Murder to Music

Thanks to Agora Books for a review copy.
Murder to Music, originally published in 1959, is the second in Agora Books’ ‘Uncrowned Queens of Crime’ season and is well deserving of its place.
The story revolves around an amateur choir’s debut performance of its ageing director’s latest composition, a mass which he hopes will help him secure his knighthood. The performance is to take place in the Royal Festival Hall and be broadcast by the BBC so the stakes are high both for composer and singers.
Behind the scenes however petty bickering, jealousies and old rivalries serve to set those on the choir committee at each other’s throats. Central to the unpleasantness is the deputy conductor who is a both unsympathetic and tactless when it comes to handling the choir and the committee. It is scarcely surprising when he is shot dead at the end of the performance and Detective Superintendent Hudson, attending the gala to support his girlfriend who both sings in the choir and sits on the committee, is tasked to investigate.
We need to suspend our disbelief that a police officer who is in a relationship with someone in the case would actually be allowed to investigate events but to be fair to DS Hudson, he is not shy in investigating all the key players thoroughly and risks alienating his girlfriend by asking her some very searching questions.
As the case proceeds things take a darker turn as a professional singer disappears and another member of the choir is attacked at home.
The case is set over the Christmas period and the author is able to conjure pictures of the snowy streets of London and the iced-over fields of Kent. She also manages to convey DS Hudson’s resentment of having to work over Christmas and his desire to solve the crime and hopefully exonerate his girlfriend without being heavy handed with emotional prose.
One of the strengths of the book is the delightful characterisation of the cast of people involved. The choristers and musicians come over as being a little highly strung and over sensitive but are by no means caricatures or unbelievable in the way they are written. My wife has extensive experience in choirs and orchestras and tells me that the situations and feuding described (with the exception of murder of course) are not so very far from the norm.
Although the story is primarily a mystery it is also very funny in places with witty and clever dialogue which made me laugh out loud. This is beautifully worked into the prose so that it never takes over from the main thrust of the novel but allows the lighter moments to shine through.
The solution when it comes is actually deeply tragic and, although the clues are there from the start, the realisation as to what has driven the murderer to act in the way they do is nevertheless horrific and understandable.
The author is not afraid to touch lightly on themes such as mental illness and homosexuality despite the fact that these were still largely taboo subjects at the time of writing. As ever though these are not rammed home with a heavy hand but form a natural part of the evolving tale.
I would wholeheartedly recommend this book to any lover of entertaining and well written classic mysteries. This was the only book published by Margaret Potter under the her maiden name of Margaret Newman under her own name though wrote extensively in different genres and under a variety of names until her death in 1998. She well deserves her place in the Uncrowned Queens of Crime season and will hopefully be enjoyed by many new readers.

This could have been the start of a great series had not the author gone in different literary directions under different names. DS Simon Hudson and his future wife, Delia Jones, are an interesting couple and could have been worthy successors to ER Punshon's Bobby Owen and Olive.

As a former chorister and committee member of an amateur choir, I can attest to the accuracy of much of the background to a well-handled tale of a conductor murdered in the Festival Hall.The characterisation is vivid and the plot neatly tied-up, with a the perpetrator not too obviously clued.

This is a worthy addition to the publisher's new Uncrowned Queens of Crime series. I read it all in one go, which is a tribute to the clarity of the writing and the flowing style.

Very recommendable.

Thank you to NetGalley and Agora Books for the digital review copy.

I thoroughly enjoyed Murder to Music by the new-to-me author Margaret Newman. The musical setting in the Royal Festival Hall was excellent and the book reminded me a lot of earlier Golden Age fiction, such as The Wind Blows Death by Cyril Hare.

There was a nice bit of romance between the policeman Simon and his chorister girlfriend Delia, and the ending was satisfying. The writing did not feel like it was sixty years old, although the social mores in the book are definitely of an earlier time than today. Margaret Newman is a worthy addition to Agora's Uncrowned Queens of Crime.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing a review copy in exchange for honest feedback.

