Killing in C Sharp

Starred review from January 29, 2018
In Gordon’s exceptional third mystery set in southwestern Ireland (after 2017’s Death in D Minor), wickedly smart Virginia-born classical musician Gethsemane Brown reluctantly gives
in to the request of Billy McCarthy, her landlord, to allow paranormal investigators from a TV show to film the ghost of his long-dead composer uncle, Eamon McCarthy, at historic Carraigfaire Cottage, where she’s the tenant. Unfortunately, all this hoopla coincides with Gethsemane’s hosting composer Aed Devlin, who’s premiering his new opera in the nearby village of Dunmullach. At the opening, a life-absorbing angry spirit from the 14th century makes trouble; later, acerbic music critic Bernard Stoltz turns up dead in the orchestra pit. Suspicion falls on Aed, since the critic ruined his
marriage and accused him
of plagiarism. When Gethsemane sets out to clear Aed’s name, she discovers that nearly everyone had a motive to want Stoltz dead. Gethsemane and Eamon’s comfortable repartee keeps readers hanging on for more. Most important, Gordon has her ghosts operate under a set of limitations, allowing her earthly protagonists to shine as they cleverly solve crimes. Fans of paranormal cozies will be enthralled. Agent: Paula Munier, Talcott Notch Literary.