Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Murder For Choir-Joelle Charbonneau

Murder For Choir


Joelle Charbonneau

Berkley, Jul 3 2012, $7.99

ISBN: 9780425251379



Paige Marshall has worked hard at achieving her goal of becoming an opera star, but so far has failed to achieve her life’s ambition. Needing to keep costs down, she moves into her Aunt Millie’s miniature castle in Lake Forest and needing to eat accepts a job as a choir instructor to students from four Chicago area high schools.



She finds working at Prospect Glen High School a hellish experience. After dispatching students Chessie Bock and Eric Metz from a practice room to the master choir area, Paige looks for Larry DeWeese; but instead finds arrogant Show Choir Director Greg Lucas dead. Prospect Glen Police detective Michael Kaiser leads the investigation. Larry gives Michael someone else’s cellphone that he had. The phone belongs to Eric who is a prime suspect as the victim hit on Chessie. Paige wonders if Larry is the killer as he cowered whenever Greg was nearby; he insisted on looking closely at the murder scene before calling the cops; his statement to the cop unfairly implicates Paige somewhat; and he gave Eric’s cell phone to Kaiser. Though she knows she should not, Paige investigates.



The first Glee Club Mystery is an entertaining amateur sleuth starring a beleaguered heroine and a strong support cast at the school (students and teachers) and at the castle (especially Millie’s aptly named vicious poodle Monsieur de Tueur de Dame - Mister Lady Killer). Paige is a delightful lead who works the hardest gig of her life, surviving the canine, the kids and her peers like Felicity the Martha Stewart wannabe and “gay” drama teacher Devyn. Although Paige’s rationale to investigate is unrealistic, fans will enjoy the antics of the ensemble performing a Murder For Choir



Harriet Klausner



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