Murder for Choir (A Glee Club Mystery) [Mass Market Paperback]

Joelle Charbonneau (Author)

Book Description

Release date: July 3, 2012 | Series: A Glee Club Mystery (Book 1)

Even as a struggling opera singer, Paige Marshall has never seen anything like the cutthroat competition of the Prospect Glen High School show choir. Coaching these championship-hungry students may be her toughest gig yet...

Especially when her best young male singer is suspected of killing the arrogant coach of Prospect Glen's fiercest rival. To clear his name, Paige will have to sort through a chorus of suspects, and go note-for-note with a killer who wants her out of the spotlight for good.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Charbonneau hits all the right notes with her show choir sleuth."—Denise Swanson, New York Times bestselling author

"Delightfully witty...encore, encore!"—Miranda James, national betselling author of the Cat in the Stacks mysteries

"An intriguing mystery."—Donna Andrews

"Imagine if Stephanie Plum joined the cast of Glee, then someone proved more felonious than harmonious."—Deke Sharon, vocal producer, NBC's The Sing-Off

About the Author

Joelle Charbonneau is an entertainer. She has performed in a variety of operas, musical theater and children's theater productions across the Chicagoland area. In addition to her stage work, Joelle has also performed with several bands and worked as a solo performer. She lives in a Chicago suburb with her husband, Andy, and their toddler son. She is a member of Romance Writers of America, Mystery Writers of America, and Sisters in Crime.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Berkley (July 3, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425251373
• ISBN-13: 978-0425251379
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #353,154 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Joelle Charbonneau is a storyteller at heart. She has performed in a variety of operas, musical theatre and children's theatre productions across the Chicagoland area. In addition to her stage work, Joelle has also performed with several bands and worked as a solo performer.

While Joelle is happy to perform for an audience, she is equally delighted to teach private voice lessons and use her experience from the stage to create compelling characters in her mysteries. She is the author of the Rebecca Robbins (Minotaur Books), the Glee Club Paige Marshall (Berkley) mysteries and the YA The Testing trilogy (The Testing, Independent Study and Graduation Day Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children's).

To learn more, visit Joelle at her website: www.joellecharbonneau.com

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars when Killer wears pink....... August 14, 2012

By S. S. Swindler

Format:Mass Market Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I loved the humor and could not put it aside.

A great start to a new series.

Looking forward to the next one!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars 7 out of 10 stars July 19, 2012

By Stephanie

Format:Mass Market Paperback

Murder for Choir by Joelle Charbonneau
Release Date: July 3rd, 2012
Publisher: Berkley Prime (Penguin)
Page Count: 294
Source: From JKS Communications, as part of the Murder for Choir book tour

This glee competition is killer...

Even as a struggling opera singer, Paige Marshall has never seen anything like the cutthroat competition of the Prospect Glen High School show choir. As their new coach, she's getting an icy reception from championship-hungry students who doubt she can take them to a first-place victory. Toughing this gig out may prove harder than scoring her big break...

Especially now that her best young male singer is suspected of killing the arrogant coach of Prospect Glen's fiercest rival choir. For Paige to clear his name, she'll have to sort through a chorus of suspects -- and go note for note with a killer who'll do anything to knock her out of the spotlight for good...

What Stephanie Thinks: The competition between show choirs is fierce, but Paige's struggle to fit in at her new teaching position -- while juggling a murder mystery of which she discovered the corpse (just her luck!) -- even fiercer in Murder for Choir. For the most part, Charbonneau's first of the Glee Club mysteries is an amusing, fast-paced read. I love cozy mysteries, and found Paige's opera background and the Prospect Glen High's community to be a fresh, yet very realistic setting.

Paige never asked for any of it. All she wanted was a temporary job that would earn her enough to support her performer lifestyle. Her talent is renown -- so what's she doing as an assistant choral director for snooty high school kids?... Charbonneau wonderfully portrays the intimidation and desire for acceptance through Paige's relatively unworldly and clumsy eyes. While much of the interactions seem a bit exaggerated (I'm IN school, and have never encountered such rudeness that Paige deals with among her students), they do a good job at making her feel small, unwelcome. Add the murder of her rival director, an ill stream fate, and dose of curiosity (not to mention, hardheadedness), and yes, it might just be enough to do her over.

The book moves very quickly and never gets boring -- that's what I love. Paige's klutziness is adorable and her humor sharp -- readers will enjoy her fresh, strong-willed perspective. What I didn't favor so much was the mystery plot itself. Right off the bat, numerous suspects are listed (as Paige has the tendency to butt into situations, including murder cases, that she is instructed to stay away from). Each character Paige meets is looked at with suspicion, which doesn't leave much of a surprise nor bang at the end, when the perpetrator is finally caught. I know Charbonneau probably did this to confuse the reader and expand the pond of potential killers, but to me, it just made the conclusion dull. I like to be caught off guard, even with cozy mysteries. Murder for Choir is a fun, well-written story, but the ending just isn't worthwhile.

