Morag Joss

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 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.… (mais)