Customer Reviews

Murder Duet: A Musical Case

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Unlike the other reviewers here, this is the first Batya Gur mystery I have read. So, I didn't have the expectation of an inside look at Jerusalem and Israeli society that the other readers here seem to have had. I loved this book from the first page where the author used the first chord of the Brahms Symphony to evoke an immediate sense of mood. Anyone who knows the symphony will immediately here the chord in their head. This is very inventive - sound imagery!

The principal character is genuinely complex - he does things that he doesn't understand. Compared to the formulaic murder mysteries coming out of contemporary English writers, this book is a gem.

We are a family of classical musicians. I gave the book to my father to read, and from the minute he heard the chord on the first page, he was hooked.

Is there a rule that says an Israeli writer must always include local color and mood in their writing? Since this book focuses on a family of classical musicians, who are often oblivious to their surroundings and the goings-on in the "outside" world, the lack of specific references to the setting didn't bother me much at all.

I am now on my third Batya Gur and hope to read them all.

Quietly becoming a name in crime fiction is Chief Superintendent Michael Ohayon of the Jerusalem police. In "Murder Duet," author Batya Gur gives us another episode--and treat--of this so-called "soft-boiled" detective. During one of his evenings listening to a favorite Brahms (The First Symphony), he hears a cry and, opening the door, finds the proverbial babe in a handbasket abandoned at his door! There the story really begins. He looks to neighbor Nita van Gelden for help with the child, as she herself is a single mother AND a cellist (to keep the harmony of the book) of international accomplishment, along with other members of her family. But discord soon arrives, as a member of her family is murdered (and not because of his inferior musical ability!). This gets Ohayon on the case, prontissimo!

This is the fourth Gur novel featuring Ohayon (beginning with "Murder on a Kibbutz") and set in Israel. In addition to quite a few musical lessons, Gur treats us to some of the Israeli local color (although not near enough!). The cerebral Ohayon is on key, of course, and is in charge of each movement, as it were. Well-paced, the book continues to give us credible insight into Ohayon, as well as providing a good police procedural work--well worth the effort. (Billyjhobbs@tyler.net)

What I said above. The book was fine, suspenseful, delicious and going great until the last third. There, Ms. Gur lost her sense of timing and her sense of the character's psychology. Instead of giving her detective a finale (don't want to ruin the plot), she got off track. I love classical music but it's as if she rushed and in her rushing there was loss of plot and TOO MUCH MUSICOLOGY. I'd give this 3 stars except that I adored her other mysteries. Another criticism others have noted is that Israel is missing. She names towns but doesn't give the flavor of that place, what we who read her, are used to. Giving the views and the details that make Israel different from other places is here just generic--names of streets and towns and hotels. Ms. Gur, if you are reading this little review, what happened? But thanks for a great reading week-end.

With each of her books, this is the fourth I have read, Gur gets better. Her character development is psychologically nuanced. She presents completely different professions (academic psychotherapists, conservative kibbutz members, academic literature professors, here profesional musicians) in many dimensions. She does not always reflect admiration or approval for their warts, in fact, she is perceptive and highly critical. Her main character is beset by self-doubt and is troubled by his failings as a parent and lover. I can't wait until her next book is translated into English.

Batya Gur never disappoints. Second only to P.D. James she combines the mystery genre with high literature. I've read all her books and Murder Duet is up there with the others. Do not agree that she is not up to par here; she is great, engaging, giving readers a full portrait of her characters as great novelists do while keeping us turning pages to see how the story ends. Excellent. Highly recommended. 5 stars.

Some hectic murder mysteries tear along like a Ferrari doing 100 mph. This story is more like a leisurely walk through the woods -with accompanying classical music. How slow a pace you ask? Well at one point our detective goes to a lecture hall to ask a woman some questions. She is seated in the hall listening to a lecture, so we, the reader, and the detective sit down and hear most of the talk on the Classical Style: Mozart through Beethoven. If you like classical music all of this goes down quite smoothly.

Our detective is sharing living accommodations with a lady cellist when her father and then her brother are murdered. The intriguing question, to me at least, was not so much who committed the murders, but why were they committed. There aren't many characters in this story, so ultimately we are led to a reasonably obvious conclusion. As I mentioned above, the topic of classical music is woven into the text, but not to such a degree as to turn off the reader uninterested in the likes of Brahms and Beethoven. As for me, when a discussion of Brahms' First Symphony came up, I hooked up my iPod and listened to it while I read.

Some reviewers expressed harsh criticisms of the story, the editing, the writing, and the translation. I found this to be a literary novel of the first order, and cannot understand these negative comments. Yes it does move along very slowly, and while some readers may have preferred a shorter "Cliff's Notes" version, I relaxed, sat back, and enjoyed all 433 pages of it.

I have enjoyed Gur's previous efforts as they are so "atmospheric." If one knows Israel and Israeli society - and not as a tourist - there is much being said between the lines that translation cannot capture.

Unlike the earlier books, I found this one lacked bite.

And Ohayon is turning into an Israeli version of "Inspector Morse," i.e., a frustrated academic-turned-cop, a loner, lover of classical music (although not a sophisticated as Morse), unlucky in love - But, thankfully, not an alcoholic.

But since Morse died recently, perhaps Ms. Gur will pick up the slack. (And tightening her writing is a good place to start.)

It is as though Batya Gur were trying to finish this book. It was a book in need of editing, but that would have left only a third of the pages. Too much angst, as others have pointed out here in the reviews. Very nasty murders, these, and not nearly as sparkling and atmospheric a solution. Very little Israeli backgound here, an aspect of Batya Gur's previous Ohayon novels that has been wonderful, and lackluster plot development. A midlife crisis of a book. PLEASE read this talented woman's previous Ohayon novels.