Melody of Murder


Book Description

The arrival of a talented, ambitious and unusual new family leads to mayhem and murder in the peaceful Cotswold village of Folly-on-Weir The idyllic Cotswold village of Folly-on-Weir, with its traditional pub, sumptuous tea rooms and fragrant bakery, is a piece of paradise found ... until ‘those incomer Quillams’ arrive. A young piano virtuoso and his neglected but talented half-sister, their controlling father, the pianist’s beautiful, acquisitive and passionate mother, an ambitious family retainer, and an intimidating woman who has always run the Quillam household form a successful little empire - until it starts to crumble. The Quillams’ arrival has also attracted the attentions of a sly, clever and perverted killer who desperately needs a jackpot and knows where to find one – if the obstacles can be removed. Once again pub owner Alex Duggins and her veterinarian friend Tony Harrison must use their wits and resourcefulness to prevent further carnage – and ensure that they themselves don’t become the killer’s next victims.




Boardwalk Melody Hour Murders


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Keep Her Safe


Book Description

LIANE MORIARTY says that “No one writes twisted, suspenseful novels quite like Sophie Hannah.” Packed with twists and clues, simmering with tension, this electrifying new thriller shows why. She's the most famous murder victim in America. What if she's not dead? Pushed to the breaking point, Cara Burrows flees her home and family and escapes to a five-star spa resort she can't afford. Late at night, exhausted and desperate, she lets herself into her hotel room and is shocked to find it already occupied — by a man and a teenage girl. A simple mistake at the front desk... but soon Cara realizes that the girl she saw alive and well in the hotel room is someone she can't possibly have seen: the most famous murder victim in the country, Melody Chapa, whose parents are serving natural life sentences for her murder. Cara doesn't know what to trust — everything she's read and heard about the case, or the evidence of her own eyes. Did she really see Melody? And is she prepared to ask herself that question and answer it honestly if it means risking her own life?




Unprepared To Die


Book Description

The Gory Stories Behind The Murder Ballads Cheerfully vulgar, revelling in gore, and always with an eye on the main chance, murder ballads are tabloid newspapers set to music, carrying word of the latest ‘orrible murders to an insatiable public. Victims are bludgeoned, stabbed or shot in every verse and killers often hanged, but the songs themselves never die. Instead, they mutate – morphing to suit local place names as they criss cross the Atlantic and continue to fascinate each generation’s biggest musical stars. Paul Slade traces this fascinating genre’s history through eight of its greatest songs. Stagger Lee’s “biographers” alone include Duke Ellington, James Brown, Bob Dylan, Dr John, The Clash and Nick Cave. No two tell his story in quite the same way. Covering eight classic murder ballads, including “Knoxville Girl”, “Tom Dooley” and “Frankie & Johnny”, Slade investigates the real-life murder which inspired each song and traces its musical development down the decades. Billy Bragg, The Bad Seeds’ Mick Harvey, Laura Cantrell, Rennie Sparks of The Handsome Family and a host of other leading musicians add their own insights.




Over the Edge


Book Description

In 1991, the body of Melody Sue Wuertz and her baby were found viciously mutilated; a satanic symbol carved into Wuertz's stomach. The murderer was Jimmie Ray Slaughter, an army veteran, trusted nurse, and devoted family man. Yet, he was also an avowed Satanist who had seduced scores of young women. Wuertz had been one of his lovers; the slain infant was his daughter. Here is the story of Slaughter, including eight pages of photos.




Melody


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DeKok and Murder by Melody


Book Description

Join inspector DeKok in his investigations in the DeKok series by Dutch bestselling author Baantjer. Three murders are connected by a musical thread. Can DeKok find the killer before the grand finale? Inspector DeKok finds himself in the midst of outwardly disparate motives and personalities surrounding the deaths of two reformed junkies and their landlady, a former prostitute. However, there is one connection in the madness, because music threads its way among and around the list of suspects and victims. DeKok discovers that the trail leading to this melodious murderer is as long as a symphonic masterpiece.




Embodying the Music and Death Nexus


Book Description

This edited collection offers a range of critical, analytic and personal reflections on how music provides a container and a medium for experiencing, processing and integrating embodied encounters with death. It showcases interdisciplinary case studies written by authors from across Australia, France, The Netherlands, Poland and the UK.




Dial Me for Murder


Book Description

From the national bestselling author of Murder on a Hot Tin Roof. Paige Turner’s skills as a crime reporter and mystery novelist have earned her an intriguing job opportunity. Sabrina Stanhope of Gramercy Park wants her to look into the murder of Virginia Pratt, a young secretary whose naked body was found in Central Park—with the understanding that Paige keeps her exclusive investigation off the record and out of her work for Daring Detective magazine. Virginia was more than a secretary—she worked nights as a high priced call girl in Sabrina’s employ. Should word get out, the resulting scandal could be devastating not only to Sabrina’s secret enterprise, but to some of Manhattan’s wealthiest movers and shakers. Now, Paige must become a daring detective herself, even if it means going undercover to entice the interest of a killer. Praise for the Paige Turner Mysteries “Prepare to be utterly charmed by the irrepressible Paige Turner.”—Dorothy Cannell “Great writing by a fresh talent.”—Nelson DeMille “Funny, fast, and suspenseful.”—Max Allan Collins




Murder at Mallowan Hall


Book Description

As head of household for none other than Agatha Christie, Phyllida Bright finds her position includes polishing silver, serving luncheons…and drawing inspiration from the crime author’s fictional detectives when mysterious deaths at Mallowan Hall baffle her famous employer… Tucked away among Devon’s rolling green hills, Mallowan Hall combines the best of English tradition with the modern conveniences of 1930. Housekeeper Phyllida Bright manages the large household with an iron fist in her very elegant glove. In one respect, however, Mallowan Hall stands far apart from other picturesque country houses. For the manor is home to archaeologist Max Mallowan and his famous wife—Agatha Christie… Phyllida is both loyal to and protective of the crime writer, who is as much friend as employer. An aficionado of detective fiction, Phyllida has yet to find a gentleman in real life half as fascinating as Mrs. Agatha’s Belgian hero, Hercule Poirot. But though accustomed to murder and its methods as frequent topics of conversation, Phyllida is unprepared for the sight of a very real, very dead body on the library floor… It soon becomes clear that the victim arrived at Mallowan Hall under false pretenses during a weekend party. And when another dead body is discovered—this time, one of her housemaids—Phyllida decides to follow in M. Poirot’s footsteps to determine which of the Mallowans’ guests is the killer. Now only Phyllida’s wits will prevent her own story from coming to an abrupt end…