Category: Mystery
Publisher: Bantam Books
ISBN-13: 9780440242413
Series: Sara Selkirk, #1
Pub. Date: March 2005
Date Read: October 2008
“She did not want to play again in front of an audience yet, but worse – and what neither Robin nor James realised – was that she was approaching the concert not with the fear that she might not cope but with a flat boredom that was infinitely more terrifying in its implications than the most crippling of nerves.”
Amidst the Georgian stone crescents and renowned Roman Baths, Sara Selkirk, a world-class cellist, will find herself in the middle of a murder mystery.
Sara has been going through an emotional breakdown and hasn’t been able to face an audience since her partner died but she’s allowed one of her friends to talk her into doing a charity concert. The stage is set for the performance at the Pump Room but what Sara least expected was to find a corpse in the Roman Baths.
Matthew Sawyer, the Director of the Museum, is found drowned in the Roman Baths. Sara feels almost like a duty to find out why he died given that she’s the one who found him so she tries to get DCI Andrew Poole to tell her about the investigation. Since she’s been giving the detective cello lessons she’s gotten to know him a bit more and is actually developing some feelings for him so she is able to get more information than she’d probably been privy to otherwise.
There’s a strong cast of suspects and all with motive. Perhaps one of the most interesting ones to read about was Derek, a school headmaster who is having an affair with his secretary. Even with his duplicitous nature and eccentricities he still comes across as a character you can pity.
While I didn’t find the mystery very strong and thought it was overall a bit odd that the DCI at one point even asks Sara for his help, I still found myself enjoying this mystery. I think this is a notable mystery due a lot to its beautiful setting and also the author’s attention to the character’s coming to terms with her grief.