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Especially when her best young male singer is suspected of killing the arrogant coach of Prospect Glen's fiercest rival. To clear his name, Paige will have to sort through a chorus of suspects, and go note-for-note with a killer who wants her out of the spotlight for good.
"Delightfully witty...encore, encore!"—Miranda James, national betselling author of the Cat in the Stacks mysteries
"An intriguing mystery."—Donna Andrews
"Imagine if Stephanie Plum joined the cast of Glee, then someone proved more felonious than harmonious."—Deke Sharon, vocal producer, NBC's The Sing-Off
Paige Marshall has taken a job as a Glee Club Coach at Prospect Glen High School as she waits for the next big break to come along in her opera career. She thought professional auditions were rough but she quickly learns how cutthroat competition is for high school show choirs. These students expect to win a championship and don't believe Paige is the right coach for the job.
Finding a rival coach dead does not help matters. Then one of her students becomes the prime suspect in the investigation. Paige decides she must do everything she can to help clear his name even if it means never hitting a high note again.
What a musical debut! This story has the perfect tempo and deserves a standing ovation.
Like Glee, you will love this book!
Like cozy mysteries, you won't be able to put this one down!
Hate your choir director, this is the book for you!
You can tell the author is very familiar with this subject matter, it just sings with that personal touch.
Joelle Charbonneau has created a great cast of characters in a high school setting which as anyone knows is always full of drama. Paige has her hands full not only with the show choir kids, but her boss Larry, the Costume Designer Felicia, Detective Mike Kaiser, and her Aunt Millie too. Aunt Millie's antics will have you laughing until you are crying. Who knew one little cosmetics party could get so out of hand? Paige is also trying to make friends with her aunt's standard poodle that she calls "Killer". She has to get him to like her if she ever expects to eat again. Good thing she is a very determined woman. It will take more than a dead body and a dog poised to attack to knock her out of the spotlight.
I am hoping Murder for Choir (A Glee Club Mystery) is the prelude to many more performances for Paige Marshall and her show choir. I have fallen hard for this cast and definitely demand an ENCORE!!
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Reviewed by Alice D. for Readers Favorite
Struggling opera singer Paige Marshall needs more income, so she signs up to work with the show choir at Prospect Glen High School outside Chicago. The first line of Chapter One of "Murder for Choir" says it all: "If Dante ever added a tenth circle of hell, this would be it. "Paige is treated as an outsider and even laughed at, especially by teenage Chessie Bock, star of the show, and her boyfriend Eric Metz. Luckily, though, Paige is staying with her Aunt Millie, top Mary Kay salesperson and a delightful soul despite keeping the taxidermied bodies of her dogs on display around her house. Aunt Miliie is outspokenly supportive of her niece Paige, especially when Paige comes upon the body of rival North Shore High School's choir director, Greg Lucas. He has been strangled with a microphone. Who would do such a dreadful thing? Paige does some investigating of her own along with drama teacher Devlyn O'Shea who insists that he is gay. But will they find Greg Lucas' killer?
"Murder for Choir" is a well-written murder mystery filled with totally believable characters who back up the main character Paige. Aunt Millie, Devlyn, outspoken Chessie Bock who knows lots about Greg Lucas and his winning ways, Larry DeWeese who works with the show choir and seems to get himself in predicaments, detective Mike Kaiser, and Killer who is Aunt Millie's standard poodle, make "Murder for Choir" a delight to read from beginning to end. The plot proceeds with twists and turns until Greg Lucas' killer is revealed at the story's conclusion. "Murder for Choir" is a must for reading lists everywhere!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Source: From JKS Communications, as part of the Murder for Choir book tour
The competition between show choirs is fierce, but Paige's struggle to fit in at her new teaching position — while juggling a murder mystery of which she discovered the corpse (just her luck!) — even fiercer in Murder for Choir. For the most part, Charbonneau's first of the Glee Club mysteries is an amusing, fast-paced read. I love cozy mysteries, and found Paige's opera background and the Prospect Glen High's community to be a fresh, yet very realistic setting.
