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In the Key of Death (Five Star First Edition Mystery)

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Although he has tried for several years to find proof to substantiate his belief that Golden Age Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Clyde "Mr. Magic" Davenport killed his beloved wife, noted singer Katie Sunshine, former LAPD Detective Josh Wainwright has failed. Keshawna Keyes, his private investigator partner at International Celebrity Services, has tried to get him to move on, but Josh remains fixated and frustrated.

Josh's quest gets new life when former star Billy the Kid Palmer commits suicide after a visit from Mr. Magic who magnanimously provides a college trust fund for the son of his deceased former singer. That incident is followed by the murder of Mr. Magic's girlfriend Ava Gardner at the music mogul's Magic Land estate. The police believe Mr. Magic killed her, but he insists he did not. He hires Josh to protect him and to prove his innocence as he knows the obsessed widower will do anything to affirm his guilt. Now Josh is inside, but as he begins to unravel the truth behind Katie's murder, other former performers of Mr. Magic die.

Although the premise that a music mogul seeks revenge against the acts he turned into stars who dumped him seems a stretch; readers will enjoy this private investigative thriller with an excellent late twist. The story line is fast-paced while the adversaries seem real as both are fixated on their respective quest. The scene in which Mr. Magic chats about the future with Billy the Kid is chilling and sets the tone for an entertaining thriller.

Harriet Klausner

Josh Wainwright, ex-LAPD detective and presently co-owner of International Celebrity Services, a security service for the rich and famous, has never stopped mourning the death of his wife, world-renowned singing sensation known as Katie Sunshine, murdered two and a half years ago, shot to death during a public appearance, her murderer never identified. Josh has never stopped trying to find evidence that her death was engineered by Clyde Davenport, "Mr. Magic" himself, a world-famous and egomaniacal record producer and member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame who had engineered the rise to fame of innumerable recording stars over the years, now perhaps past his prime.

The reader sees, through Clyde's eyes, his "wish list" comprised of "the ones that turned their backs on him, used him, then abusing him by dismissing him like he had outlived his usefulness...the artists he worked his mojo on and made into international stars before they left him and, ultimately, collectively, helped bring about the downward spiral in his career." Now known as a great philanthropist, with many charities--mostly with children as the beneficiaries--receiving his largesse, it is nearly impossible to find proof of any link between Clyde and the various deaths for which Josh is certain he is responsible, though deemed "accidents" or "suicides" or, in Katie's case, simply murder by unknown assailant.

When a Las Vegas showgirl is killed outside Clyde's mansion in the hills above LA, he hires Josh to prove his innocence, fully understanding that Josh will use the opportunity to further his endless investigation of him in an attempt to prove his guilt in Katie's murder. Josh's partner [both now and previously in the LA police force], Keshawna Keyes, helps him track down leads in this effort, during the course of which the reader is given a behind-the-scenes views of Nashville in particular and the music business in general over the last few decades. The second half of the book felt a bit bloated and I suspect could have benefited from some judicious editing.. The pace picked up in the latter parts of the novel, however, with some unexpected twists, and overall was a good read.

Robert S. Levinson, the well-known thriller and mystery author, has written another excellent novel. IN THE KEY OF DEATH features Josh Wainwright, a former LAPD detective, pursuing a deeply personal mission. He is seeking revenge upon a once-celebrated music producer whom he blames for the death of his beloved wife, Katie Sunshine.

Clyde Davenport, AKA Mr. Magic, is an eccentric persona with a reputation stemming from his having created several major acts in rock-and-roll and country music and invented what is known as the "Symphony of Sound". Davenport, as is Wainwright, finds himself haunted by his past. Davenport is ostensibly on his own mission of revenge against the stars he helped make famous.

As this tale unfolds, these two personalities duel. Wainwright, who has been trying to prove that Davenport is responsible for Katie's murder, is hired to help clear Davenport of a murder reminiscent of the recent Phil Spector case. Throughout the novel, Levinson populates his fiction with colorful characters from the music industry, a turf Levinson knows well from his illustrious career in the entertainment industry.

IN THE KEY OF DEATH is a tightly written work. Its plot has more twists than a bag of pretzels, and its story is as wild as a night at the roller derby. As Nelson DeMille wrote upon the publication years ago of Robert Levinson's debut novel, "Robert S. Levinson writes a great read."