Funeral Music

Cellist Sara Selkirk quit performing after a public breakdown several months ago. Her friend and accompanist, James, has talked her into performing at a charity function in Bath's Pump Room. Prior to and during the event, Sara notices several heated interchanges between the Director of Museums and various individuals. Sara is reminded of these conversations the next morning when she discovers the Director's body in the waters of the Roman baths. Sara is not only a witness to events leading up to the murder, but she's also music teacher to the detective in charge of the investigation. Although DCI Poole doesn't share all of the details of the investigation with Sara, he does use her as a sounding board for theories about the case since show more Sara knows most of the main suspects.

I love the book's strong sense of place. I've visited Bath a couple of times and it was fun to read about locations I can picture from personal experience. I like Sara and I can relate to her love for music. The story was a page-turner most of the way through. However, I was disappointed with the ending. Sara's confrontation with the criminal(s) is oddly constructed. I can't say more than this without giving away spoilers. I was also mildly irritated by the undercurrent of snobbery that seems to be directed toward overweight and culturally illiterate people.

This book has characteristics of both a police procedural and a cozy, but it doesn't fit neatly into either genre. I think it will appeal to readers of both genres, as well as music lovers and foodies (since several of the characters are knowledgeable about gourmet food). show less

Funeral Music by Morag Joss is the first book in a trilogy of murder mysteries that are set in Bath, England and feature musician Sara Selkirk. Sara is a highly accomplished cellist who has been taking a break from performing while she is recovering from the death of her lover and partner. She agreed to play at a charity event that is set in the famous Roman Baths, an evening that ended in the murder of the museum’s director with Sara as one of the potential suspects.

Being close to several people who are involved in the investigation, Sara becomes curious and does some investigating herself, much to the displeasure of the lead detective, DCI Andrew Poole. Poole is not only investigating the murder, Sara and he have build a friendship show more through their music and their feelings for each other is growing stronger every day. This is a story that is filled with secrets, and with everyone providing misleading evidence it is becoming harder to solve.

I enjoy Morag Joss’ writing and in this mystery she writes with authority and skill. Her characters are complex and the plot is intricate, but I wasn’t very taken with Sara herself. She seemed very self-centred and, at times, down right smug. I happen to have the other two books of the trilogy on my shelf so I will most probably read them at some point, but, so far, I much prefer her stand-alone psychological thrillers to these tamer mysteries. show less

Sara Selkirk, a cellist, removed to Bath after melting down in a Paris performance. She witnesses the museum director's floating corpse the morning after a charity performance at the Pump Room. Plenty of persons possessed a motive, as Sara herself witnessed the previous evening. Detective Sergeant Bridger and DCI Andrew Poole investigate. Selkirk knows Andrew as her cello student. The plot, especially the ending, was a bit weak in this combination cozy/police procedural novel. I think changing the voice from Sara to Poole, setting the book firmly in the police procedural genre, would strengthen the novel. I liked the novel okay, but probably not enough to continue with the series.

Establishes an interesting, impulsive lead character. Does ok with the setting. The plot's kind if a jumble. Doesn't manage the two main plot threads terribly well, though they are both of interest. The manner in which the main character gets drawn into the police work is a stretch.

The harder stuff--creating interesting characters and situations--Joss is already good at here. Her grasp of the stagecraft is uncertain, though.

Set in Bath, England, and first in a series to feature cellist Sara Selkirk, and as the series opens, Sara has all but given up her playing in public, due to a past trauma in her life. However, convinced by a dear friend to play with him at a local museum benefit, things begin to look up for her career. I wish I could say that this is just the backstory to a good mystery, but that's just not the case. In fact, the mystery, such as it is, is really kind of a sideline to Sara's story.

As it happens, she happens to discover the body of Matthew Sawyer, museum director, dead in an ancient spring at the city's famous Roman baths. And because for some reason everyone wants to confide in her, including DCI Andrew Poole (to whom she also gives show more cello lessons), she begins to link the pieces of the murder puzzle together.

Although there's a crime, and although there are plenty of suspects, the mystery itself is a bit disjointed, easy to solve, and really takes a back seat to the life of Sara Selkirk. So this book probably sits more comfortably in the cozy genre. I understand that the author's job in the first book of any series is to introduce his or her main characters, but I heard many good things about Morag Joss and I was so surprised at how this book turned out.

Overall...it could have been much more in depth and much more of a mystery than it was. I think I'd recommend it to readers of cozy mysteries, but not for those who like more hard-core crime novels. show less

I suppose it makes the author Morag Joss feel superior, when she has a character from Australia make an ignorant comment about a classic English novel. To make matters worse she has the elderly male character who relies on his Australian nurse, make snide remarks about her behind her back, based solely on her nationality.
Ms Joss needs to refrain from racist depictions if she wants to sell books anywhere except in stuffy England.

First one in the series, it was ok. Good plot.