This is an absolute gem of a book from an author I had not heard of before. It truly is a book written in the age of golden crime and deserves the title of one of the greats from that period. After finishing I immediately went online to see if there were any more stories of Simon and Delia. Everything about this book is fantastic, the characters are wonderfully written, the murders fit in with the storyline whilst taking account of what had happened to the World not that long before the book was written.
I would heartily recommend this book to all as a wonderful golden age crime story that is on a par with the wonderful Agatha Christie.

Murder to Music, written by Margaret Newman, was first published in 1959. She issued her books under a variety of pseudonyms, including Anne Melville. I wasn’t aware of that and approached Murder to Music with the assumption she was another overlooked author, forgotten for decades. I suspect, though, it’s only her one book published under her maiden name of Margaret Newman that’s been neglected.

Owen Burr, the assistant conductor of the Metropolitana Choral Society is disliked by almost everyone so when an incident occurs, there is no shortage of suspects. Detective Superintendent Simon Hudson is in love with Delia Jones, a member of the Management Committee, but that doesn’t stop him treating her as a suspect as he does the rest of the Committee.

The book was published only fourteen years after WWII ended and some of the descriptions of what happened in the war are unpleasant. Newman also touches upon homosexuality and mental illness, albeit obliquely. I enjoyed the novel although I wasn’t paying enough attention to the female supporting characters and lost track of who was who – my fault! The only aspect that I found unbelievable was Owen Burr himself. Surely, anyone that unpleasant would have caused the entire choir to walk out long ago?

#MurdertoMusic #NetGalley

I really enjoyed this book. It was written in 1959 and teeters on the edge of classics from the Golden Age of Mysteries. I was not familiar with this author but would certainly have read more had they been written. The main character, Detective Superintendent Simon Hudson finds himself in an uncomfortable role after attending the Metropolitan Choir’s concert to show support for his girlfriend. Instead he finds himself trying to solve a murder where one of the suspects could very well be that same girlfriend. Believable plot, suspenseful and great dialogue. I highly recommend this book. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced readers copy for review.

Lights, Camera, BANG! Fun Golden Age mystery, featuring the dramatic murder of a conductor at the climactic end of a musical performance. Well clued with excellent misdirection. Some of the drama involving the detectives romance felt a bit contrived, but overall a very good read.

I was given this book to review for Crime Classics as part of a republication of old forgotten female writers from the golden age of detective fiction. I must admit to being a fan of Christie, Sayers and Marsh so was quite looking forward to discovering a writer from that period whom I had never heard of before.
Murder To Music was the first book by Margaret Newman published in 1959. The story involves a choir that is putting on a choral work Mass with a renowned tenor from Italy, Senor Cassati. The first 5 chapters set the scene with the bickering within the choir committee and a host of characters which I admit I found hard to keep track of until later in the book.
Evan Tredegar is the senior conductor and is advertised to conduct the new Metropolitana Choir's concert which is being broadcast by the BBC. A tenor from Italy has been engaged for a fee rather higher than the committee members realise as a generous donor is picking up half the tab. Tredegar's assistant Owen Burr ends up conducting the concert himself when Tredegar gets ill and then Owen gets shot when the music reaches it's crescendo. One of the choir members is Delia who just happens to be going out with a policeman Detective Superintendent Simon Hudson who just happens to be in the audience and takes control of the investigation. Of course everyone in the choir, including Delia, is a suspect putting Hudson in an awkward position. For his sake he needs to find the murderer before it damages his relationship with Delia.
On Christmas Eve Cassati disappears and Hudson works to find a link and also find a body. Things move fast after Cassati's disappearance and another character has an accident which only helps to muddy the suspects list.
The killing of Cassati was ingenious and marks Newman out as a great writer of detective fiction. I had guessed who the killer might be earlier but not the reason until after Cassati's discovery. Overall I enjoyed the book and once I got over the first few chapters the book flowed quite well. It has definitely stood the test of time and does not come across as dated with the exception of the doctor that deals with homosexuals. It is well worth a read and I will look out for more books by this author.

