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In Julia's next adventure in Santa Fe, readers will enjoy a tasting flight of opera, a hint of the paranormal, and the promise of romance
Front row seats to a thrilling and evocative musical mystery in the further adventures of Julia Kogan, a young violinist with the Metropolitan Opera, who leaves New York City for a three-month guest appearance with the Santa Fe Opera, where there’s enough ambition, intrigue, and jealous wrangling to ensure plenty of suspects when murder takes center stage. A Shakespeare-quoting detective, a pragmatic NYPD lover, a falsely accused friend, and a wealth of opera lore, combined with Julia’s parallel journey of self-discovery, will surprise and fascinate the neophyte as well as the opera buff
What Critics are Saying
"5.0 out of 5 stars page turner
Reviewed in the United States on February 2, 2024
Verified Purchase
An original and intriguing mystery with murder and mayhem, intertwined with touches of humor and romance in the setting of the Santa Fe Opera. The writer's experience as a gifted violinist highlights the tremendous effort put into an opera's production, emphasizing all that might go wrong, even without a murder! One charming feature is that each chapter begins with a quote from an opera in the original language followed by the English translation. The characters included are somewhat reminiscent of a damsel in distress, rescued by the knight in shining armor, as well as the quirky police detective. An enjoyable read." - Margaret Roche ,
Writer
"A skillfully written whodunit of operatic proportions" - Kirkus Reviews ,
Kirkus Indie
"Erica Miner's Prelude to Murder will thrill opera lovers, mystery lovers and nature lovers. Miner's personal experience and insight into the inner workings of an opera house rings true on every page. You will be transported by the sights and sounds of The Santa Fe Opera and its incomparable surroundings, while a hint of the paranormal will keep you guessing as you uncover each layer of this haunting story wrapped in adobe pink." - Tina deBellegarde ,
Agatha-nominated author
"Prelude to Murder is a tantalizing peek behind the curtain of the world-renowned Santa Fe Opera. There's plenty of mayhem on the bill, rich spirituality, sumptuous history, and metaphysical frights, too. So much to enjoy in Erica Miner's new novel. But it's the music that steals the show. Concertmaster Julia Kogan, on loan to Santa Fe from the Metropolitan Opera, returns (after Aria for Murder), and finds herself smack in the middle of a clever and dramatic mystery set against bloody arias and deadly recitativo." - James W. Ziskin ,
Anthony, Barry, and Macavity Award-winning author
"Erica Miner has created a world few people know or have access to: a mystery with music beyond the words on the page. If all music aspires to the human voice, this author has found hers from the start. Bright and hot by day in the desert sun, violinist Julia Kogan has cold feet and colder nights in her next adventure in Santa Fe. Readers will enjoy a tasting flight of opera, a hint of the paranormal, and the promise of romance. Erica Miner's Prelude to Murder is an introduction to a new voice for those who enjoy music with their mystery." - Gabriel Valjan ,
Agatha & Anthony Awards nominated author
"Prelude to Murder provides front row seats to a thrilling and evocative musical mystery in the further adventures of Julia Kogan, a young violinist with the Metropolitan Opera. Julia leaves New York City for a three-month guest appearance with the Santa Fe Opera, where there's enough ambition, intrigue, and jealous wrangling to ensure plenty of suspects when murder takes center stage. A Shakespeare-quoting detective, a pragmatic NYPD lover, a falsely accused friend, and a wealth of opera lore, combined with Julia's parallel journey of self-discovery, will surprise and fascinate the neophyte as well as the opera buff." - Lori Robbins ,
Award-winning author
* The quote, "Mystery doesn't get
ANY better than this!!!!
Buy it ASAP!" is by Amy Lignor, BookPleasures.com. |
REVIEWS AND MEDIA CLIPS
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In the Mercer Island, WA area,
Prelude to Murder
is available at:
Island Books
3014 78th Ave. SE
Mercer Island, WA 98040
206-232-6920
https://www.islandbooks.com/search/site/erica%20miner
In the Lynnwood, WA area,
Prelude to Murder
is available at:
Barnes & Noble
19401 Alderwood Mall Pkwy
Lynnwood, WA 98036
(425) 771-2220
In the Lake Forest Park, WA area,
Prelude to Murder
is available at:
Third Place Books Lake Forest Park
17171 Bothell Way NE, #A101
Lake Forest Park WA 98155
(206) 366-3333
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An Excerpt from
"Prelude to Murder"
Places, everyone. Now, Emilia—that is, Lulu...”
