Mortal Music is the seventh book in the A Silver Rush Mystery series.

Inez Stannert has been asked by Theia Carrington Drake to her new accompanist, to replace Rubio, who she has fired after hearing Stannert play. Theia and her husband have recently moved to San Francisco where Mr. Drake owns a newspaper, while Theia is a trained singer and will be giving performances through New Year’s Day.

The next morning after hiring Inez, Theia finds that her pet bird has been killed and her favorite dress has been cut to shreds. Mr. Drake hires Private Investigator de Bruijn to determine who did these despicable deeds. Inez and de Bruijn happen to meet at Drake’s suite, he to search where the damage was done and Inez to rehearse with Theia. Before long Theia’s understudy dies and her companion, Yvonne goes missing. Inez and de Bruijn decide that it is best to work together to solve this mystery.

Another compelling addition to this exciting series. The story is well-told and written with an interesting cast of characters. The author did an excellent job of providing what seems to be a very accurate depiction of the time. There were plenty of red herrings that kept me guessing till the end.

I will be watching for the next book in this series. ( )

Ann Parker's historical Silver Rush mysteries have been a joy to read from the very first book, Silver Lies. Inez Stannert is a strong, intelligent, unconventional woman readers first met as an owner of a popular saloon in mining boomtown Leadville, Colorado. She's divorced her unfaithful conman husband and been forced to give her infant son to a family member to raise. Looking for a fresh start, she's moved to San Francisco with her young ward Antonia and opened a music store.

Readers always learn things when they pick up a Silver Rush mystery. In this year of 1881, Parker seamlessly weaves in facts about local San Francisco landmarks, music, the Comstock Lode, and the plights of African-Americans as well as dressmakers and other businesswomen.

As Mortal Music opens, Inez's young (and extremely headstrong) ward Antonia is bundled off to spend the holidays with the co-owner of the music store. I wondered about that because the give-and-take between these two strong-minded and independent souls often leads to laughter and plenty of headshaking on my part. However, it didn't take me long to realize why Antonia was shuffled off stage left. There's no way in the world Inez could deal with Antonia AND Theia Carrington Drake at the same time. She would've been driven berserk.

The private investigator de Bruijn adds quite a bit to the story. His ability to investigate things Inez isn't able to is important, but even more important is the dynamic between the two. There's a growing attraction there even though de Bruijn is having a difficult time dealing with Inez's personality. She's just not the usual sort of woman he runs across. She's more liable to pull out her revolver and shoot someone assaulting her instead of screaming for help.

Mortal Music is slow-paced and probably could have used a bit more editing to tighten up the story, and I found whodunit to be rather easy to deduce, but I didn't much care. There's just something about Inez Stannert and the world that Ann Parker creates that gives me so much pleasure that I'm willing to overlook a small bump or two along my reading road. If you enjoy historical mysteries and haven't read a Silver Rush book, I highly recommend the series and suggest that you begin with the first book, Silver Lies. If you're already a fan, be prepared to sink into this story with a happy sigh of anticipation. ( )

Mortal Music is the seventh book in the Silver Rush series that features Inez Stannert, formerly of the Silver Queen Saloon in Leadville, Colorado. It’s 1881 and she has been hired as the accompanist to Theia Carrington, a world-famous opera singer who is performing her final concerts in San Francisco as the year winds to a close. Something is amiss among Theia and her entourage, though, as the very night Inez is hired, Theia’s pet bird is strangled and the gown she was wearing was torn to shreds. Theia’s husband Graham Drake hires local detective Wolter Roeland de Bruijn to solve the mystery. Inez agrees to be eyes and ears on the inside for de Bruijn.

This is a historical novel with a lot of details about San Francisco of the 1880s. Inez is a talentd pianist and a self-confident woman who knows her worth, someone not willing to be obeisant to Theia’s whims and abuse. She is observant and smart and is aware there are many hidden motives and connections at play. When it turns deadly, she is more than ready to fight for justice.

My reaction to Mortal Music shifted during my reading, I liked it a lot at the beginning and then drifted into boredom in the all-too-long middle and liked it again at the end. I though Ann Parker did a good job of creating the place of 1880s San Francisco. I was less convinced by her characters who other than the Inez and de Bruijn seem fairly flat. Theia is a stereotype and so is her husband. Most of the characters are. I nearly quit a few times during the long, long center of the book. A good quarter of the book could be cut without loss of any central portion of the mystery and it might be a more dynamic book. I am glad, though, I stuck it out to the end, even though the guilty party for the avicide was obvious from the start. I do appreciate the moral quandary at the end in terms of seeking justice. It’s a bold writer who doesn’t feel the need to have an all’s well that ends well ending.

Mortal Music will be released January 27th. I received an e-galley from the publisher through NetGalley.

Mortal Music at Poisoned Pen Press
Ann Parker author site

https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpress.com/2020/01/21/9781492699477/ ( )

3.5 / 5 stars

1881 Holiday Season - San Francisco
Looking for an interesting historical mystery? Are you curious about the entertainment industry of 1880s San Francisco, its societal strata, and its effects on all those who serve the ton? Then this may well be a book for you.

Plucky Mrs. Inez Stannert, owner of a local music shop, as well as being a gifted pianist, gets tapped by Theia Carrington Drake, the new diva in town, to be her accompanist through the holidays. This is much to the chagrin of Theia's contracted accompanist, Rubio. Later that evening, Theia's precious songbird is killed and her favorite gown ripped to tatters and rendered worthless. Private Investigator, Wolter Roelof de Bruijn, is hired by Theia's wealthy husband, who is owner of the local newspaper, to find out who perpetrated these crimes against his wife. Within days, Theia's understudy is dead and Theia's companion, Yvonne, missing. Meanwhile, Inez and Theia are tirelessly preparing and executing four concerts over the course of two weeks. So much drama and mystery. Can Inez manage around all of the various landmines, the many secrets and perhaps solve the mysteries before anyone else gets hurt? Perhaps it's possible with the aid of Mr. de Bruijn or will she be out on her own limb? Time will tell.

What a twisted and engaging tale Ms. Parker has spun for her readers. There are tremendous twists and turns and many'a red herring throughout this book. The writing is solid. The atmosphere of the times is well described with all its equine dung heaps, opium den smoke, gas lamp aura, and foggy mists of 1880s San Francisco. The main characters are well developed and their backgrounds are revealed bit by bit over the course of the book. It does keep the little grey cells churning.

Ms. Parker has done a yeoman's job in her research of historic San Francisco, opera, the stage, its female performers and the Comstock Lode of Nevada. All of it is deftly woven throughout this interesting and creative story. Although this book is 7th in Ms. Parker's "Silver Rush Mystery" series, it capably stands on its own without leaving the reader adrift with missing details revealed in earlier installments. This is an entertaining, informative and suspenseful story. I look forward to reading other's by this gifted storyteller.

I am grateful to author Ann Parker and Poisoned Pen Press for having provided a free e-book. Their generosity, however, has not influenced this review - the words of which are mine alone. ( )