{Review} A Death in C Minor by Rebecca Yount

ASIN #: B008BY13RQ

File Size: 814 KB

Page Count: 304

Copyright: June 15, 2012

Publisher: Independent Publisher

Book Summary:

(Taken from Amazon)

Determined to rebuild her life following a suicide attempt, beautiful young American concert pianist Jessica Beaumont retreats to a 17th century cottage near the village of Kenwick, in rural England. She is embroiled in the murder investigation of a secretive neighbor who was hacked to death in his manor house with his own kitchen cleaver. She soon becomes romantically entangled with one of the murder suspects, a handsome wealthy landowner. Hungry for love, she flings herself full-tilt into an affair with him. Then, on a rainy evening, Detective Inspector Michael "Mick" Chandra of New Scotland Yard shows up at the door of her rented cottage, informing her that he has been assigned to reopen the case.

Against the backdrop of a violent murder evolves a passionate love story. When Jess herself finds the critical clue to the killing, she is threatened to become the next victim.

Kathy's Review:

I'm not that experienced in reading the mystery genre, but I know there are always a ton of suspects and a lot of misdirection that occurs as the story unfolds. In A Death in C Minor, I quickly lost track of the suspects, as there are many, and some names were similar (e.g. Tony vs. Troy). Then, as I'm sure the author intended, I began to suspect someone completely off-base, only to be completely wrong in the end.

The book is satisfying in that there are clear-cut good guys and bad guys, and they're easy to root for or against. There's a damaged heroine in concert pianist Jessica Beaumont, an American ex-pat who has fled to a small town in England to avoid dealing with the death of her 10-year-old son. Mick Chandra, the detective investigating the murder of Peter Chandler, is a likable guy although he's got a huge ego on him. Adam Marr is a good looking, wealthy jerk, and as a reader I waited for him to get what was coming to him.

Some of the backstory of the murder was lost on me - with the Chechen mafia and the financial stuff that was going on - but mostly I was engaged throughout this entire book. There's a romance aspect with Jess and Mick, which is a nice complement to the murder mystery. Some of the details tied up too neatly, such as finding certain pieces of evidence, but as a relatively fledgling mystery reader I took these in stride.

I'm looking forward to Mick Chandra's next case, and I hope that Jess sticks around, too!

*An ecopy of the book was provided by the author's publicist in exchange for an honest review.