The Devil in Music

This is an interesting collection of characters with secrets and motives to spare. It's British and Italian at the same time and offers many insights into the history of Northern Italy, music and opera. It was a very enjoyable read with several surprises at the end.

The fourth and, I think, finest of Ross's Julian Kestrel mysteries takes Julian, his ex-fingersmith (as in, highly gifted pickpocket) valet, Dipper, and their friend Dr. McGregor far from their usual British haunts and plops them into pre-unification, Austrian-controlled Italy. A four-year-old murder mystery, centering on a vanished tenor known only as Orfeo, unfolds on a backdrop of music, high society, politics, and intrigue. The musical details are precise and accurate, while the Milanese dialect that creeps in lends flavor and atmosphere. Characters/suspects include a Frenchman with unbelieveably perfect pitch (the ability to name notes by ear), a castrato (male soprano - you figure it out), the brother, son, wife, and estranged daughter-in-law (she ran away with the castrato) of the victim, Orfeo's blind voice teacher, various and sundry police and military officials, servants, and musicians. Throw in the Carbonari (Italians fighting for reunification) and there are explosions just waiting to be touched off. The conclusion is completely satisfying, and though part of it may leave you saying "I knew it all along" the other is almost completely unexpected - and I'm not even talking about the murderer. I was devastated to learn the author had passed away - once I get hooked on a series I like to see it continue ad infinitum - but this makes a fitting conclusion to Kestrel's recorded adventures, and it's by far the longest of the four as well. I highly recommend the entire series.

While I generally avoid books in excess of 400 pages, I decided to try this one based on all the positive comments from other readers. I was not disappointed!Multiple suspects, great characters, a wonderful atmosphere, and of course, revelations and many twists. All of the characters are wonderfully developed, so much that I could attach faces to the descriptions. The setting made me think of Dumas and the Three Musketeers, and the relationship between the detective and his travelling partner brought to mind Sherlock Holes and Dr. Watson. The twists, turns, and revelations actually seemed plausible and in case somewhat foreshadowed. However, the ending completely caught me off guard (which was a good thing). There are so many characters and so many possible motives that the reader will be kept guessing. A long book, but very involving and well written. I am going to try another by the author.

This is a superb mystery. I just recently became acquainted with the books of Kate Ross, who recently died. Readers will enjoy the dramatic atmosphere of a villa on Lake Como and the welldrawn characters. Music lovers will also get a thrill out of this, because the plot focuses on opera singers and an unsolved murder. Julian Kestrel, a delightful aristocrat with an unusual past, and Dipper, his valet, travel to Italy to solve the mysterious death of a nobleman, who was a passionate lover of the opera. They are looking for the vanished tenor, Orpheo, who is suspected of the murder. Kestrel reminds me quite a bit of the Scarlet Pimpernel character.He is charming and a true gentleman, accompanied by his valet, of course. He becomes entranced with the lovely widow of the murdered nobleman and this romantic theme runs throughout the book. This combines plenty of melodrama and action. The reader will feel as they had gone back in time. This was one of the best historical mysteries I have read in a long time. Enjoy!

"The Devil in Music", a wonderful Regency mystery set in Italy during the 1820s, is packed with well-drawn, complex characters and a plot that will keep the reader guessing until the end. The basics of the story: an Italian nobleman is murdered, the suspect a mysterious English tenor with the nom de plume "Orfeo" who has disappeared. Julian Kestral, the hero of previous adventures, decides to investigate the death five years later, leading to multiple suspects and surprises. The best part, in this reviewer's opinion, is the emphasis Ross puts on the historical background of Italy in the post-Napoleonic era: the treachery, the underground independence movements, the Austrian domination. Ross even lets the reader know the differences between the Italian dialects of the region. All in all, if you want murder, romance, and a taste of the Regency period, you couldn't do better than this novel, a "cut" above most examples of it's genre -- pun intended.

I first found Kate Ross when I read her book, CUT TO THE QUICK, and have read all her other books. It is truly a shame that she has passed away. Her books are among the most well-written and intellectually challenging in this genre. As I read THE DEVIL IN MUSIC, I was fascinated by the plot twists and how deftly she tied everything together. This was her best effort. I am sorry that we won't have more Julian Kestrel adventures in the future.