Review – Murder Mezzo Forte

From the Back Cover: He is a reclusive history professor with musical hallucinations, she a headstrong professor of religion, a converted Wiccan. Earlier, they solved a campus murder, but now police say they formed two-thirds of an illicit love triangle with a newly-murdered female colleague and they're probably guilty of her murder. A leak of the alleged scandal to the college administration threatens their jobs. Their desperate attempt to prove themselves innocent of the triangle and the murder plunges them into a tangle of unsavory corporate relationships among college trustees. And it puts their lives in danger from a mysterious criminal organization that seems to have tentacles everywhere. Can this ill-matched pair's stumbling efforts succeed against the entrenched forces of the police, the college's incompetent administration, and that powerful but unseen criminal organization? If not, they may end up unemployed, in prison, or suffering a fate much worse . . . My Take: I have been waiting for this book since 2008. Let me explain. I was first introduced to Donn Taylor’s writing in Rhapsody in Red (see my review here), book 1 in Taylor’s Preston Barkley mystery series. I found Preston engaging, witty, funny and down right compelling in this book, and when the story ended I couldn’t wait for Taylor to write a sequel. Fast forward to 2016, and ta-da, the sequel, Murder Mezzo Forte, has finally arrived. Even before I reached the end of the first page, Taylor reminded me why I loved Preston Barkley so much. Taylor’s voice as Preston is authentic, creative, and interesting. Press is the consummate professor turned sleuth, albeit reluctantly. He has musical hallucinations that play in a variety of instruments in his head and they really add to the depiction of the other characters. Plus, as a musician, I just plain enjoy the references. Additionally, Taylor's portrayal of college life seems spot on and that in itself is interesting. And, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that the mystery moved the story forward at a good pace, too, but honestly, I savored every moment of the carefully crafted writing and devoured every word so the pace was really irrelevant to me. Now, if you haven’t read Rhapsody in Red, you can read Murder Mezzo Forte as it stands on its own, but I promise if you read Rhapsody in Red first, your enjoyment of Murder Mezzo Forte will be heightened. Either way, don’t miss these books and watch for the next book in this series. You can be sure I will!