With 3 mystery series and a full-time job, I’ve gotten behind on my reading. My To-Be-Read (TBR) pile is HUGE. However, a recent trip to a book festival with a long layover left me plenty of time to read. So, I finally finished reading the debut novel of mystery writer, Alexia Gordon, which has been on my Kindle for a LONG time (don’t judge).
The Gethsemane Brown cozy series is a paranormal cozy which features an African American maestra. When a promised job to conduct a Dublin Orchestra falls through, Gethsemane Brown finds herself stranded in a small Irish village without a job, money or luggage. When she’s offered a job teaching a group of rambunctious boys in a remote Irish village, she accepts. Any job is better than admitting failure and returning home to the United States and listening to the condemnation from her highly successful family. Even if the job involves living in a cottage haunted by a ghost. Why not? Gethsemane doesn’t believe in ghosts. At least, she didn’t until she meets Eamon McCarthy. In life, McCarthy was one of the world’s most renowned composers and concert pianists. He was famous until he was accused of murdering his wife and killing himself. However, McCarthy claims not only did he NOT kill his beloved wife, Orla, but that he didn’t kill himself. He claims that he was murdered and begs Gethsemane to help clear his name in exchange for an original composition which will help her win the All-Country orchestra competition and land her a position with the Boston Philharmonic allowing her to return home in triumph rather than shame. With only six-weeks until the competition, Gethsemane, has her work cut out for her. However, investigating a quarter-century-old murder provokes a dormant killer to action and unless she can stop the murderer, Eamon McCarthy may not be the only ghosts roaming the Irish countryside.
I’m a coward and I don’t read a lot of paranormal mysteries. In fact, I don’t read a lot of paranormal anything. Thankfully, the only fear I experienced in this series was fear of staying up too late to finish just one more chapter, Alexia Gordon has created an interesting cast of characters and premise which isn’t your same ‘ole cozy mystery. The book was well-plotted, diverse, interesting and entertaining. The characters are unique with interesting backstories which she skillfully reveals throughout the book, pealing them off like layers of an onion. Well-researched, the book has the feel of authenticity which left me googling words like garda, hooley, paracetamol and double oaked bourbon. Murder in G Major was the winner of the 2017 Left Coast Crime Award for Best Debut Mystery Novel and it won’t take long for cozy readers to understand why. Get your copy today.
