Murder in the Pit [Perfect Paperback]

Erica Miner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 15, 2010

In the rarefied world of New York's Metropolitan Opera, talented young violinist Julia Kogan is about to launch into her debut performance when the unthinkable happens: her mentor, world-famous opera conductor Abel Trudeau, is felled from the podium by an assassin's bullet. Despite her grief, she must pull herself together to find the real killer when Sidney Richter, her closest colleague in the orchestra, is unjustly accused of Abel's murder. Teaming up with NYPD detective Larry Somers, Julia probes the back stairways and hidden corners of the opera house, only to find that a bee's nest of intrigue and peril lies beneath the glittering exterior of the venerable institution. Danger awaits Julia onstage, in the wings, and in the pit, as scenery crashes down beside her and threatening notes are left on her music. In the end, only her quick wits and her instinct for survival can save her.

Editorial Reviews

Review

".... Murder in the Pit is an adventure of the imagination, a play within a play. ...[Miner] has recreated in a fascinating operatic world a tangle of plot twists whose intricacies ultimately unravel to reveal the prose of an author who is sure of her skills." --Valerio Massimo Manfredi, author of The Ancient Curse (Macmillan Publishers Ltd., July 2010), The Ides of March and The Lost Army.

"...Ms. Miner has put together a very solid mystery with a cast of characters who were an absolute joy to read." --Amy Lignor, BookPleasures.com

About the Author

Violinist turned author Erica Miner has had a multi-faceted career as an award-winning screenwriter, author, lecturer and poet. A native of Detroit, she studied music at Boston University, the New England Conservatory of Music, and the Tanglewood Music Center. After experiencing a variety of highs and lows in her quest to forge a career in New York City, Erica won the coveted position of violinist with the Metropolitan Opera Company, a high-pressured milieu but the pinnacle of her field. Her life became even more challenging, however, when injuries from a car accident spelled the end of her musical career. Searching for a new creative outlet, she drew upon her lifelong love of writing for inspiration and studied poetry and screenwriting, winning a number of awards in both categories. After moving to the West coast, Erica honed her screenwriting skills with author and script guru Linda Seger of Making a Good Script Great fame and with Ken Rotcop, the author of Perfect Pitch. Erica's screenplays, one of which is based on her award-winning debut novel, Travels with My Lovers, have won awards and/or placed in such competitions as WinFemme, Santa Fe and the Writer's Digest. Her essays and articles have appeared in Vision Magazine, WORD San Diego and numerous newsletters and E-zines. Erica has completed both the novel and screenplay of her suspense thriller, Murder in the Pit, which takes place at the Met, and currently is at work on the second novel in her "FourEver Friends" series chronicling four young girls' coming of age in the volatile 60s and 70s. In addition Erica has developed a number of writing lectures and seminars, which she has presented at various venues across the West Coast and on the High Seas, where she is a "top-rated" speaker for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines. Topics range from "The Art of Self Re-Invention" to "Opera Meets Hollywood" and "Journaling for Writers: Mining the Gold of Your Own Experiences."

Product Details

• Perfect Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Twilight Times Books; First edition (June 15, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1606191101
• ISBN-13: 978-1606191101
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.5 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,202,130 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

A decade or so ago, Erica Miner was a violinist with the Metropolitan Opera Company in New York City. When injuries from a car accident forced her to give up her professional musical career, she knew she needed another creative outlet and turned to her lifelong love of writing to fill the gap, studying screenwriting and novel writing in New York and Los Angeles. Her first screenplay, Hummingbird, won an award in the Writers Digest competition, and other scripts have been winners in the Santa Fe and WinFemme competitions. Erica's debut novel, Travels With My Lovers, won the Fiction Prize in the Direct from the Author Book Awards. In 2009, she published FourEver Friends, a coming-of-age novel set in the 1960s. Her suspense thriller, Murder In The Pit, based on her experiences at the Met Opera, was published in June of 2010, and has garnered five-star reviews across the board. Erica has written screenplays for all three of her published novels.

