Murder in A-Major — Morley Torgov

Take one of the crowning musical geniuses of mid-nineteenth century Europe; surround him with enemies, some of whom are fiercely jealous of his talent, others in love with his beautiful wife (a musical genius in her own right); add several scoundrels including a seller of stolen jewels and a kleptomaniac music critic who ends up murdered under highly mysterious circumstancesand there you have the world of Robert and Clara Schumann in the Germany of the 1850s, as told by the narrator, Dsseldorfs top detective, Inspector Hermann Preiss. A delightful historical mystery with a light touch, the reader is lead into the world of mid-nineteenth century music, where classical composers were stars and their egos were just as monstrous as the rock stars of today. Enter Brahms as the latest rising star in the firmament, and the world of Robert and Clara Schumann is rocked to its core. A mysterious off-key A on the Schumanns piano leads to one of the more interesting cases that Inspector Preiss has ever tackled. But are all mysteries meant to be solved? Inspector Preiss has the final answer.