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Orchestrated Murder
Something is terribly wrong at Symphony Hall. Luigi Spadafini, the symphony's star conductor, has been murdered―and the entire orchestra has confessed to the crime. This is the mess that Detective Lieutenant Pratt walks into one Saturday morning. Overworked and tired, he's also saddled with Detective Ellis, the newest member of the homicide squad and still very wet behind the ears.
With both the mayor and several big shots from the symphony's board of directors demanding a speedy resolution of the crisis, Pratt is pushed to the limit. The trouble is, he also faces a seemingly endless list of suspects with good reasons to want the philandering Spadafini dead. With the clock ticking, Pratt is forced to use both his wits and the computer skills of Detective Ellis to solve the mystery.
With both the mayor and several big shots from the symphony's board of directors demanding a speedy resolution of the crisis, Pratt is pushed to the limit. The trouble is, he also faces a seemingly endless list of suspects with good reasons to want the philandering Spadafini dead. With the clock ticking, Pratt is forced to use both his wits and the computer skills of Detective Ellis to solve the mystery.
122 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2011
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23 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
April 12, 2019
I saw Rick at a library event last night and he talked about this book so I went straight to the library today to get it. It was only 122 pages so it took me about an hour to read but I really enjoyed.
Detective Pratt gets assigned the case of a young maestro who was murdered at the new Opera House. He gets assigned Det. Ellis, who has only been on the job a couple of weeks. When they get to the scene of the crime it is chaos because all 76 or so members of the orchestra confessed to the murder. Turns out the maestro was a great musician but a lousy human being.
Together the solve the mystery in a very enjoyable book. I will read more in this series.
Detective Pratt gets assigned the case of a young maestro who was murdered at the new Opera House. He gets assigned Det. Ellis, who has only been on the job a couple of weeks. When they get to the scene of the crime it is chaos because all 76 or so members of the orchestra confessed to the murder. Turns out the maestro was a great musician but a lousy human being.
Together the solve the mystery in a very enjoyable book. I will read more in this series.
November 25, 2023
A fast entertaining read. The characters are well developed, the plot is plausible, and the special orchestra setting adds to this mix. Mr. Blechta is to be commended for entertaining us without any blood and gore. a classic murder/mystery.
July 3, 2017
This is a tightly written police procedural with a winning plot. It is a short book a person could easily finish in an afternoon.
January 19, 2020
Great read
This book was very interesting. It had mystery and a twist to the plot. Not a very long book but it was very detailed and kept my attention. I couldn’t put it down.
This book was very interesting. It had mystery and a twist to the plot. Not a very long book but it was very detailed and kept my attention. I couldn’t put it down.
September 25, 2020
kinda fun
July 23, 2022
Enjoyable mystery and a fairly short read. A new author for me. Will look at his other titles.
May 26, 2025
Good especially for how short it is. Would be interested to read other books from this author.
September 27, 2025
It was a fast mystery read. It was like a TV show. The author understood the material. It wasn't too dirty.
December 28, 2011
When Detective Pratt arrives at Symphony Hall to see what all the brouhaha is about, he is told that Luigi Spadini, the orchestra leader is dead; not of natural causes judging by the cello wire wrapped around his neck. Detective Pratt and his rookie squad member, Ellis, start the investigation in the normal way but are flummoxed when they find out the entire orchestra has confessed to his murder. Really? Seriously? I couldn't get 4 people to agree on dinner, never mind getting a large crowd to lie about committing a major felony. A little implausible to say the least.
As it turns out, of course, everyone hated Spadini; admittedly a genius but he was a tough taskmaster, a womanizer and just a plain old SOB. It seems the orchestra members used to joke about the different methods of doing him in. I guess someone really meant it!
Even though Ellis is brand new in the department, he is skilled in technology while Detective Pratt is pretty much just putting in time until his retirement and thinks technology a waste of effort. Good old-fashioned police work should suffice. You guessed it! The rookie shows up the veteran detective. Quite the cliched plot we have here. No sense of place and with little character development along with a few weak plot points, this book was a "meh" read for me. The best thing is it was short.
A review copy was provided by Raven Books/LT in exchange for my honest opinion.
As it turns out, of course, everyone hated Spadini; admittedly a genius but he was a tough taskmaster, a womanizer and just a plain old SOB. It seems the orchestra members used to joke about the different methods of doing him in. I guess someone really meant it!
Even though Ellis is brand new in the department, he is skilled in technology while Detective Pratt is pretty much just putting in time until his retirement and thinks technology a waste of effort. Good old-fashioned police work should suffice. You guessed it! The rookie shows up the veteran detective. Quite the cliched plot we have here. No sense of place and with little character development along with a few weak plot points, this book was a "meh" read for me. The best thing is it was short.
A review copy was provided by Raven Books/LT in exchange for my honest opinion.
November 30, 2011
The Rapid Reads imprint features adult characters and situations rather than the teens featured in the Orca series. While the reading level remains low, the appeal for middle and high school students will also be quite low.
Detective Pratt is called in to solve the murder of the symphony orchestra conductor. The biggest obstacle is that all 76 members of the orchestra have confessed to doing the deed. Pratt and his assistant Ellis must sift through all the evidence to figure out who the real culprit was.
Detective Pratt is called in to solve the murder of the symphony orchestra conductor. The biggest obstacle is that all 76 members of the orchestra have confessed to doing the deed. Pratt and his assistant Ellis must sift through all the evidence to figure out who the real culprit was.
May 4, 2012
A typical whodunit about the murder of a maestro of one of the top Canadian orchestras in Toronto. The ending was quite predictable - actually the first scene that the murderer was in I guessed he/she was the culprit! I didn’t get how 76 members of the orchestra all confessed, but then when they were individually questioned they all had alibis? Where did the mass confession go? It was interesting in that Blechta combined his love of crime fiction with music, and I haven't read other mysteries with that theme, however, it was pretty standard otherwise and didn't exactly grab me.
January 28, 2016
I read this book because I am looking for reading material for two women from Japan who I tutor through an ESL program. They both like mysteries and the book is around the right reading level for them.
It is an interesting story and moves quickly. The vocabulary will be a little bit challenging for my students, but they should be able to follow along with a dictionary or smartphone translation app. It is an adult story and does not require a lot of specific context or background knowledge to understand which is good. I am interested to see what they think of it.
It is an interesting story and moves quickly. The vocabulary will be a little bit challenging for my students, but they should be able to follow along with a dictionary or smartphone translation app. It is an adult story and does not require a lot of specific context or background knowledge to understand which is good. I am interested to see what they think of it.
December 27, 2011
This is really a short story and I wish it was a full-length book. I was starting to like both the main detective and the new detective he is training. However, in so few pages the reader isn't able to get a good sense of the mystery and suspects. There really aren't clues planted along the way, so the conclusion seems like it could have been anyone without the "oh yes, I see how we were leading to that."
September 25, 2014
Picked up this book since it brings together two of my favorite topics, murder and music.
But it turned out to be quite underwhelming, perhaps partly due to the relatively short length.
But it turned out to be quite underwhelming, perhaps partly due to the relatively short length.
August 31, 2015
It's a quick read c 138 e-pages. It was fun & fast. Quick character development & I liked the characters. It all took place in one day & the murder was easily solved.
January 3, 2024
A good short read. Personally I thought it was boring but if you enjoy mystery novels it's good.
January 27, 2019
Predictable.
September 14, 2017
It was an interesting read. I discovered these Rapid Reads books at my local library a couple of years ago. I like how the authors are able to tell a complete story, and in this case, solve a murder, with such a short word-count. I find that an encouraging thing for aspiring writers.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews