Concerto in Dead Flat [Paperback]

Wendell McCall (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 2000

Chris Klick, whose gig is to restore uncollected royalties to musicians for a percentage, comes to Paris on the trail of a famous conductor. The payoff due is large, but the man is elusive - he's begun an affair with a student cellist, and cleaned out his marital bank account. His wife is displeased, and feeling vengeful. So the maestro hides, and apparently at Oxford.
To flush him out, Klick goes undercover at venerable Wadham College as the visiting Raymond Chandler/Fulbright Fellow, there to research and write a mystery. His entre' lies in a missing don whose absence alarms at least some of his colleagues. But the Warden seems oddly blase'. And what about the case of college port that's missing? Even more puzzling are rumors of a lost Mozart manuscript restored....
While keeping up with own true love Nicole eludes him, Klick and his former-basketball-star buddy Lyel have successfully teamed before in Dead Aim and Aim for the Heart to score up the missing. The hoops may be different, but if they can win in Idaho, why not in England?

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The cat has escaped the bag on the Web and elsewhere: Wendell McCall is none other than thriller writer Ridley Pearson. But if only this semi-hardboiled, semi-academic mysteryAthe first McCall title in almost 10 yearsAwas as good as the average Pearson blockbuster. As in the previous McCalls, Chris Klick is a partner in a business that finds missing royalties for musicians; sometimes Chris must hunt for the musicians in order to give them the money. This time, it is surprisingly difficult for him to give away the money, for it belongs to a famous conductor, Stephan Shultz, who has emptied his wife's bank accounts and taken off with a teenage girl to Europe. Chris tracks Shultz from Paris to London to Oxford to try to persuade him that an offer of royalty money is not simply a cover to confiscate his wife's missing cash. A friend arranges for Chris to masquerade as the Raymond Chandler Fulbright Fellow in residence at Wadham College, Oxford (a fellowship once held by Pearson). Chris falls in love with Oxford, and much of the novel is spent in lyricizing about its joys. But this is territory that has been better covered by such writers as Dorothy L. Sayers and Edmund Crispin. Chris's perspective as a visiting American is an interesting one, but McCall shows little adeptness for British colloquialisms in his dialogue, and there's no real sense of verisimilitude. Pearson's acclaimed talent for sustaining suspense isn't apparent, either. Although it's clear that the author loved his stay in Oxford, and was bemused by the eccentricity of the dons and other university denizens, his affection for matters Oxbridgian doesn't compensate for a weak plot. (June) FYI: Later this year, Poisoned Pen will reprint in trade paperback the two earlier Wendell McCall mysteries, Dead Aim in July and Aim for the Heart in October. Meanwhile, a new Ridley Pearson novel, The First Victim (Forecasts, May 17), is due out from Hyperion in July.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

"McCall's Concerto in Dead Flat was music to this reader's ears. Every note rings true, and his rendition of Oxford is pitch perfect. Dead Flat is dead sharp, and I'm delighted for the chance to sing its praises. Bravo!" --Don Winslow

"Wendell McCall has a great gift and his light shines through in Concerto in Dead Flat. This is a fun novel."  --Randy Wayne White

"A beautifully handled debut novel that balances all the best p.i. elements with a lyrical sense of the country...Sardonic, wry, and remarkable in both plotting and pacing." --Kirkus Reviews of Dead Aim

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 277 pages
• Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press (July 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1890208523
• ISBN-13: 978-1890208523
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #885,184 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Klick clicks with this intriguing hidden person search, June 20, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Concerto in Dead Flat (Hardcover)

Internationally renowned conductor Stephen Shulz flees America followed by a teenage cello player. Before leaving for Paris, Stephen absconded with all the cash in his wife's various accounts. Chris Klick and his partner attorney Bruce Warren uncover an error during an acquisition of a recording company that turns into a sizable amount of royalties for Stephen. Chris flies to Paris to give Stephen the news, but everyone suspects he works for Stephen's angry spouse.

The trail soon takes Chris to Oxford where he realizes that Stephen remains hidden. Chris goes undercover, pretending to be a visiting Raymond Chandler Research Fellow at Wadham College. He hopes to use this guise to meet Stephen and explain the purpose for his stay in England. However, sidebars seem to get in Chris' way.

CONCERTO IN DEAD FLAT is an interesting tale starring a wonderfully different lead character. An amused Wendell McCall pays homage to Oxford in this story line though the investigation seems a bit flat as the inquires never attain concert level interest. However, Klick remains an entertaining player which makes this book and its predecessors (see DEAD AIM and AIM FOR THE HEART) worth reading.

Harriet Klausner