ChoirMaster: A Mister Puss Mystery

by Michael Craft

Overview

A marriage of convenience ... a crisis of faith ... a talking cat.What could possibly go wrong?In idyllic little Dumont, Wisconsin, the historic but financially troubled St. Alban's Episcopal Church has a new rector who plans to turn things around, a woman named Joyce Hibbard. Local architect Marson Miles puts two and two together and figures out that Mother Hibbard's husband is none other than his long-ago college friend, Curtis Hibbard, who is now a prominent New York attorney. And unless Marson is mistaken, Curtis and Joyce must have a marriage of convenience.Mother Hibbard wants to build a fabulous new church to replace the crumbling St. Alban's. Local philanthropist Mary Questman wants her friend Marson to design it. And Mother Hibbard's husband really wants the hunky young choir director, David Lovell. But then, in a god-awful development, someone turns up dead.It was murder, all right, and suspects abound. Once again, Marson's dashing husband, Brody Norris, steps into the role of amateur sleuth and sidekick to Sheriff Thomas Simms. And once again, Brody himself gets a bit of help-from Mary Questman's exotic cat, a chatty Abyssinian named Mister Puss.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780578523750
Publisher:	Questover Press
Publication date:	10/01/2019
Series:	Mister Puss , #2
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 9.02(h) x 0.65(d)

About the Author

Michael Craft is the author of sixteen novels, including the acclaimed Mark Manning mystery series, from which three installments were honored as finalists for Lambda Literary Awards: Name Games (2000), Boy Toy (2001), and Hot Spot (2002). In addition, he is the author of two produced plays, and his prize-winning short fiction has appeared in British as well as American literary journals.

Craft grew up in Illinois and spent his middle years in Wisconsin, which inspired the fictitious setting of Dumont, used in many of his books. He holds an MFA in creative writing from Antioch University, Los Angeles, and now lives in Rancho Mirage, California.

In 2017, Michael Craft's professional papers were acquired by the Special Collections Department of the Rivera Library at the University of California, Riverside. A comprehensive archive of his manuscripts, working notes, correspondence, and other relevant documents, along with every edition of his completed works, is now cataloged and made available for both scholarly research and public enjoyment. Visit the author's website at www.michaelcraft.com.

Editorial Reviews

“Craft’s prose, with its affectionate digs at gossipy Episcopal parishes and affluent gay culture, is cheery in a way that keeps the novel from ever getting too dark, even with the murderous subject matter … Compellingly odd … this cozy setting with its nosy inhabitants makes for a lovely place to spend a few hours trying to figure out whodunit and why. A satisfying mystery, pleasantly told.” — Kirkus Reviews

“Readers looking for a murder mystery that goes beyond a whodunit to probe the hearts, minds, and lives of small-town residents will relish the realistic setting, diverse characters, and quirky cat profiled in ChoirMaster … An intriguing, fast-paced story … a satisfying series addition standing nicely on its own four paws.” — Midwest Book Review

From the Publisher

2019-07-11
This second installment of a series offers another adventure for a crime-solving architect and his friend's talented cat.

Mary Questman—a wealthy widow, noted philanthropist, and owner of Mister Puss, the beautiful Abyssinian cat who just might have the ability to speak—receives a letter from the new rector at St. Alban's Episcopal Church in her hometown of Dumont, Wisconsin. When Joyce Hibbard requests that Mary fund a project to either restore or rebuild the soon-to-be-condemned St. Alban's church building, the philanthropist insists that she will only participate if her friend and noted local architect Marson Miles is involved. While Joyce is walking Marson and his husband, Brody Norris—who is also the partner in his architectural firm, Miles & Norris, as well as something of an amateur sleuth—around the property, they come across the body of their new friend, David Lowell, the choir director and organist of St. Alban's. But who would want the choir director dead? Could it be one of the new people in town: Joyce or her husband-of-convenience, Curtis—a wealthy gay lawyer whom Marson knew in college and who recently asked David on a date? Or Curtis' friend and former lover, the famous ballet dancer Yevgeny Krymov? With the help of the local sheriff, Thomas Simms, and the preternatural Mister Puss, Brody will have to don his detective coat once again to catch the killer before anyone else drops dead. Craft's (FlabberGassed, 2018, etc.) prose, with its affectionate digs at gossipy Episcopal parishes and affluent gay culture, is cheery in a way that keeps the novel from ever getting too dark, even with the murderous subject matter. After Joyce, who came to religion late in life (and perhaps not because of God), quotes Philippians at a dinner party, her husband says, "You're laying it on a bit thick, aren't you, Poopsie?" The characters are all compellingly odd, operating in a gray area between noble and self-serving that will keep readers guessing at their underlying motives. While the author hardly reinvents the wheel, this cozy setting with its nosy inhabitants makes for a lovely place to spend a few hours trying to figure out whodunit and why.

A satisfying mystery pleasantly told.

Kirkus Reviews