Music Macabre

October 1, 2019
A renowned London ghostbuster probes a link between Jack the Ripper and composer Franz Liszt. While gathering background information for a biography, music researcher Phineas Fox discovers that the aging Liszt was a passionate admirer of the scandalous music hall dancer known as Scaramel. Her notoriety came both from dancing naked on tables and from her involvement in an unspecified murder. As usual (Song of the Damned, 2018, etc.), the narrative alternates between Phinn in the present and the focus of his study in the past. As the 1880s wear on, Daisy, a wide-eyed young pauper who's very protective of her younger brother, Joe, is seduced by the lush life her new employer, "Madame," offers her. After she and Joe witness a murder, she frets because she can identify the killer and fears seeing him again. Phinn's investigations in the present, meanwhile, lead him to Linklighters, a new Soho club built on the site of Scaramel's infamous dances by Loretta and Roland, a young couple who struggle in the first months of their dream venture. Daisy feels herself being increasingly watched by the killer, who the reader has likely already deduced is Jack the Ripper. With the help of girlfriend Arabella and puckish pal Toby Tallis, Phinn learns more about the past of Linklighters' original founder and namesake, Links, who may have been a criminal. When Phinn shares some of his unusual discoveries about Linklighters with Loretta and Roland, they are less than pleased. Colorful characters and a mastery of slow-burning suspense make this case an engaging page-turner.

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October 7, 2019
In Rayne’s enjoyable fourth Phineas Fox mystery (after 2018’s Song of the Damned), London music researcher Phineas has a new commission—writing a “light-hearted biography about the life and loves of virtuoso composer-pianist, Franz Liszt.” His research turns up evidence linking the aging Liszt with a notorious young English music hall dancer, Scaramel, who reputedly was connected to a murder. Phineas and his neighbor Toby Tallis visit a newly reopened restaurant, Linklighters, where Scaramel performed in the late 19th century. Flashbacks told from the point of view of Daisy, Scaramel’s maid, include edifying glimpses of the inside of a madhouse, feisty bickering between rival performers, and a terrifying confrontation with the most fearsome of all serial killers. Meanwhile, Phineas’s probing into this eventful past puts his life in danger. Rayne provides vivid descriptions of Victorian London along with fascinating details of the life of Franz Liszt and insights into the cultural significance of music hall songs. Those who like their mysteries erudite will be well satisfied. Agent: Jane Conway-Gordon, Jane Conway-Gordon Ltd. (U.K.).

November 1, 2019
Phineas Fox, music researcher and amateur sleuth, is excited about his latest project: a biography of nineteenth-century composer Franz Liszt. But he doesn't expect that his research will lead him to a mystery concerning a Victorian music hall, a murdered woman, and Jack the Ripper. Those who know Fox's earlier adventures, including Song of the Damned (2018), however, will not be surprised?research leading to mystery is the hook of this delightful series. Rayne, who's also known for her Michael Flint and Nell West novels, is a fine writer, a sure-handed plotter and skillful character builder who works equally well in realistic thrillers and mainstream horror (The Sin Eater, 2012). Fox is perhaps her most intriguing creation. He's a nifty guy to spend time with, and the elaborate mysteries he gets involved in are always captivating.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)