The Alto Wore Tweed: A Liturgical Mystery

My, oh, my...they don't write 'em like this anymore! Well, maybe they do and "The Alto Wore Tweed" should be on every musician's reading list this summer. In fact, anyone who is into whodunits will love this book about a guy who writes a book with no plot, except it has one, as does the main book. Or something like that. (There's even a cemetery plot, too!) All I can say is the butler didn't do it. Heck, "The Alto Wore Tweed" takes more turns than an O.J. Simpson car chase. The surprise is that it is June and I suddenly have a hankering for Hugo Distler's "The Christmas Story". Mark Schweizer, that's the mark of a good book....a bookmark, you might say.

A friend -- an Episcopalian organist -- gave me this slim volume, remarking, "It's silly, but I think you'll like it." Like it! It's one of the funniest books I have ever read; it's as funny as Donald Westlake's Dancing Aztecs or Donna Andrews' Crouching Buzzard, Leaping Loon. It's about an Episcopalian organist who is also a small-town detective and thinks he's channeling Raymond Chandler. It didn't matter to me at all that I "got" the mystery early on -- I was too busy laughing. Well, I've heard of a fish named Wanda, but a god named Wanda?

I have been reading mysteries for more years than I care to count. I prefer cozy or comic mysteries. I have read them all but I have now read one of the best. I easily compare this fresh new writer to Lilian Jackson Braun or Donald Westlake. While their work is sometimes stale, Schweizer is fresh and unexpected.

What a hoot! This book is hilarious. If you are a music lover at all, this book will have you rolling in the isles. I have literally laughed out loud at some of the antics in this book. The situations that Hayden Konig (the main character) finds himself in when dealing with the church organist and choir members are so typical of muscians. If you have ever known a musician, or are a musician and have ever dreamed of being something else, this book is for you. A wonderful and refreshing read.

The Alto Wore Tweed, Mark Swcweizer's new "Liturgical Mystery" is a delight to read. Set in the mountains of western North Carolina, Schweizer introduces us to Hayden Konig, an Episcopalian choirmaster and organist, who fancies himself a mystery writer. While attempting to write a mystery, Konig gets involved in an actual mystery that takes him on an amazing path with a very contemporary conclusion.Schweizer's word pictures of the scenery and people of western North Carolina are excellent and very true to life. His use of wry humor leaves the reader rolling on the floor with laughter, which is very out of the ordinary in the mystery genre, but very refreshing.You will love this book. I highly recomend it!Judge James G. Adams, Jr.