A very easy book to read, good flow and the mystery moved very quickly, the ending was a surprise, in more ways than one. All in all a good read. How is a conductor shot in front of an audience, players and singers in a concert hall. Many twists and turns before the mystery is solved.

My thanks to Crime Classics and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book by Margaret Newman an author who is sadly no longer with us. The book starts with introductions to the main characters, in this case an amateur choir. One of the characters Delia just happens to be going out with a policeman called Simon Hudson, he is invited to their concert where the conductor Owen Burr is shot. At the time due to the noise of the orchestra and the applause nobody realises that a murder has just been committed. It is only when he falls from his dais that people realise something is wrong, they think he has only fainted but are soon faced with the question of who did it! Follow the case as the police question the suspects. Absolutely excellent read and thoroughly enjoyed.

Clever, twisty murder mystery centering on a murder during a concert. I was guessing right up until the end and I liked the dynamic of the detective and his girlfriend who was in the choir. Don’t think I’ve read any Margaret Newman before but would happily read more if they’re as smart as this.

What a wonderful find. Margaret Newman mysteries are such fun - well developed characters, interesting settings for the plots (I learn something every time), and enough twists to keep you guessing. A great example of golden age mystery. Highly recommend for lovers of this genre.

This was a new author to me and I have to say, I really enjoyed this book. It was engaging and creative. The perfect read for a time of isolation and anxiety. The only thing better than a locked room murder is one in front of a crowd. And I adore these older books because the cases are solved not through technology, but sheer doggedness and intuition on the part of the investigator. Perhaps it can be put down to a bit distraction due to our current situation, but it did take about 2/3 of the way through the book before I cottoned onto what the murder was really about. I definitely recommend!

Thank you to Agora Books and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.

Here's a crime novel from 1959 which has dated well and is still highly readable.
Margaret Newman never found the fame of her contemporaries, Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh and Margery Allingham - but this novel has as much wit and charm - as anything written by those great Queens of Crime Fiction.
Amidst all the social niceties one would expect at a London Choral Society, and a detective charmed and in love with one of its members, a murderer strikes.
This isn't one of those cosy crime novels best lost in the mists of time. There's a second, most unpleasant death and the story touches on several controversial themes of the time: capital punishment, judicial execution - and an Austrian refugee who has set himself up as a doctor with a 'cure' for homosexuality.
This is a pitch perfect read for any fan of classic crime fiction.

This mystery was published in 1959 by Margaret Newman, who was a prolific author, publishing under a number of pseudonyms and writing in different genres. I haven’t explored her work before, but she is, apparently, best-known for her historical novels, under the name Anne Melville.

I am not sure whether she wrote any more mysteries, but I would hope she did, as this was a really enjoyable surprise. It involves Detective-Superintendent Simon Hudson, who is in his late thirties, but seems older, and who was widowed at just twenty two, after only four months of marriage. If we assume the novel is set in the year it was published, this would have meant he was widowed in 1943, so that his loss could have been due to the war and, indeed, the shadow of WWII is still very obviously relevant to many of the characters in this book.

Our detective has recently found happiness again with Delia Jones, who is part of a large, London choral society. She is, indeed, on the Metro’s Committee, and Hudson happily drops her off, and picks her up, from meetings. It is on the way to a meeting that we first meet them. The ‘Old Man,’ Evan Tredegar, has written a mass, to be produced at the Festival Hall, and broadcast by the BBC, in December. Of course, we have a group of people in the Committee, who will go on to be our suspects and who have a wide range of secrets, feuds, nursed grievances and tangled relationships. Most of the grievances are aimed towards Owen Burr, the assistant conductor, who is so keen to have the best, musically, that he has a tendency to stamp on people’s feelings to get what he wants.

