Genre: Mystery
Description:
In the third book featuring investigator Scott Drayco, music majors
are murdered at a prestigious private college. The killer leaves taunting clues
in the form of complex music puzzles.
Author:
“Author, poet, and journalist BV Lawson's award-winning stories, poems
and articles have appeared in dozens of national and regional publications and
anthologies. A four-time Derringer Award finalist and 2012 winner for her short
fiction, BV was also honored by the American Independent Writers and Maryland
Writers Association for her Scott Drayco series.”
For more, visit her website.
Appraisal:
BV Lawson has created a memorable character in Drayco, a concert
pianist turned FBI agent, turned crime consultant. He also has the fascinating
condition of synesthesia, which not only adds a mysterious depth to his
character it is integral to the plot. (Synesthesia: a sensation produced in one
modality when a stimulus is applied to another modality, as when the hearing of
a certain sound induces the visualization of a certain color. --
Dictionary.com)
The investigation moves through a fairly complex story line and an
extensive group of characters, which requires alertness on the part of the
reader. Lawson, however, makes the effort enjoyable as she gives each character
his or her own voice and plenty of idiosyncrasies. She also weaves in
interesting facts from obscure medical conditions, to religions, to musical
history, some of which sent me to the Internet for more information. Among the
most fascinating was Olivier Messiaen, whose work the musical puzzles were
based on.
The story starts with the murder of a promising singer. A second
murder and an abduction keeps the tension high as an FBI agent working with
Drayco fears for his own daughter's safety.
For a who-done-it, the culprit is almost too carefully hidden. While
there are some faint clues toward the climax, the hunt evolves mostly through a
process of elimination. Even so, anyone clever enough to guess the killer is
still in for a satisfying surprise.
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FYI:
The first victim is a petit woman, and there is a statement that her
body should contain six liters of blood. That sounded like far too much. An
extensive Internet check indicates calculating the amount is an inexact
science, but there are several references to the average volume for a 150 pound
man being around 5 to 5.5 liters. It isn’t that relevant to the story but as a
retired financial journalist, I remain paranoid about not flagging a possible
numerical error. Original review ran January 3, 2016
Format/Typo
Issues:
No significant issues
Rating:
***** Five Stars
Reviewed
by: Sam Waite
Approximate word count: 80-85,000 words
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