Music and Murder

Charismatic..
The second outing in the Oak Park Village mystery series featuring the feisty, empathetic and charismatic Elizabeth Fairchild as protagonist and female sleuth, 1920’s Chicago set. Another intricately researched and detailed plot with a sympathetically drawn backdrop and description of the era, painting a well imagined scene throughout. The Chicago jazz scene is especially well depicted. The cast of characters is exceptionally crafted and the narrative well done and immersive. A worthy follow up to the first in the series.

Atmospheric and deftly plotted-characters are richly drawn-the details of this book are very fascinating and it gives a very vivid picture of life at this time.I was transported every time I picked up this highly imaginative story to July 1926. The masterly story telling and highly imaginative and wonderfully evocative of the mid 1920's.

When Elizabeth Fairchild's beau, Fred Wilkins, suggests going to Chicago's Sunset Club to see Louis Armstrong, the world's best trumpeter, in action, she faces a dilemma. The burgeoning jazz scene in the city is proving to be controversial, associated with gangsters and scandal. Even her dear friend Susannah refers to jazz as 'the devil's music'.

Intrigued, Elizabeth brushes her fears aside and visits the club with Fred, but an explosion causes panic - the Ku Klux Klan are intent on blowing up the club as part of a race war being waged in the city, and murder soon follows. Elizabeth has made herself a target, but she has a plan to save the club. The only problem is it involves jazz aficionado and the Sunset Club's owner, the country's most notorious criminal, Al Capone . . .

I found this book particularly interesting as I have an interest in Jazz and have CDs by Louis Armstrong when he played the trumpet and led his group before he started singing "It's A Wonderful World" etc

I was so impressed by the quality of this author's writing that I bought all of her previous titles in Kindle. format
I strongly recommend the book and I'm very grateful to the publisher and netgalley for the privilege of reading an advance copy for review purposes.

It's 1926 and, in this second installment of the Oak Park (IL) village mystery series, there's also jazz (controversial at the time), the Ku Klux Klan, and gangsters, including Al Capone.

A terrific plot with Beth Fairchild and her boyfriend, Fred the attorney, getting involved and in way over their heads, seemingly. With the great cast of secondary characters, this is truly an enjoyable mystery, one I'd highly recommend. The author's other series, the long-running Dorothy Martin series, is among my favorites but I really like this one as well.

Elizabeth is an independent women who has suffered terrible loss. She learns how to break those walls down and how to deal with a controlling mother. She finds her self in the middle of a gang war, with many twists and turns until the mysteries are solved, with only a couple of people she can reach out to for help and support. Was the house she fell in love with worth it? This book is set in the early days of jazz music, and incorporated views of the music at the time very well. You get to know the characters very well and the storyline is very gripping. Although theirs is romance themes throughout there is so much more to this book. I highly recommend reading this story.

Elizabeth, a young widow, finds herself caught up in a mess when she goes to a jazz club with her romantic interest Fred - and the Ku Klux Klan shows up. It's 1926 and she's at the epicenter of gangsters and racists and she inserts herself. That Al Capone owns the club only heightens the atmospherics. That said, this is an unlikely scenario and it overwhelms the mystery. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. I like Elizabeth and hope to see a less ambitious outing next time.