Murder in the Afterlife
Alexia Gordon
Alexia Gordon juggles Noel Coward and serial murder with Murder in G Major, the first installment in a series that combines ghosts, romance and murder. Readers may find the plot devices more strained than seamless, but for the most part the novel delivers everything readers expect: a solid plot, witty characters and plenty of twists.
I rarely find a genre book that sparkles like G Major. Gethsemane Brown will never challenge Philip Marlowe, but Gordon knows how to hook her readers.
Gethsemane Brown, a concert violinist reduced to teaching prep school orchestra, drops her luggage inside the front door to her new cottage. She drops her drink when world famous composer Eamon McCarthy introduces himself. The surprise? McCarthy murdered his wife Orla and committed suicide thirty years earlier.
Brown discovers that rivalries and grudges run deep in the sleepy Irish village of Dunmullach and that residents can’t wait to drag her in. Even an enterprise as noble as winning the All-County School Orchestra competition is motivated by the schoolmaster’s need to one-up and old rival. The school’s wealthy donor expects her to make his son the soloist, the principal wants her to attract funding for a new concert hall, and Eamon’s ghost wants her to prove he didn’t kill Orla.
Gordon spins plenty of intrigue to weave the story together. Disinterested cops, crooked ex-cops, abusers, adulterers and the discovery that Orla’s killer treats murders like Lay’s potato chips. S/he can’t stop at one.
Gordon spins plenty of intrigue: Disinterested cops, crooked ex-cops, abusers, adulterers and the discovery that Orla’s killer treats murders like Lay’s potato chips.
Gethsemane breaks into houses, explores crumbling ruins and ferrets through records in an abandoned hospital, all the while trying to avoid the wrath of Inspector O’Reilly, who demands evidence instead of conjecture. She juggles the responsibility of a thorough investigation with the responsibility of preparing an neophyte orchestra and it’s unreliable soloist for a competition her principal expects her to win.
In spite of the many subplots, Gordon never fumbles the main story, Eamon’s request that Gethsemane prove his innocence. Gordon dreams up plenty of ghostly tricks that allow Eamon to interact with Gethsemane, unfortunately they lack the impact of watching the same effects on-screen with 3D cgi.
Gordon impresses as a writer and delivers a complex and entertaining story. Sadly, Murder in G Major remains little more than eye candy. She never deviates from the formula and the pieces fall into place exactly like they’re supposed to.
Gordon impresses as a writer and delivers a complex and entertaining story. Even so, Murder in G Major offers little more than eye candy.
**Spoiler Alert:** Readers who demand that romance blossom should find another book. Gordon teases readers with three possible suitors for Gethsemane, including our ghost, but no one shows any serious interest in hanky pinky beyond, possibly, murder. This shouldn’t keep romance readers away, but it probably won’t reassure make readers who suspect, correctly, Murder in G Major is primarily chick lit. (Tough it up, boys. It’s worth it.)
I find it difficult to rate Murder in G Major. It will never become a classic of noir or even of light mystery literature (such as The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie). Yet, it stands out from so many other genre books I rate four stars that I hate to associate them. Gordon’s first book is slick and professional, in many ways more so than writers like Sue Grafton and Patricia Cornwall.
If you find you’re not ready to pick up Z is for Zapped, you’ll find Murder in G Minor a refreshing break.
I posted this review as a contribution to the premiere of #MysteryThrillerWeek. Join the fun.
Rating system:
| 2 Ts | Delicious dialogue, crisp prose, clever characters & compelling plot. (5 stars) |
| Fist | Great read, won’t want to stop. Some reviewers rate this 5 stars. (4 stars) |
| Okay | Worth buying, but…. (3 stars) |
| Meh… | I’ll tell you what audience will like this, but other readers might want to look elsewhere. (2 stars) |
| Shoot | If I review a book this bad, I felt seriously compelled to warn you. (1 star) |
Phillip T. Stephens is the author of Cigerets, Guns & Beer, Raising Hell and the new release Seeing Jesus. You can follow him @stephens_pt.
Book Reviews
| 
| 
| 
Wind Eggs 