Erica's writings have appeared in Vision Magazine, WORD San Diego, Our City - Istanbul, and numerous E-zines, and she is currently writing opera articles and reviews for the well known website OperaPulse.com. Erica has appeared in dozens of interviews on radio and online. She lectures widely on writing and opera and is a top-rated lecturer for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Mystery doesn't get ANY better than this!!!! Buy it ASAP! June 20, 2010

By A Very Merry Shakespeare

Format:Perfect Paperback

I was immediately pulled in to the glamorous world of the Metropolitan Opera House. From the glitterati - the well-dressed patrons exchanging diamond-covered handshakes - to the large glass windows framing the picturesque fountain in Lincoln Plaza; to the Chagall murals decorating the lobby, everything about this world was wonderfully written by a true "insider."

We begin with Julia Kogan, a very talented violinist who has worked her fingers to the bone to become the youngest member, at twenty-two, of the famous orchestra. Julia lost her father when she was quite young, and was literally taken under the wing of Abel Trudeau - the brilliant and famous conductor who took Julia's insatiable appetite for music and became the ultimate mentor - guiding her to the "top" of their world. Beside her in the pit, sits Sidney Richter - an older member of the orchestra who is her absolute best friend. A man who, like Abel, has supported her and helped her to attain her goals.

When Julia walks through the revolving glass doors off Broadway and into the Opera House for her very first opening night, she meets up with all the wonderful characters that make up this cozy mystery. Before the show can commence, Abel gives to her a beautiful pin and oddly written sheet music that he wrote himself to commemorate this once in a lifetime event in Julia's life. As the lights dim and the chandeliers ascend into the ceiling, the orchestra begins, and Abel offers his favorite student a wink and a smile.

As a gunshot suddenly rings out, the fabulously wealthy audience members cringe in their seats. And a confused Julia finds herself staring up at the man who'd raised her, watching him fall over...covered in blood. Soon everything that was completely sane and sensible becomes a labyrinth of lies and secrets. Sidney is hauled away by the police for a frame-up of monumental proportions. As his life hangs in the balance - accused of a crime he didn't commit - Julia teams up with an investigator whose love of the operatic world equals her own.

Together they sift through the suspects that include a general manager who likes to ingest chemicals in order to keep her going; a cute stagehand who draws little hearts beside Julia's name on the musicians' sign-in sheet; a personnel manager who waves his baton in the air, wishing with his heart he could be a conductor; an understudy who's not only gorgeous but extremely talented, and wants nothing more than to vault himself into super stardom; and, literally, a cavalcade of diva's, managers, performers, musicians, and stagehands. Each rung of the societal ladder is discussed, as the author deftly sets up and delivers the inside world of colorful characters that make up the illustrious Met.

As a lover of classical music and a patron of Tanglewood when I was younger, I was extremely happy with all the in-depth knowledge that Ms. Miner has delivered. She was actually a violinist at the Met, so she certainly knows the world of which she speaks. Because of this background, as well as quick-witted writing, Ms. Miner has put together a very solid mystery with a cast of characters who were an absolute joy to read.

Until Next Time,
[...] Reviewer, Amy Lignor

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great mystery, better atmosphere July 8, 2010

By Carol Wainwright

Format:Perfect Paperback

Murder in the Pit is a tight mystery that kept me guessing, but it's the cast of characters and the behind-the-scenes look at opera that makes this book stand out. From earnest, hard-working protagonist (Julia) to the snide divas (several, including the hilariously bitchy office manager, Patricia) to the policeman with a penchant for opera (Larry), the characters bring this ferociously competitive world into focus.

If you like a good mystery, this book is for you. If you like opera, this book is for you. If you like both, it's a winner.

But even if you don't like mysteries, this book is a great place to start. I found the action compelling enough to keep me guessing, and I never once felt like the author was toying with me, which is a problem I have with many mystery writers. Perhaps it's because Miner reveals so much about opera that I don't feel as if she's keeping information from me. How she managed to do that...is a mystery.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Best mystery ever! June 15, 2010

By Susanne Hayase

Format:Perfect Paperback

Mystery lovers, music aficionados rejoice. Here is a new potent thriller for you, set in the world famous musical atmosphere of New York City. I just finished reading this latest exciting novel by Erica Miner and thought the insight look into this part of NY was eye opening and the plot was developing at a fast pace. I could not put this book down until I turned the last page. Very entertaining, spellbound and enjoyable.