Plot or Premise

Joan Spencer, widowed, moves back to the town of Oliver with her son Andrew and joins the local orchestra in her spare time. The second week of rehearsals is marred by the death of an unpopular oboe player. Joan helps the police investigate the murder (big surprise!) and does a pretty good job of spotting essential clues.

What I Liked

The story is well-written, and the characters are nicely developed, including some hints of romance between Joan and the cop. Interesting was the switch between the two characters as the narrator — not quite third person, not quite first person and surprisingly well-executed in the writing. The story moves along fairly quickly and doesn’t drag.

What I Didn’t Like

Perhaps too many characters with too many motives and opportunities. Unfortunately for me, I figured out the ending far too far in advance as well as the reasons for it — and yet I still got the murderer wrong! (Missed it by that much!)

Disclosure

I am not personal friends with the author, but I have interacted with them briefly on social media.

The Bottom Line

A nice light read for a Sunday afternoon.