enough as a standalone. Fans of the series who have already formed a connection to the protagonists will likely find this volume more enjoyable.

Three and a half stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.