Customer Reviews

Rhapsody in Red

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Donn Taylor nails the politics of small universities, particularly those that are in transition. Having worked in faculty positions in a medical school and a small and a medium sized regional college and university I found myself laughing out loud at the antics of his characters. I enjoy a good mystery about three times a year or so and normally I turn to the Higgins Clarks, mother and daughter. However, some of the stories in these secular books have been so creepy that I have been watching for a Christian mystery writer for these forays out of the historical fiction realm.
Dr. Preston Barclay finds himself in the middle of a murder investigation, along with a younger Wiccan faculty member. Characterization is definitely unique, with Professor Barclay having musical hallucinations. His cast of characters all have a distinct voice and are all well-developed without being distracting. Taylor does an excellent job of fitting the music to the characters and scenes. The plot took a lot of great twists and turns and Taylor definitely knows how to pull the reader along with him. I was planning to go to sleep at ten last night but HAD to finish the book. A little after one, I closed the book, satisfied with an ending that nicely tied off all the plot strings. This would be a great book for: Christian mystery readers, faculty members of universities (who will shout "someone really understands!!"), and those looking for a well-written Christian book with a delightful male character as well as a strong female protagonist.

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Unlike the previous reviewer, I enjoyed this book. It made me laugh, and the mystery was engaging. It was Christian, but not preachy,(a selling point for me)whereas a lot of
Christian fiction is. The main character was struggling with the death of his wife, and always had a musical score running in his head...that was kinda cool 'cause music runs in my head all the time, although not in the way that it did for this character. I had many literary comments (is that the right phraseology??), and that also kept me engaged.

In Donn Taylor's Rhapsody in Red, the reader glimpses university campus life, academics, and a thrilling adventure along the way as Professor Preston Barclay sleuths about with fellow Professor Mara Thorn to discover who killed a colleague. The professor is still mourning the passing of his wife, but a special treat throughout the novel is musical scores, symphonies, bands, and lone instruments that haunt, taunt, and sometimes annoy Professor Barclay because he suffers from a malady known as "musical hallucinations." Since I'm not an aficionado of music titles, I didn't know all the names of the pieces Barclay held in private concert; no doubt I'd have recognized more if I'd heard a few strains.

Adept, Taylor crafts the story to a satisfactory conclusion, and his humor throughout the novel is a real delight. He knows how to make a reader smile and keep turning pages. And for that reason, I'm giving this novel a five star rating. I laid aside all other reading material to read through his fiction at bedtime in just a few nights.

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I found that the 'Christian' element to be quite tastefully done, not 'in-your-face' and uses very little preachiness. That doesn't eliminate the fact that about 80% of the 'Christian' elements could be removed with no detriment to the storyline (the remaining 20% is used for character development). The story itself was very good, and kept me up long past my bedtime. This was a cozy mystery, but it had plenty of twists and turns and narrow escapes. The characters were well drawn and for the most part, likeable. I found Professor Barclay's auditory hallucinations to be interesting at first, but they became repititive, though they were used to good (humorous) effect occasionally. This does have potential to be a good series starter, and the author uses a good mix of seriousness, humor,and subtle snark/sarcasm to enliven the writing. If the strongly CF element does not bother you (and I repeat - it was very tastefully done), I recommend giving this book a try.

Note on Kindle formatting: Perfect. I saw only one issue, a foreign font character that was not interpreted by the Kindle correctly. The same name and character was repeated a few pages later, and Kindle recognized it and displayed it properly.

I'd never known there was such a thing as a 'Christian mystery', but that's what we have here, set as it is on a Christian college campus. I picked this book up because I primarily write classical music CD reviews and the dustjacket blurb mentions that the main character in the book, Professor Preston Barclay, has classical music running in his head all the time and he comments about it. I thought that might be interesting. In fact, there were plenty of mistakes in the references to classical music and that became irritating to me. Add to that the really lame writing -- outright mistakes of facts, awkward transitions, non sequiturs, unconvincing characterizations, verbal quirks (why do all the women have 'blazing eyes'?), unbelievable coincidences and so on. Further, his description of a college campus and its denizens is completely unconvincing (unless, of course, 'Christian' colleges are totally different from any campus I've ever been on; and perhaps they are).

I toyed with putting the book down, not finishing it. But the plot was engaging and I truly wanted to find out how it turned out. And in that regard I was not disappointed. I'm glad I read the book, for the story and for the sport of finding a solecism on just about every page.

Scott Morrison

History professor Preston Barclay and his beloved wife made beautiful music together as the perfect couple, a bond even death cannot separate. Or so it seems. He suffers from musical hallucinations--a strange harmony he somehow shares with her. Throw in a murder, a Wiccan sidekick and a plethora of humor and voila'- a Rhapsody well worth the READ!

Donn Taylor is a talented writer, master of the lettered pun. In Rhapsody, he crafted a sophisticated sleuthing tale with quirk, care and collegiate charm. A thoroughly enjoyable read.

