Bellweather Rhapsody

By Kate Racculia

Book Overview

A high school music festival goes awry when a young prodigy disappears from a hotel room that was the site of a famous murder/suicide fifteen years earlier--in this "deliciously dark confection of a novel, and one of the most thoroughly enjoyable books I've read in years" (Celeste Ng).

Now hundreds of high school musicians, including quiet bassoonist Rabbit Hatmaker and his brassy diva twin, Alice, have gathered in its cavernous, crumbling halls for the annual statewide festival; the grown-up bridesmaid has returned to face her demons; and a snowstorm is forecast that will trap everyone on the grounds. Then one of the orchestra's stars disappears--from room 712. Is it a prank, or has murder struck the Bellweather once again?

The search for answers entwines a hilariously eccentric cast of characters--conductors and caretakers, failures and stars, teenagers on the verge and adults trapped in memories. For everyone has come to the Bellweather with a secret, and everyone is haunted.

Full of knowing nods to the shivery pleasures of suspense and the transporting power of music, this is a wholly winning new novel from a writer lauded as "charming" (Los Angeles Times), "witty" (O, The Oprah Magazine), and "whimsical" (People).

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 054448391X
• ISBN13: 9780544483910
• Release Date: June 2015
• Publisher: Mariner Books
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 0.66 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.2" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

MUST read if you are a musician or a competitive type A student or a human being who loves good writ

If you know a young person who has excelled in high school and is apprehensive about college OR a person who has played in an orchestra and knows the delights of being a part of a piece of music OR someone struggling with coming out OR someone struggling with PTSD OR someone who loves Steven King's The Shining. Or just someone who loves a good solid piece of writing. This a book with heart. And brains. Terrific characters, a plot that does not stop, and gives you a few satisfying twists along the way and PLAYS FAIR with those twists. This is a rich satisfying book that made me want to read anything the author has written or will write. But it truly does speak - with eloquence and heart- to the struggle of reconciling doing what you love to and being practical and adult, and how you begin to wrestle with these dilemmas at the cusp of your late teens - and onwards.