I don't have much to complain about regarding the writing. Charbonneau's style is acute, clever, and though a bit choppy, pleasantly straightforward. However, I didn't care for the structure of the book; it's too messy. All the events pass as a blur and none stand out significantly because the author crams too much into 294 pages. Paige attempts to solve anything and know everything, which in itself isn't a bad thing, but it does jumble the story a bit. I didn't like the inclusion of romance in this one either. Normally, I'm all for romance, but because there is no one prospect Paige is attracted to or attempts to pursue, it just adds on to the confusion. If her love interest was actually clear, it would have topped off Murder for Choir better. Heck, even if it had been expunged, and the mystery aspect of the book improved, Murder for Choir might have been better.

There's a lot I'm criticizing here, but I'm just being picky, just recording the equation for my own ideal romantic cozy mystery *grin*. Despite my little disapprovals, Murder for Choir is light, witty book that I often found myself getting immersed in. Combining endless action with plenty of speculation, it's a crisp, modern murder mystery with a fearless heroine and a satisfying (though predictable) ending .

Stephanie Loves: "Aunt Millie hoisted herself off her chair. 'Devlyn, would you like to join us? I'm making spaghetti and meatballs.
I psychically sent Devlyn a message: Run. Save yourself.
'That sounds great. Thank you.'
Either my psychic powers sucked or Devlyn was a glutton for punishment." -- hilarious!

Radical Rating: 7 hearts - Not without flaws, but overall enjoyable. Read more ›

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Murder Mystery Masterpiece! July 16, 2012

By Lovey Dovey Books

Format:Mass Market Paperback

Murder For Choir is a cozy mystery that exceeded my expectations! I've never quite known what to think about mysteries; I love them but I always worry whether the facts and details will bore me or the suspense will just scare me to pieces. Fortunately, Joelle Charbonneau has captured my attention as a stellar author and made mystery one of my top favorite genres!

Paige Marshall is a career performer turned show choir teacher. She's the new director for Prospect Glen High School's Music in Motion team. It's not where she wants to be, but she sure makes the best of an unfavorable situation. Doing everything in her power to win her group over, she even resolves to solve the murder of a rival choir director.

For the first book in a new series, Murder For Choir jumps right into the story without a lot of background information to lead in. It was surprising, but completely welcome, to get to know Paige in her present situation before learning about what led her to the Chicago suburb of Prospect Glen. Charbonneau doesn't leave readers hanging, though, inputting Paige's personal information as the story progresses.

The biggest part of Paige's amateur sleuthing is that she takes the initiative. The lead detective on the case, Mike Kaiser, may have told her to keep her eyes and ears open, but Paige does more than that. She ferrets out clues and suspects all while preparing for the start of the school year. Her determination is unbelievable, especially since the murderer isn't too happy to discover Paige's investigation. Just about every character introduced is seen as a potential suspect so it's almost impossible to figure out the culprit until the end.... I love feeling like I'm on the same level with the character, knowing facts as she learns them and putting the pieces together at the same moment.

The story was already shaping up to be fantastic, but once Paige's love life got a little wild the story became even more superb! Murder For Choir doesn't only appeal to show tune and Glee fans, but mystery and suspense lovers, too. I'm looking forward to the next bout of trouble that blows Paige's way in the next installment, End Me A Tenor!

Originally posted on Lovey Dovey Books.
Novel provided in exchange for an honest review. Read more ›

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars One Fantastic Mystery July 3, 2012

By Erica

Format:Mass Market Paperback

I have three words for y'all: Show. Choir. Mystery. HOW MUCH COOLER CAN YOU GET? And with Murder for Choir, Joelle Charbonneau delivers one awesome mystery that will keep you trying to work out all the pieces until the last minute.

I love a good mystery. My obsession with mysteries began back when I cracked open my first Nancy Drew book and was further fueled by all the Trixie Belden books I read. Since then, I am always looking for the next mystery to read. And I definitely found it with Murder for Choir. Paige Marshall is going to take the world by storm, as she is an awesome character and one heck of a sleuth.

In addition to being pretty much obsessed with mysteries, I have an unhealthy obsession for show choir. As a singer, dancer, and actress, show choir was pretty awesome. Joelle Charbonneau perfectly captures all the drama and emotions that are caught up in it. I've known more than a few Chessies in my life, who is the egotistical talented girl of the choir.

I loved that I was never really certain who to trust. I would become convinced that I had figured out who was the murderer, but a few chapters later I would find my allegiances shifting characters once again. Up until the last minute, the answers completely evaded me. I did figure out a few small pieces, but I loved the surprise that came at the end.

The characters were all fabulous. I loved Paige - she was so head strong and just a really admirable character. Aunt Millie was a complete hoot! I loved her! She is one of those people I would love to meet in real life as she was always coming up with something new and unexpected. Devlyn was another character who I really liked - he was just so funny.

Basically, Murder for Choir by Joelle Charbonneau was a complete winner.... It had a great mystery, a little bit of romance, and show choir. What more can you need? Anyone who wants a great mystery should pick this one up right away! Read more ›