Trouble In The Brasses Author:Alisa Craig All wind musicians eventually blow themselves out, but french horn player Wilhelm Ochs played his last note before he ever reached that point. A true professional, he had the good timing to die backstage at intermission. And it wasn't his chronic stomach problems that did him in. Clearly, mused Detective Inspector Madoc Rhys, there was homicide ... more »in the horns.
Madoc suspected there was something off-key when he was summoned by his father, Sir Emlyn Rhys, guest conductor of the Wagstaffee Symphony Orchestra. "There's trouble in the brasses," trumpeted Sir Emyln. "Nasty pranks, bickering, tension." Neither he nor the formidable Lady Rhys had counted on murder. Was it just another one of those "nasty pranks"? Or was it a cold-blooded, premeditated, exquisitely orchestrated killing?
Madoc joins the orchestra as they fly to Vancouver for the big tour. A storm forces them to land in a deserted frontier town where they hole up in the musty Miner's Rest Hotel. There is food and fuel aplenty - but will the company survive? That evening Director of Operations Lucy Shadd is nearly strangled. The next morning trombonist Cedric Rintoul is found dead, an ice pick buried in his brain. Someone is playing with a dangerous instrument - and it's up to Madoc to catch the mad musician before he strikes again!« less