Funeral Music: A Novel (The Sarah Selkirk Mysteries)

by Morag Joss

Book Overview

To the ancient Romans, the healing waters of Bath belonged to the goddess Minerva. Today they belong to the gods of commerce, as tourists teem, shops prosper, and the incense of gourmet food rises to... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 044024241X
• Release Date: March 2005
• Publisher: Dell
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 6.8" x 1.0" x 4.2"

Customer Reviews

a superbly plotted and extremely intriguing read

I do enjoy coming across a new British mystery series, and by the looks of things I'm going to derive a lot of fun from reading the next two installments in the Sara Selkirk mystery series scheduled to be released later this year. Well plotted, intriguing and full of beautiful and lush descriptions of modern day Bath, "Funeral Music" was a treat to read from beginning to end. Suffering from an emotional breakdown that has prevented her from performing for quite a while, world renowned cellist has retreated to her cottage in Bath where she marks time exercising and giving cello lessons to Detective Chief Inspector Andrew Poole. And while her friends have been worried, none of them have met with any success in persuading Sara to perform publicly again. However her good friend, James has had enough, and manages to bully her into performing with him at the Pump Room. Giving in with bad grace, little did Sara expect that this one act would catapult into the middle of a murder investigation when she discovers the body of the Director of Museums and Civic Leisure Resources dead in one of the baths. Because Andrew is in charge of the investigations, Sara finds herself privy to all sorts of information, and when people she likes and care about come under police scrutiny, Sara finds herself reluctantly playing detective. And although she feels strangely invigorated, Sara will have to pay great care that her investigations don't land her on the killer's hit list... What made "Funeral Music" so much fun to read was not so much the mystery at hand (if you're an avid mystery buff, you can more or less figure out what's going on about half way through the book) as the characters involved. Morag Joss has peopled her novel with characters that are engaging, flawed and sympathetic. Wanting to know what would happen to most of the characters had me glued to the pages till the very end. Another plus factor, "Funeral Music" was that this was an extremely well written book - the language, and the manner in which the book was framed was brilliantly done. And let no one tell you differently, a well written book is almost a rarity these days. So am I looking forward to the next Sara Selkirk mystery novel? Goodness, yes. If nothing else it will be fascinating to see how the author handles the relationship that's brewing between Sara and DCI Andrew Poole.

well written allegro paced murder mystery

World class cellist Sara Selkirk remains stunned by the death of her lover, which led to her inability to perform at a recent Paris concert. She has come to Bath to play the Cello at a charity event although she still mourns her loss. Following the event in the Pump Room, Sara finds the host organizer Museum Director Matthew Sawyer floating in the Roman Baths' Sacred Spring, stabbed to death. Heading the investigation Detective Chief Investigator Andrew Poole has a vested interest that should probably disqualify him as he gets cello lessons from Sara and is attracted to her although he is unhappily married. The inquiries go nowhere as everyone detested the victim. Initially reluctant to talk with Sara about the suspects, Andrew realizes he needs her insight to reduce the list because so many seem to have motive and opportunity. She helps the DCI but rejects his romantic advances even when he swears he left his wife because he loves her. Sara's efforts help her overcome her grief, but also threaten her career as an angry female warns her that if she fails to back off she will lose her hands. This British police procedural tale hooks the audience due to the star Sara, who struggles with the death of a loved one, understands that the show must go on and rejects the romantic advances of the head investigator. The who-done-it is cleverly designed for an Agatha Christie like finish, but what makes the tale is the deep look at Bath and Sara especially her refreshing refusal to become Andrew's lover. Several secondary players seem add nothing to this well written allegro paced murder mystery that has a crescendo ending. Harriet Klausner