Continental Riff: 'A witty and irreverent musical romp' – Claire King (The Stockwell Park Orchestra)

by Isabel Rogers

A continental tour of Europe doesn’t go quite as planned!

When Stockwell Park Orchestra goes on tour to Europe, it proves a challenge for even the most efficient German logistical planner.

A teenage stowaway, brass players falling in canals and a sabotaged timpani van are all in a day’s work for Ingrid Bauer of Note Perfect Tours, but even she can’t solve all the problems this week throws at her. Maybe a bit of surprise Bach can calm the muddy Brexit waters.

She just has to fish out the musicians first.

Praise for The Stockwell Park Orchestra Series:

“I was charmed... a very enjoyable read.” Marian Keyes

“Friendly insults between musicians, sacrosanct coffee-and-biscuit breaks, tedious committee meetings: welcome to the world of the amateur orchestra.” BBC Music Magazine

“…a witty and irreverent musical romp, full of characters I’d love to go for a pint with. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the Stockwell Park Orchestra and can't wait for the next book in the series.” Claire King, author of The Night Rainbow

“Sharp, witty and richly entertaining.” Lev Parikian, author of Why Do Birds Suddenly Disappear?

“With its retro humour bordering on farce, this novel offers an escape into the turbulent (and bonkers) world of the orchestra.” Isabel Costello, author of Paris Mon Amour

“...a very funny tale of musical shenanigans set in the febrile atmosphere of the Stockwell Park Orchestra” Ian Critchley

• ISBN13: 9781788422673
• Publish Date: 14 January 2021
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Prelude Books
• Imprint: Farrago
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 304
• Language: English

Reviews

[annieb123]

Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

Continental Riff is the third book in the Stockwell Park Orchestra cozy series by Isabel Rogers. Released 14th Jan 2021 by Farrago, it's 288 pages (print edition) and available in paperback and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

This is such a comfortably written and engaging cozy series. It's a "slice-of-life" story written simply and appealingly, with well developed characters who go about their daily lives and interact with the sometimes inexplicable world in which we all live. There are a lot of behind the scenes from the daily life of a not-quite-famous classical orchestral performer.

I was a woodwind player for many years and kept up with orchestra performance through university level. This was a nostalgic revisit of those years for me and brought back so many fun memories. The author is clearly musically educated and the book is redolent with affectionate scenes from rehearsals and performances, as well as comments about the music itself.

I haven't read either of the previous books, and had no trouble following the plot. I intend to remedy the situation as soon as possible. This book is gently meandering, 100% character driven, engaging and I would heartily recommend it to fans of daily-life series (like small town cozies). Language, spelling, and slang are British English, but won't pose a problem for anyone in context. There is some rough language (the "f-bomb" for example) but nothing truly egregious.

Four stars. I really enjoyed this one.

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