Requiem in Red — Kaye George

Aspiring conductor and amateur sleuth Cressa Carraway returns for a second installment of music and murder in this fast-paced mystery from author Kaye George.

Fresh out of grad school, Cressa lands her dream job as conductor of a fledgling ensemble in Minnesota that aspires to grow into a major orchestra. Leaving her psychic friend Neek, boyfriend Daryl, and DePaul University behind, she quickly starts to wonder what she's gotten herself into.

Cressa's new friendship with the first chair violinist of the ensemble, Maddy Streete, gives her an opportunity to sing in a dysfunctional church choir, and also leads to an organist gig in the church across the street. While playing the organ helps supplement her meager conducting salary, it places her in empty churches more often than she'd like, forcing her to deal with homeless vagrants, drug paraphernalia -- and corpses.

As she tries to make sense out of everything, Cressa digs deeper into the lives of her fellow musicians and newfound friends to uncover swirling currents of hatred, old wounds, bitter resentments -- and unexpected information about the suspicious deaths of her own musician parents so many years ago.

Can Cressa sort out the clues before she becomes the next victim?

“Kaye George plays a twisting score in REQUIEM IN RED, conducting us through intrigue and murder in two church musical communities to a surprising and suspenseful climax. You'll love this new Cressa Carraway mystery.” -- Edith Maxwell, Agatha-nominated author, Quaker Midwife Mysteries and Local Foods Mysteries

“A standing ovation for REQUIEM IN RED! Conductor Cressa Carraway's musical journey continues with a move to Minnesota, intrigue, and murder. Kaye George hits all the right notes as she deftly pits Cressa's experience as the new kid on a very dysfunctional block against a mostly new cast of characters. Everyone is viewed with equal suspicion in a plot where nothing is exactly as it appears to be on the surface.” -- Judy Penz Sheluk, author, The Hanged Man's Noose

“Kaye George weaves music and murder into a gripping combination. Intimately familiar with the world of classical and ecclesiastical music, her loving look at the way churches work and familiarity with the landscape makes readers feel like they are looking over Cressa's shoulder the whole time.” -- KB Inglee, author, The Case Book of Emily Lawrence