The
Iron Tongue of Midnight
A Tito Amato
Mystery
Beverle Graves Myers
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 1-59058-232-2 (1590582322)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59058-232-9 (9781590582329)
Publication Date: March 2008
List Price: $24.95
Synopsis
(from
the publisher): In September of 1740, singer Tito Amato receives a
curious invitation. The German composer Karl Johann Weber is rehearsing
a new opera at an isolated villa nestled in the hills of the Venetian mainland. Would Tito accept the
lead role? Puzzled by the air of secrecy that enshrouds the production,
but attracted by a generous fee, Tito agrees. Artist Gussie Rumbolt,
Tito’s friend and brother-in-law, has also been summoned to
paint scenes of the estate’s grape harvest.
The two men find the countryside awash with the golden hues of autumn,
but the bucolic mood quickly turns menacing when a notorious figure
from Tito’s past turns up at the villa. That night, at the
stroke of twelve, a soprano stumbles over a stranger who has been
beaten to death with the clock pendulum. With the local constable away
on a boar hunt, the midnight murderer strikes with impunity, raising
terror to a fevered crescendo. Ever faithful to the ideals of truth and
justice, Tito pursues his own quest for answers—a quest that
leads straight into the painful secrets of his heart and beyond.
Review:
The fourth Baroque mystery in the Tito Amato series by Beverle Graves
Myers, The Iron Tongue
of Midnight, has the opera singer, among many others,
rehearsing a new opera at a country house in the mainland hills of
Venice when murder makes an unexpected entrance center stage.
Vincenzo Dolfino, master of the Villa Dolfino, and his wife Octavia, an
operatic soprano, invite Karl Johann Weber, a German composer, and his
opera company to their home to rehearse and prepare for the
presentation of Weber’s new opera in Venice during the
holidays. When a stranger is murdered on their first night at the
villa, stabbed with the pendulum of a clock, no one admits to knowing
him. The local constable is away on a boar hunt, so the inquiries into
the murder are left in the capable hands of Tito Amato who, in addition
to his role as a singer, is known as an amateur sleuth. With a house
full of servants and members of the opera company, the scenarios of
what could have transpired were overwhelming. And each person has a
secret of some kind that could be fatal to his or her career. One by
one these indiscretions are revealed to Tito. He is told of a precious
jewel theft and even a murder, if only in self-defense, but
none seemed to have anything to do with the dead stranger. Tito has to
sort fact from fiction and discover who the stranger is before
he is doomed to death by the hands of the clock.
The Iron Tongue of
Midnight is a mysterious, fascinating, and often thrilling
journey into the lives of the wealthy and powerful that reside in the
18th century Venetian countryside. The depictions of the region are so
powerfully vivid that at times it seems one can smell the sweet
fragrances of the vineyards where the grape vines grow. And intertwine, not
unlike the intricate plot of this story. The delightful mix of
characters is splendidly drawn and their secrets, and whether they
remain hidden or are exposed, add a sense of intrigue and adventure to
Tito's investigation. The
Iron Tongue of Midnight is an exceptional period piece of
mystery fiction and is highly recommended.
Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of The Iron Tongue of Midnight and to Poisoned Pen Press for providing an ARC of the book for this review.
Review Copyright © 2008 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved.
Mysteries in this series ...
Interrupted Aria
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover), March 2004
ISBN-10: 1-59058-111-3 (1590581113)
Painted Veil
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover), March 2005
ISBN-10: 1-59058-140-7 (1590581407)
Cruel Music
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover), September 2006
ISBN-10: 1-59058-230-6 (1590582306)
The Iron Tongue of Midnight
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover), March 2008
ISBN-10: 1-59058-232-2 (1590582322)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59058-232-9 (9781590582329)
Omnimystery keywords for The Iron Tongue of Midnight
...
Location(s) referenced: Venice.