Customer Reviews

The Alto Wore Tweed

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

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.

I decided to give this book a try because it was recommended on the Kindle forum, despite some qualms based on prior reviews. It turned out to be a fun, light, fast read with a few laugh-out-loud moments. This is not your usual 'cozy' mystery. There is a great deal of incidental (and interesting) behind-the-scenes information about the inner workings of an Episcopalian church and choir, which I found fascinating. The main character is likeable, supporting characters are also likeable (or UN-likeable, in the case of some) without being painted in just black & white - there are shades of gray here, too. Under the cookie-cutter plot, there's a great deal of subtle satire and plays on words. The chapters of the novel that the main character is writing in his spare time and inflicts on the choir members are so awful they're funny (except for die-hard Raymond Chandler fans, I'd guess).

I'd rate this as between 3 and 3.5 stars, mostly because there doesn't seem to be a lot of 'substance' to the story, but I'd still recommend it for a quick 'palate cleanser' between more demanding books. I have already purchased a few more of this series, and read one.

Note on Kindle formatting: Very good. I did not notice any formatting issues at all.

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.

If you've ever done time in a high Anglican church choir, you will recognize everything in this book. Read this book only if you want to whoop and shriek and roll on the floor. If your choir sings in the rear gallery and is invisible to the congregation, though, do yourself a favor and DON'T bring this book upstairs to read during the sermon. Bring a crossword puzzle instead. I'd hate to see you get fired for uncontrollable giggling and cover-up coughing fits!

I happen to be a professional church musician. I can totally emphasize with this hilarious comedy. The author takes on all the insanities affecting the church in this day and age; especially SOPHIA et al. Don't miss the false RAPTURE, the FUNERAL TO END ALL FUNERALS, and especially the women's Sophia mini-convention. Mark knows how to skewer all that is insane in the goings on of the church of Jesus Christ in this day and age and get away with it while making us roll on the floor laughing. A true master COMEDIAN! DO NOT MISS ONE INSTALLMENT IN THIS GREAT OH DO WE TAKE OURSELVES TOO SERIOUS COMEDY SERIES!

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.

When Willie Boyd, sexton at St. Barnabas Episcopal Church, is found dead in the choir loft, having spewed all over the keyboards of the organ in the process; Chief Detective and Choir Director Hayden Konig suspects poison. It was poison, but the bottle of sacramental wine Willie had filched and drunk, the only thing he is known to have consumed, is not the source.

Many people disliked Willie, including the new priest, Mother Lorraine Ryan, whom many Church members find almost as disagreeable as Willie. While suspects are plentiful, clues are sparse, and the motive remains a mystery.

The story is interspersed with chapters from Hayden's unfortunate efforts to write a Chandleresque mystery novel. These passages got a little annoying after awhile; but were italicized, so I just skimmed them. The story doesn't need them!

Allover, I enjoyed the book so much that I immediately ordered two more in the series; although I can't imagine how the author can possibly match The Incident of the Escaped Helium-filled Sex Dolls (with dire consequences) and the competing Live Christmas Nativity Displays. Days later, they still make me giggle helplessly.

These books are laugh-out-loud funny and well worth the cost. I am a member of the staff at a United Methodist Church, and some of the things that happen hit way too close to home ... maybe not the gun in the organ bench, but you never know! And, our choir has performed at least one Mark Schweizer anthem ... the one with Jesus and cheeses. Buy these books and recommend them to all your friends who enjoy a laugh.

I have to tell you that entertainment like this gets the prize. Where else can you get laugh out loud humor and a great mystery all in on package? These characters are believable and people I would be glad to call friends. A must read series to help cope with today's choas and reminds us all not to take life so seriously.

Hayden Konig lives in a small town in North Carolina playing the organ at the local church and acting as the town's police detective, and has to solve his first murder as the Christmas season is starting.

I got this book free; someone surprised me with it as a gift. I had put it on my wishlist after reading a positive review of it and hadn't really thought of it since then. But once I had it on my Kindle of course I read it. And it was a good, fun read.

The main character, Hayden, is one of those unlikeable men who has enough of a sense of humor to redeem himself. His view of the world isn't the most comfortable and his ethics are a little questionable, but the humor that infects everything he does from his dreadful would-be detective novel to the silly events in the town makes the book worth it. The central mystery itself wasn't too difficult to solve as the clues were all around, but the way it was solved in the book was both hilarious and heartbreaking.

Schweizer is no Agatha Christie, but he doesn't need to be with the characters and town he's created to work with. A fun story, worth checking out... especially if you love music and don't mind gentle jabs at church politics.