By the end of chapter one, a dead body is discovered, a possibility exists for romance, and I've chuckled aloud! What a terrific beginning. The descriptive wording is a delightful change from the clichés of most novels; with allusions sprinkled throughout, English majors are bound to love this one!
Music lovers will appreciate the musical theme playing as pages are turned. Musical terminology and titles of music are referred to as Press goes about investigating the murder. He has musical hallucinations--uncontrollable music-like sounds inside his brain that sometimes makes clear-thinking difficult.
The major characters are both flawed. In addition to his internal music, Press is mourning the death of his wife, struggling to hang on to his university teaching schedule, and his colleague, Mara, a Wiccan, does not tolerate touching or "coloring outside the box." I liked both Press and Mara and look forward to meeting them again in a future work. If you like whodunits, this one's for you.

Donn Taylor's debut cozy, Rhapsody in Red, is a mystery "to die for" (please excuse the cliche). Preston Barclay, history professor, is an engaging character with all too human traits and a daily life accentuated with unexpected musical hallucinations. The curious combination tickled this reader's funny bone, keeping me entertained and flipping the pages. Taylor's myriad skills as a writer were front and center along with his amazing ability to spin a story. I didn't know "who done it" until the murder was revealed by the professor himself. Also enjoyable was the interaction between the protagonist and Mara Thorn, who played a reluctant Dr. Watson to Barclay's Holmes.

Overall, an expertly woven yarn that delights on every page. Don't miss it! Rhapsody in Red is delicious.

Mystery lovers, especially those who like their murders set in academia, will welcome Donn Taylor's RHAPSODY IN RED, the kickoff to what hopefully will become a new series. Plenty of humor, some quirky touches and an interesting female suspect and colleague make this a satisfying read.

Taylor's protagonist, Preston Barclay, is a recent widower who teaches history at Overton University but without tenure (which keeps tension over his job security always behind the scenes). He is in a comfortable rut and happy to be there. Since his wife's death from cancer, he has suffered from musical hallucinations that provide an unusual soundtrack for every scene.

When religious studies professor Mara Thorn and Preston discover a murdered lesbian colleague, Laila Sloan, it sets either of them up as a possible murderer. Worse yet, one of the police officers, Captain Clyde Staggart, has it in for Preston and hopes to pin the murder on him. In self-defense, the two professors team up to discover the facts for themselves, which provide many anxious moments and narrow escapes. Soon, they've uncovered secrets about the past lives of five of their university colleagues, any of whom may have committed murder.

Taylor does a good job keeping the reader turning the pages, incorporating a hook at the end of each chapter that makes the reader want to keep forging ahead. Occasionally he overuses similes ("Press, trouble finds you like male mosquitoes find a blonde in a bikini"), but many of these are fresh, despite the overuse. There's a requisite chase scene with bad guys brandishing pistols, but Taylor has a number of interestingly different themes for a Christian murder mystery novel. Mara, a religious studies professor, is a Christian turned likable Wiccan and has practiced that religion in some form for the past 15 years. Taylor presents her and her religion in an even-handed, factual way, even as she reconsiders her choice and recounts her disillusionment with Wicca in later chapters. Preston is struggling to find his way back to the faith with which he has grown disillusioned since his wife's death, but unlike some Christian novels, this is not the primary focus.

The musical hallucinations are adeptly handled by Taylor and add an interesting "soundtrack" to the plot line. "This internal music makes my life like living in a movie that some insane editor has mismatched with the music score from another," says Preston. We learn in the story that musical geniuses Ludwig van Beethoven and Robert Schumann also suffered from musical hallucinations, an interesting tidbit.

Readers familiar with Christian colleges or nominally Christian colleges will likely recognize some of the tensions that Overton University deals with. Pressure toward diversity and secularization (as with hiring Mara, the Wiccan, to teach comparative religion) and a desire to increase enrollment can make strange bedfellows in professor choices and class offerings. The cast of characters at the college also should be universally recognizable, from the Dean, Dean Billig ("Dean-Dean") in his power suit and high-pitched voice, to President J. Cleveland Cantwell, who talks with capital letters ("We wanted you to understand the Full Implications of further Unfavorable Publicity"), to the sexy physical education instructor, Brenda Kirsch.

The ending is satisfying and surprising. Hopefully, this will be the first in a series for the engaging professor Preston Barclay.

--- Reviewed by Cindy Crosby

What happens when a widowed history professor and a man-shy religious studies professor walk into a colleague's office and find her dead? You will discover a true mystery when you read Donn Taylor's new book, Rhapsody in Red.

Preston Barclay has built a reclusive life for himself. His simple days of teaching history, going home quietly, and listening to the musical hallucinations in his head end the moment Mara Thorn walks into his office seeking help. They discover the body of a fellow teacher and suddenly find themselves the prime in her murder. Mara and Preston bend a few rules and start their own investigation into the murder. Mara's lack of trust for men and Preston's distancing from women creates a tension that, in itself, complicates their search. The cast of characters all seem to have unusual connections with the dead professor and as Mara and Preston uncover the mysteries, it pushes them further from a solution.

Donn Taylor wrote an intriguing mystery. His skill with the whodunit kept me going back and forth with my own thoughts on who I thought it was. The music Preston's mind assigned to each of the people and situations he faced created a most interesting backdrop in the book. I could almost hear the background music whenever the Dean entered a page. This book is a fun read and a good mystery. I look forward to reading more of Donn's books.