Of course, music, as the title suggests, leads to murder and it is up to Hudson to unravel the various suspects, and motives, to find the truth. I liked Newman, and Delia, very much. The setting was interesting, and the cast of characters gave lots of scope and made the murder investigation really enjoyable to follow. A very enjoyable mystery, for anyone who enjoys a character driven mystery, with a good setting and a Golden Age feel. I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, for review.

This is an unknown author to me but this book is worthy of the term "classic crime". The story starts slowly but builds into an intriguing mystery and all the twists and turns are unravelled at the end - with the obligatory red herrings thrown in along the way. I, for one, will be looking out for more of her work in the future and I would recommend her to fans of this genre.

As his girlfriend Delia Jones is part of the choir, Detective Superintendent Simon Hudson is attending the Metropolitana Choir’s concert. But his position becomes awkward when the conductor dies at the end of the performance, and she is one of the suspects. But will this be the last death connected to the choir.
An enjoyable cozy mystery with enough suspects and motives in the mix.
Originally written in 1959.

I loved Murder to Music! As much a romance as a detective story, it was clever and fun with engaging and believable main characters. Simon (a Detective Superintendent) and Delia, his girlfriend were rounded and flawed like real life people. It was pleasant to meet a detective who was less than sure of himself and I rooted for him and Delia through the course of the book. Set in the fairly immediate post-war period, it had a slightly old-fashioned feel but was none the worse for that.

A very enjoyable read, with well-drawn characters and a clear sense of place and setting. As a choral singer myself, I especially enjoyed the focus on the choir members and committee, and it all felt very true to life. Not much seems to have changed in the English choral world in fifty years! I was pleased to discover a new author from the "classic crime" era, and hope to read more of her work.

Murder to Music, by Margaret Newman, was an enjoyable introduction to a writer whose works I had been entirely unfamiliar with (she also published as Margaret Potter, Anne Melville, and Anne Betteridge, in a variety of genres.) Although the first few pages were only moderately engaging, I was soon drawn in both by the context - a large and skilled amateur choral society in 1950s London – and by the varied characters.

The book will appeal to those who enjoy a classically structured detective story, in which the author provides the reader with enough clues, open and disguised, to form plausible theories about the murderer or murderers, and about his/her/their motivations. The early chapters foreshadow, on multiple clear but not heavyhanded occasions, who will be the victim (first victim, as it proves to be), and hint at why various characters might desire his death. Throughout the story, Newman achieves a reasonable balance of the satisfaction of fulfilled expectations and the surprise of unexpected twists.

Character delineation, though secondary to the plot, is sufficient. Simon, the detective on the case, is likeable though not deeply developed; Delia, who is both Simon’s romantic interest and a management level member of the choral society, is also more pleasant than memorable. The victims and the suspects include a range of backgrounds, ages, and interests; they are, on the whole, neither one-dimensional nor oversimplified. Particularly noteworthy, in my view, is the recurrent theme of absence of intrinsic correlation between artistic and moral excellences.

Newman successfully creates the illusion of a larger and more complex world than just the action of the story. For example, a particular feature of the finale of a musical work is both artistically unexpected and an important mechanism of the plot. A few sentences of dialogue draw attention to the artistic dissonance, and raise the question of the motivation of the composer (a major character) in writing it thus. The question is not essential to the plot, and is neither answered nor further alluded to; this, and similar literary touches, create a subtle impression of a broader, deeper backstory than is actually used in the narrative.

Readers who prefer (as I do) that their mystery reading not be laced with offensive language, extensive or explicit sex, and/or graphic violence will be comfortable with Murder to Music. There is, indeed, one notable exception: the final murder is far more gruesome than anything that preceded it. Understandably so, when all is revealed; but the horror of this death nevertheless jolts the reader. And the gulf between the wartime (WWII) and peacetime activities of this victim is similarly jarring, and strains plausibility.

Taken on the whole, I enjoyed the book, and recommend it to fans of detective fiction.

