Devil In The Music [Hardcover]

It needed more editing to shorten it, and I found myself distracted by life's circumstances too often to be able to submerse myself in the story. As stated by others, the characters were hard to identify with (or like), even Julian and Dipper, who I've liked in the past. The ending went on forever - tying up all the loose ends and plot twists. There were too many characters to keep track of - it required a guide at the beginning to account for everyone. Most disappointing to me - I really couldn't figure out the historical significance of the time period - I guess I just didn't really care.

If you've got time, patience, and geniune interest I'm sure you'll like this book a lot, and think it deserves 5 stars. I did like all of the other Ross books/stories and felt obligated to read this one through to the end since there won't be any more.

Julian Kestrel, an English "dandy" (and apparently in those days the word was not a disparagement), is traveling on the continent, and decides to try his hand at solving the murder. He is apparently experienced at such things, having been the hero of three (?) previous books by Ms. Ross, which I haven't read. So he travels to Italy, along with his somewhat curmudgeonly friend Dr. MacGregor, inveigles his way into the inner circle of the widow, and begins to detect.

Ross does a fine job of portraying the post-Napoleonic period in northern Italy, as its political intrigues run rampant even while the rich and famous are enjoying their operas, their villas, and other perquisites of their status. The murder plot is one of the most complex I have ever encountered in a mystery (and I have read hundreds of them). In fact, once the murder is solved and all the "good guys" rescued from danger, it still requires another 40 pages to explain all the events in the story. Those last 40 pages strike me as very slightly clumsy, as Julian goes from person to person, interviewing them all until every t has been crossed and every i dotted. Perhaps Ross didn't realize until she got to that point in the story, that there were dozens of loose ends to be tied up.

But the writing is excellent, the characters well drawn, and the motivations plausible. And again, the portrayal of the Italian society in that time period is particularly vivid and enjoyable. I second the grief of the previous reviewer who expressed disappointment upon learning of the death of the author, who apparently died while still in her early 40's. This book definitely made me want to go back and read the other Julian Kestrel novels, and I'm sorry that there won't be any more of them.