Deborah J Ledford
Crime Mystery
978-1935171171
308 pages
About
Three world-class pianists.
Two possible killers.
One dead woman.
Who is her murderer?
Who will be next?
When acclaimed pianist Nicholas Kalman discovers his lover’s dead body, he sets out alone to find her killer. During his journey, he meets an unwitting female accomplice who soon becomes determined to help Nicholas wield his retaliation. Following a parallel path for justice, Steven Hawk, the deputy of a sleepy Southern county, is assigned to the case. Pursuing the investigation, Hawk finds himself entangled in a world of vengeance, greed and manipulation.
Performed against the backdrop of the Great Smoky Mountains of North Carolina, Staccato transports readers to a behind-the-scenes glimpse of professional musicians, the psychological twists and turns of its characters, and in the end, retribution that crashes in a crescendo of notes played at the literary pace of a maestro’s staccato.
Reviews
"Exciting, riveting, unforgettable characters. A touch noir, a bit gothic, full of captivating suspense. Staccato is a well-crafted psychological thriller that will keep you turning pages." - Sam Barone, award-winning author of Dawn of Empire, Empire Rising
"Staccato is a musical tempo, a beat, a rhythm. Ledford's Staccato throbs with the tensions of two prodigies vying for their diabolic mentor's approval. A gripping look at the resentments and ambitions at the highest level of musical competition where envy, jealousy and cold ambition lead to murder. And murder. And murder." - Virginia Nosky, award-winning author of Blue Turquoise White Shell, Kachina
Excerpt
Within the mansion, terror reigns. His hair is like the sun, but his eyes are dead as coal. No sparkle, no light. Teeth pearly and enticing. Lips holding an easy smile. Clothes flawless and crisp, shoes polished like mirrors, cuff links gleaming in tailored shirts. The cane tapping. Tap. Tap. Tap. You hear it approaching, but you can’t escape. His power will drain your own until you cannot run any longer. The moment you realize how much power he wields you will try to flee.
Too late, you will realize you’ve been running from evil so long the exhaustion overpowers you. Sorrow will come to rest. After your bones are too weary and your mind too spent, he will find you, haunt you, envelop you—
Three hours earlier, Nicholas Kalman had discovered what he now knew to be his father’s journal hidden in the music room of his uncle’s mansion. After reading the leather bound book for the third time, each page now appeared as a separate snapshot locked in his mind, just as every piece of classical music he had studied since the age of five. For Nicholas, the capability of a photographic memory straddled the line of celebration and curse.
Now, he struggled with the chilling realization that the words had been written by a man he had never known…and that these ominous passages were intended for him.
STACCATO
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