Murder Duet A Musical Case

In this, Batya Gur’s long-awaited fourth mystery, the intelligent and charming Israeli policeman Michael Ohayon once again becomes involved in a murder investigation set in a richly evocative Israeli milieu. This time we find ourselves following the strains of the Israeli classical music world.

As the novel begins Ohayon is about to push Play on his CD player to listen to a beloved recording of Brahms’s First Symphony. Feeling lonely but assured in his decision to spend the evening alone, he hears what sounds like a baby crying. And indeed, in a stairwell just outside his door in a small cardboard box is a real live baby, wailing furiously. This event leads to his meeting a neighbor, Nita van Gelden, who is a single mother, a cellist, and part of an extended family of internationally known musicians. Nita’s brother Theo is a famous conductor, her brother Gabriel a violinist, their father the owner of a prestigious music store. When a member of this illustrious family is murdered, Ohayon becomes involved with the investigation.

From the first strains of Brahms to the newly discovered sheet music for an unknown requiem, Murder Duet unfolds at an allegro pace. Lovers of crime novels, as well as music aficionados, will thrill to every dulcet note.