What a great story from a first time novelist. Although written in 1959 by first time author Margaret Newman, her prose, scripting of the tale and execution is fantastic. I believe this is the only crime story she wrote in her lifetime. What a loss to the world of crime fiction! Definitely an uncrowned Queen of crime fiction.

If you like Christie, Sayers and the like who have been so successful in this genre, then you will not be disappointed. There is murder, love, humour amongst other emotions that provide the perfect recipe for a master storytelling involving DS Simon Hudson who has to try to separate his personal and professional life as his girlfriend becomes one of the suspects.

Lovely way to spend time during lockdown!

A detective superintendent in love with a member of the Metropolitana Choir. The conductor of the Metropolitana Choir killed during the last notes of the performance of a brand new Mass. Can he hold onto his girlfriend? Should he hold onto his girlfriend? What is everyone hiding? Detective Superintendent Hudson has to walk a fine line between his professional and personal lives, and it’s not easy. Hint: Think about the least likely suspect. Can you figure it out before Detective Superintendent Hudson? This cozy mystery was first published in 1959, and it’s a nice escape - especially during this crazy, never-ending lockdown. Give it a try. You won’t be sorry.

Thanks to Agora Books, Crime Classics and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this novel, which is a reprint of a mystery first published in 1959. This was a new to me author. I am not sure if she wrote any other mysteries, but this book would be a great beginning to a series.

I really enjoyed this novel. It was very well plotted, the story was fairly fast paced, and it kept me reading when I should have been doing other things. How on earth could a man be murdered while on the stage at a concert, with an audience, an orchestra and a choir looking on? And the second murder...how did it fit in? Were the murders connected? If so how? Newman provides lots of clues., and a few red herrings too. However, I wasn’t perceptive enough to make any sort of guess as to the murderer and the ending was a total surprise to me.

I would definitely read more mysteries by this author.

I really enjoyed this one. It was an interesting and convincing setting for a mystery, closest, perhaps to Ngaio Marsh’s theatre settings. I believed in these people and the diversity of what they hoped to get out their membership of the choir. The relationships were well established and maintained, including that between our detective and his girlfriend. I appreciated the matter-of-fact way this was maintained and accepted throughout. A detective with a brain, integrity and commitment in a 1950s mystery is a wonderful thing.

Here is a very confident, and competent, writer, creating an engrossing narrative in a well-established genre, but stepping outside the well-trodden manor house or village setting and insisting on an intelligent, trusting relationship close to the heart of the narrative without sentimentality. As this appears to be the only book she wrote under this pseudonym, and was her first published novel, it would be interesting to see if her style changed in line with her pseudonyms. I hope to have the opportunity to check this out.

Thanks to NetGalley and Agora books for the review copy.

I'm more than happy to discover this writer new to me and I loved this story.
Even if it was written in 1959 it aged well and it is still a very pleasant and entertaining novel.
I read in one setting and was fascinated by the well developed cast of characters and the general atmosphere.
The mystery is solid, full of twists and turns, and the solution came as a surprise.
It's a book based on dialogues more than descriptions. You've got the same elements of the detective and it was an interesting mental exercise trying to understand what was the truth and what wasn't.
The characters are well thought and the historical background is vivid and well described.
I would like to read other books by this author as this one was excellent.
Strongly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

I received this book from Netgalley for review and all thoughts and opinions are my own.
This time classic crime novels is one of the Uncrowned Queens of Crime Series published by Agora Books.
Organizing a major performance is no mean feat. It takes a dedicated group, cash on hand, supporters and performers of merit who will draw a crowd. When petty disagreements and old humiliations contend with decision making, someone may die in the process. D.S. Simon Hudson is investigating the untimely and public death of the conductor of the Metropolitana Choir. His own girlfriend is part of the choir and needs to be quickly ruled out as a suspect. The deceased has not gained many supporters and the suspect list is long. Will Simon be able to find the culprit in time before his own love is the focus of the investigation?
Excellent addition to the vintage crime novels genre. Highly entertaining!

