Secret Lament

December 14, 2009
Southey’s entertaining third 18th-century mystery (after 2008’s Chords and Discords
) finds Newcastle-upon-Tyne musician Charles Patterson disgruntled that an Italian, John Mazzanti, has displaced him from his conducting job. That he must play the violin instead of his beloved harpsichord only adds insult to injury. The imperious Italian “was born to be murdered,” but it’s the dead body of Mazzanti’s lovely but vocally challenged daughter, Julia, that Patterson discovers facedown on a cobblestone street one hot June night. Attuned to the spirit world, the acutely observant Patterson once again turns sleuth. Might the culprit be one of Julia’s many suitors, or is the crime related to her father’s secret dealings? While some may find the ghostly intrusions an unnecessary frill, vibrant characters, reminiscent of those in Beverle Graves Myers’s Tito Amato series, make this historical a rewarding read.