Paige never asked for any of it. All she wanted was a temporary job that would earn her enough to support her performer lifestyle. Her talent is renown — so what's she doing as an assistant choral director for snooty high school kids? Charbonneau wonderfully portrays the intimidation and desire for acceptance through Paige's relatively unworldly and clumsy eyes. While much of the interactions seem a bit exaggerated (I'm IN school, and have never encountered such rudeness that Paige deals with among her students), they do a good job at making her feel small, unwelcome. Add the murder of her rival director, an ill stream fate, and dose of curiosity (not to mention, hardheadedness), and yes, it might just be enough to do her over.
The book moves very quickly and never gets boring — that's what I love. Paige's klutziness is adorable and her humor sharp — readers will enjoy her fresh, strong-willed perspective. What I didn't favor so much was the mystery plot itself. Right off the bat, numerous suspects are listed (as Paige has the tendency to butt into situations, including murder cases, that she is instructed to stay away from). Each character Paige meets is looked at with suspicion, which doesn't leave much of a surprise nor bang at the end, when the perpetrator is finally caught. I know Charbonneau probably did this to confuse the reader and expand the pond of potential killers, but to me, it just made the conclusion dull. I like to be caught off guard, even with cozy mysteries. Murder for Choir is a fun, well-written story, but the ending just isn't worthwhile.
I don't have much to complain about regarding the writing. Charbonneau's style is acute, clever, and though a bit choppy, pleasantly straightforward. However, I didn't care for the structure of the book; it's too messy. All the events pass as a blur and none stand out significantly because the author crams too much into 294 pages. Paige attempts to solve anything and know everything, which in itself isn't a bad thing, but it does jumble the story a bit. I didn't like the inclusion of romance in this one either. Normally, I'm all for romance, but because there is no one prospect Paige is attracted to or attempts to pursue, it just adds on to the confusion. If her love interest was actually clear, it would have topped off Murder for Choir better. Heck, even if it had been expunged, and the mystery aspect of the book improved, Murder for Choir might have been better.
There's a lot I'm criticizing here, but I'm just being picky, just recording the equation for my own ideal romantic cozy mystery *grin*. Despite my little disapprovals, Murder for Choir is light, witty book that I often found myself getting immersed in. Combining endless action with plenty of speculation, it's a crisp, modern murder mystery with a fearless heroine and a satisfying (though predictable) ending .
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Murder For Choir is a cozy mystery that exceeded my expectations! I've never quite known what to think about mysteries; I love them but I always worry whether the facts and details will bore me or the suspense will just scare me to pieces. Fortunately, Joelle Charbonneau has captured my attention as a stellar author and made mystery one of my top favorite genres!
Paige Marshall is a career performer turned show choir teacher. She's the new director for Prospect Glen High School's Music in Motion team. It's not where she wants to be, but she sure makes the best of an unfavorable situation. Doing everything in her power to win her group over, she even resolves to solve the murder of a rival choir director.
For the first book in a new series, Murder For Choir jumps right into the story without a lot of background information to lead in. It was surprising, but completely welcome, to get to know Paige in her present situation before learning about what led her to the Chicago suburb of Prospect Glen. Charbonneau doesn't leave readers hanging, though, inputting Paige's personal information as the story progresses.
The biggest part of Paige's amateur sleuthing is that she takes the initiative. The lead detective on the case, Mike Kaiser, may have told her to keep her eyes and ears open, but Paige does more than that. She ferrets out clues and suspects all while preparing for the start of the school year. Her determination is unbelievable, especially since the murderer isn't too happy to discover Paige's investigation. Just about every character introduced is seen as a potential suspect so it's almost impossible to figure out the culprit until the end. I love feeling like I'm on the same level with the character, knowing facts as she learns them and putting the pieces together at the same moment.
The story was already shaping up to be fantastic, but once Paige's love life got a little wild the story became even more superb! Murder For Choir doesn't only appeal to show tune and Glee fans, but mystery and suspense lovers, too. I'm looking forward to the next bout of trouble that blows Paige's way in the next installment, End Me A Tenor!
Originally posted on Lovey Dovey Books.
Novel provided in exchange for an honest review.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted July 30, 2012
I put my review in the above headline before I realized there was a separate box.
0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted March 4, 2013
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Posted June 22, 2012
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Overview
Especially when her best young male singer is suspected of killing the arrogant coach of Prospect Glen's fiercest rival. To clear his name, Paige will have to sort through a chorus of suspects, and go note-for-note with a ...