The Strings of Murder: A Novel (A Frey & McGray Mystery)
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.58 (978 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 1681774151 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 412 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2015-12-06 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
Fearing a national panic over a copycat Jack the Ripper, Scotland Yard sends Inspector Ian Frey. And the suspects all talk of a cursed violin once played by the Devil himself. Frey reports to Detective "Nine-Nails" McGray, local legend and exact opposite of the foppish English inspector. McGray’s tragic past has driven him to superstition, but even Frey must admit that this case seems beyond belief There was no way in or out of the locked music studio. The dead man’s maid swears there were three musicians playing before the murder. Inspector Frey has always been a man of reasonbut the longer this investigation goes on, the more his grasp on reason seems to be slipping. And there are black magic symbols on the floor. The brutal slaying of a violinist in his home in 1888 sparks a locked room murder mystery investigated by two diametrically opposed Edinburgh detectives.1888: a violinist is brutally murd
Flawed, but Entertaining Historical Mystery L. Sheldon Nice and creepy (and bloody) Victorian mystery set in Edinburgh with two main characters it takes awhile to be comfortable with. But once the plot shifts into gear around a possibly cursed violin, the main characters, wildly mismatched as they are, become more engaging and the hunt is on, including two terrific chases, hard to pull off in a book. There are some glitches worth noting. There is the occasional anachronistic bit of dialogue, but the worst glitch is the abominable copy-editing of the Kindle edition. The number of lines of dialogue missing quotatio. Richard English said A new author to follow. I loved this book and I can't wait for Mr. de Muriel's next one.Sometimes when I read a novel I imagine actors in the various parts. In this one, I could only think of Sean Connery as Inspector McGray. I couldn't settle on anyone in particular for Inspector Frey. I loved their dialog, however, and their interplay. The plot was a little on the grotesque side but that's OK with me. I didn't mind. I thought I caught a couple of anachronisms in the verbiage but I could be wrong about that. At any rate, that's a really minor quibble.I hope this finds a large audie. "OK; but bad copy editing" according to Scott. The story is OK; the stereotyped scots is a bit tiresome. But the copy editing is problematic. This is a full price ebook from a major publisher and its full of errors. Mismatched quotes marks, missed paragraph breaks, transposed words, typos - things I'd expect from a self-published book, not something from Norton. There were times I'd have
This should build into a lovely series.” (Lovereading)“The relationship between the two detectives and Oscar de Muriel's sparkling dialogue really elevate this murder mystery. A fastidious fop, Frey is appalled by the gritty city and horrified by his superior, Adolphus McGray, a lusty Falstaffian character who calls his new colleague a “whiny lassie.” The two actually work well together in this locked-room mystery. Frey is actually working undercover on a special mission from the prime minister to investigate the murder of a respected concert violinist at the rough hands of someone who seems to admire the work of Jack the Ripper. De Muriel matches the intricate mystery with a clever solution.” (Publishers Week
He is a violinist, translator, chemist, and writer who lives in Lancashire. Oscar de Muriel was born in Mexico City.