Here is Classical Piano Music. I find it helps to listen to a nice collection like this, because it gives a nice sampling of so many composers and it makes a nice background while I write.
Toot and Puddle take over my water bottle. In the background, Percy, my cockatiel, is making laser gun sounds. All to the accompaniment of soothing classical music.
The Countertenor Wore Garlic (The Liturgical Mystery #9)
What a happy surprise to find this book on the library shelves. I was looking for mysteries to read and happened upon this. I didn't know the author from Adam, but found the cover appealing.
There is a murder that happens in the small town of St. Germaine up in the hills of North Carolina. But it seems almost peripheral to the overall arc of the story.
Some stories are plot driven, some character driven, this story was definitely character driven. What made this book a delight to read was the funny dialogue and the relationships between the main characters.
St. Germaine is a small town. So small that the sheriff Hayden Konig is also the local Episcopal church's Organist and Choir director. The Deputy Sheriff and Mayor also seem to have side jobs.
Schweizer intertwines life at church with life at the local cafe with Halloween, Zombie flash dances, Vampires lining up to get their book signed at the local book store and, what was the other thing?....oh yeah...someone gets murdered that night as well. At first it seems like a scarecrow in the corn maze, but nope; it's a body.
Whose body? And who murdered them? And why? All of this Sheriff Konig (who narrates) must find out and in the meantime, suffer through an interim priest who preaches only fire and brimstone, getting the choir ready for All Saints (which is the day after Halloween) and, last but not least, write his own hard boiled mystery a la Raymond Chandler, whose typewriter he procured.
In addition to the humor and lively characters, as a classical musician, I really enjoyed all the music references. So rare and yet so much fun for someone like me.
I am happy to see that there are many more mysteries in the series and found a set of five on eBay which I have snapped up.
7 comments:
The book sounds entertaining and a lot of fun. As I get a little older I find that I enjoy character based stories more and more.
Though I probably would not get them all, I would enjoy the musical references too.
this is my kind of mystery. for some reason i began thinking about Rossini while i was reading your post: that's a secret signal that i have to acquire this book! tx for the recommend and merry christmas i hope you have one!
Oh, that's great! I'm assuming the author is little known but it's sure fun to find a series which you like.
I hope you didn't drink out of the bottle after Puddles (or Percy) decided to use it for his perch, lol!
i was going to say that Abebooks wanted 16$ for it so i guess it'll have to pass... if this was a civilized country, books would be free to everybody!
HI Brian!
I know you aren't all that into mysteries, although I really appreciate that you make a point of commenting anyway. Maybe your wife would like them?
I do think you would enjoy the characters.
Hi mudpuddle,
That's funny and I can see a character in a novel whose secret intuition is signaled by a piece of music. For some strange reason my "on hold" music when I'm walking or doing chores is a ditty on a Teddy Bear with a music box in it. I bought it when I was a teenager because I liked the song. Now I find myself singing it whenever I'm not thinking anything in particular.
16 dollars? Ridiculous. Maybe you could ask your local library to buy them. We have the entire set in our library.
Hi Cleo,
As the years go by and the books I've read pile up, it is indeed a fun surprise to discover a new author.
Drink out of the bottle after little Puddle perched on it? Uh...no....of course not...who would do such a thing....?
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