Emilia faced Salman with a disparaging look.
“You are Garbo, Dietrich, Louise Brooks. Your formidable psychic force causes you to destroy everyone in your path. Those who fall in love with you suffer or die. You have undone Dr. Schön, but you don’t know that Goran is Jack the Ripper.”
Emilia remained silent. Salman turned to Goran. “The so-called ‘Whitechapel Murderer’ cut his victims’ throats before he eviscerated them with medical precision, showing knowledge of human anatomy. Thus, the parallels between Jack and his alter ego, Dr. Schön. Jack’s music is less harsh than Schön’s but more menacing. The man Lulu murders is the one who murders her. And still present after his death.”
Matt leaned over and whispered to Julia. “Kind of like John Crosby, right?” Julia shuddered.
“Marin,” Salman said, “You must convey the distressed attributes of the
countess. When you sing ‘Im Ewigkeit’ after Goran stabs you, it is your Liebestod, your tragic love death.”
Julia, elated to see her friend appear onstage, waved in Marin’s direction.
“This music is difficult enough without your being distracted, Julia,” Stewart snapped.
Julia heard a soft chortle from behind her and snuck a peek at Lenny, smiling crookedly.
[Maybe Matt is right. I’d better watch out for this guy.]
Emilia whispered to Goran. “She sings too loud. Always tries to upstage me.”
Marin frowned. “I heard that, Emilia. In case you’ve forgotten, I’m your lesbian lover. Try to be a little kinder, would you?”
Salman suppressed a groan. “Let’s just sing, shall we?”
“Das ist nich deine schwester,” Goran sang to Emilia. “Sie ist in dich verliebt.” [That’s not your sister. She clearly is in love with you.]
“You could have fooled me,” Marin muttered under her breath.
“What did you say?” Fuming, Emilia turned to Salman. “You see? She is sabotaging me.”
“Could we continue, please?” Salman begged. “Lulu and Jack, offstage, final dialogue.”
Emilia’s nostrils flared, but she allowed Goran to shepherd her off into the wings.
“Nein, nein!” [No, no!] came Emilia’s bloodcurdling cry.
“Lulu, mein engel!” [Lulu, my angel!]
Marin rushed offstage, then returned, slowly backing up, eyes wide in horror, as Goran stalked onstage wielding an oversized stage knife, which he plunged into her. Then he washed off the knife with wine from a bottle on a table, wiped the knife on his coat, and sang: “I am just the damned luckiest of men!”
Salman was ecstatic. “Excellent, excellent.”
Julia couldn’t take her eyes off the action until she caught Stewart’s disapproving glare.
Meanwhile, Emilia had returned to the stage. “Hours wasted because of his terrible incompetence,” she shouted. “Murder must be onstage!”
Salman finally lost his patience. “It’s the way John Crosby conceived it,” he growled. “Take it up with him.”
“But John Crosby is dead.”
“Precisely,” said Salman.
“Oh!” cried Emilia. Fuming, she marched toward the wings, where she
ran into Magda. “How am I supposed to stand in these shoes for three hours? They pinch my feet!” Emilia shrieked at the costume director. “Where are shoes you were supposed to order from Italy?”
“I am sorry, Emilia. They still have not arrived. I will check with wardrobe director.”
Emilia gritted her teeth. “See that you do. Nézd meg.”
Julia was surprised to hear the Italian soprano speak Hungarian, but when she looked up at the podium, she was mortified to see Stewart glaring at her.
“It seems you find the stage more interesting than your music,” the conductor said. Julia heard a soft snicker behind her. Ignoring Lenny, Julia kept on playing.
Salman was furious. “Your attitude will make you even more enemies than you already have, Emilia!” he shouted. Turning on his heel, he stomped offstage in the opposite direction.
“Harold,” Stewart called out, “Tell Emilia if she shows up at the dress rehearsal less than thirty minutes before downbeat, she will be replaced. Where is her understudy? Deborah!”
An attractive young woman sitting a few rows back stood up. “I am here, Maestro.”
“Be ready to jump in in case Emilia does anything else stupid.”
Deborah’s smile radiated hope and anticipation. “Yes, Maestro.”
Harold stood rooted to the stage, his expression helpless.
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