Books set in periods I am unfamiliar with, even more, if they have actually been published in decades before even my parents were born (originally published 1959) usually feel a lot more similar to each other. This one stood out with its content as well as the leading duo! 

This is a police procedural for one half of the book, and the other half shows us the inner working of an orchestra. I do not know one word from another when it comes to western music, so it took me a while to get into my usual stride. The narrative explains specific nuances in a very patient manner to get unfamiliar readers (like me) up to speed. The romance between Delia and Detective Superintendent Hudson is very charmingly done, by spacing their interactions with tasteful blanks. I have not come across such usage of 'time' before, but it was quite entertaining. Delia is part of an orchestra, she is also part of the committee, and their junior conductor is a very harsh man. He makes no friends in putting together something new and well written. This man dies at a very symbolic moment of the music, and the investigation begins immediately. Our detective was part of the audience, this, as well as the fact that he has an 'in' to all the small battles within the group, gives him the required ammunition to come to the solution.

What I found appealing about this was its straightforward simplicity. There are clues, each are followed up. Alibis are found and theories voiced. I came to the correct solution at the same time as the detective which works out well in terms of satisfaction.

I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but this review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

Murder to Music is a delightful classic murder mystery, set in London about 1960. The story revolves around a performance of a choir. Well constructed, it has a likeable heroine, a cast of well described characters, plenty of red herrings, and a satisfying denouement, all the elements of a good mystery.
An especially good antidote to the covid 19 quarantine.

I always love a good old fashion mystery. Murder to music is just such a book. Originally released in the 1950s the novel’s vocabulary and style warms the heart. The story is not unlike most murder mysteries of the time but that’s OK. Reading it felt like slipping into some warm cozy slippers. I highly recommend this book to all those lovers of great mysteries of yesteryears.

The latest addition to Agora Books’ Uncrowned Queens of Crime series is a book by an author I thought was new to me, but it turns out I’ve read a few of her books under another of her pseudonyms, Anne Melville. This one, Murder to Music, was her first novel and was originally published in 1959 under the name Margaret Newman. It’s an excellent murder mystery and could have been the start of a great series had the author not moved on to other genres (such as the Anne Melville family sagas).

Delia Jones is on the managing committee of the Metropolitan Choir, who are preparing to give a performance of a new mass composed by their conductor, Evan Tredegar. At the beginning of the novel, we meet the other members of the committee, whom we quickly discover are not the happiest group of people. Below the surface, there are tensions, secrets and resentments, some of which we won’t be aware of or fully understand until later in the story. The assistant conductor, Owen Burr, is particularly unpopular with the rest of the choir, so when he is shot dead just as the performance draws to a close there is no shortage of suspects.

Detective Superintendent Simon Hudson is watching from the audience and is able to begin an immediate investigation. However, things are going to be slightly difficult for Simon…because Delia Jones happens to be his girlfriend. Can she be ruled out as a suspect? Then, just as Simon thinks he has uncovered the motive and is about to identify the murderer, a second death takes place and he is forced to reassess everything he thinks he knows so far.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The characters are strong, with some of them given interesting back stories, and the reasons behind the complex relationships and long-standing feuds between the members of the choir feel believable. I also liked the setting, which made a change from the country house or small village settings which are so common in this type of detective novel. I’m not sure whether Margaret Newman had a musical background, but I felt that she seemed to really understand what was involved in the staging of a musical performance and what it was like to be part of a choir.

As a mystery, I thought the plot worked well and I was surprised by some of the developments in the second half of the book, having been led in the wrong direction for most of the first half! I kept changing my mind between one suspect and another, but in the end I was happy just to let Simon Hudson solve the mystery for me. It’s a shame this seems to be the only book featuring Simon and Delia, but I will be reading more by this author, under her various pseudonyms, and have the third book in her Hardie trilogy lined up to read soon.

This book hooked me on the first page and kept me reading. The characters were engaging and the plot was well developed. I was unfamiliar with the author, but I'll be on the lookout for more titles from her.