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The Albert Mysteries #2
Dead in D Minor
In grade school when one of Albert's teachers had said "everybodys special," a classmates quipped, "Albert's terminally special." He was probably right. Albert had never felt at home in the world; he didn't know why people did what they did, or thought what they thought, or were the way they were. And talking to them only made things worse. Not that he really ever noticed . . . until they started killing each other all around him. Suddenly, he HAD to understand, because one of the people they were trying to kill, was him.
Praise for the first Albert Murder in a Minor Key
". . . shines with comic brilliance. Crossman has a gift for creating characters . . . who should show up in further adventures of Albert. And there should be more!" Chicago Sun-Times
"The novel is an exercise in comic style, defying disbelief. To his credit, Crossman brings it off nicely. Albert is clearly a survivor, likely to be heard from again." Los Angeles Times Book Review
"Crossman . . . creates an offbeat, sympathetic sleuth who meanders innocently through this tale like a lamb through a pack of wolves. Bravo. Encore!" Publisher's Weekly
"Albert is one of my all-time favorite fictional detectives." NYT Bestselling author Tess Gerritsen
Praise for the first Albert Murder in a Minor Key
". . . shines with comic brilliance. Crossman has a gift for creating characters . . . who should show up in further adventures of Albert. And there should be more!" Chicago Sun-Times
"The novel is an exercise in comic style, defying disbelief. To his credit, Crossman brings it off nicely. Albert is clearly a survivor, likely to be heard from again." Los Angeles Times Book Review
"Crossman . . . creates an offbeat, sympathetic sleuth who meanders innocently through this tale like a lamb through a pack of wolves. Bravo. Encore!" Publisher's Weekly
"Albert is one of my all-time favorite fictional detectives." NYT Bestselling author Tess Gerritsen
- GenresEbooks
257 pages, Paperback
First published February 26, 2011
3 people are currently reading
9 people want to read
About the author
David A. Crossman
20 books4 followersMystery writer, musician and artist David Crossman grew up on Vinalhaven and graduated from the island school in 1970.
The roots of his mother's family (Roberts) extend back to the earliest settlers on the island who arrived in the late 18th century. David stressed that he and his younger brother Matt were born on the island and therefore really are Vinalhaven natives. His older brothers Phil and Dick, however, were born in Massachusetts, and are clearly from away.
Crossman is probably best known to Maine readers as a writer of mystery novels. This, however, is not a complete job description of a man with such a diversity of talents. Phil Crossman's younger brother is the author of six books, an accomplished artist and a musician with seven albums to his credit. Currently he and his wife Barbara live in Nashville, Tennessee and, together with their son Jason, have their own TV production company.
When Crossman graduated from high school, the Vietnam War was raging. Benefitting from a high draft number, he left the island and began a peripatetic life that has taken him to "six or seven states and four or five countries". Altogether David said he and his wife Barbara, who he met in Florida, have moved 21 times.
David got the writing gene from his mother Pat, a published author, skilled designer, and talented artist. She produced "a prodigious amount of material," that he is still going through. Three of the four Crossman brothers are writers. Brother Dick is, "a good poet." Phil has been a popular columnist for the Working Waterfront and is author of the book Away Happens. David told me he and Phil, have talked about collaborating, possibly on a TV pilot. David likes the idea but emphasized that "Phil needs to learn to spell."
I asked David where he got the idea for the Bean and Ab books that have become so popular in the last decade. He told me he and his wife were living in Egypt in 1997 when he became homesick for Maine. He started writing about growing up on the island and found it helpful. The exercise ultimately turned into The Secret of The Missing Grave, published in 1999, which was the first book in the Bean Carver and Abby "Ab" Peterson series. He had so much fun he decided to continue.
What is the difference between writing for teenagers and adults? David told me he enjoys doing both. "I had vivid memories of being a teenager growing up on an island so I just plowed ahead. I was confident that I could appeal to a younger audience. Subsequently I have discovered that the series spans the generations."
Crossman's characters are drawn from people he knew growing up on Vinalhaven. The character of Ab was based on Debbie, a summer girl from New York. "She was a friend who became a flame, and is now a friend," he recalled. "We spent a lot of time together and the adventures in my books are bits and pieces of things that really happened, as well as island legends, island locations, combined with flights of fantasy and imagination".
At the end of the third book, The Legend of Burial Island (published in June 2009), David said, "Bean and Ab have aged. They started out as 12 and 13-year-olds. Now they have a tentative, rather tenuous relationship and are not sure how they feel about each other. Their hormones are beginning to kick in. It reminds me of myself back then."
Crossman's other characters are composites of people from the island although he tries to stay faithful to local types. A lot of people on the island have said, "‘I know I saw myself in your book'." "When people recognize themselves it lets me know I am being true to life." Forty years later his memories of island life remain vivid. David says he can conjure them up wherever he happens to be living.
Burial Island is an actual island, near the entrance to Carver's Harbor on Vinalhaven. And yes, there is a legend connected with it. When I told David I'd heard that his first book The Secret of the Missing Grave might lead to a possib
The roots of his mother's family (Roberts) extend back to the earliest settlers on the island who arrived in the late 18th century. David stressed that he and his younger brother Matt were born on the island and therefore really are Vinalhaven natives. His older brothers Phil and Dick, however, were born in Massachusetts, and are clearly from away.
Crossman is probably best known to Maine readers as a writer of mystery novels. This, however, is not a complete job description of a man with such a diversity of talents. Phil Crossman's younger brother is the author of six books, an accomplished artist and a musician with seven albums to his credit. Currently he and his wife Barbara live in Nashville, Tennessee and, together with their son Jason, have their own TV production company.
When Crossman graduated from high school, the Vietnam War was raging. Benefitting from a high draft number, he left the island and began a peripatetic life that has taken him to "six or seven states and four or five countries". Altogether David said he and his wife Barbara, who he met in Florida, have moved 21 times.
David got the writing gene from his mother Pat, a published author, skilled designer, and talented artist. She produced "a prodigious amount of material," that he is still going through. Three of the four Crossman brothers are writers. Brother Dick is, "a good poet." Phil has been a popular columnist for the Working Waterfront and is author of the book Away Happens. David told me he and Phil, have talked about collaborating, possibly on a TV pilot. David likes the idea but emphasized that "Phil needs to learn to spell."
I asked David where he got the idea for the Bean and Ab books that have become so popular in the last decade. He told me he and his wife were living in Egypt in 1997 when he became homesick for Maine. He started writing about growing up on the island and found it helpful. The exercise ultimately turned into The Secret of The Missing Grave, published in 1999, which was the first book in the Bean Carver and Abby "Ab" Peterson series. He had so much fun he decided to continue.
What is the difference between writing for teenagers and adults? David told me he enjoys doing both. "I had vivid memories of being a teenager growing up on an island so I just plowed ahead. I was confident that I could appeal to a younger audience. Subsequently I have discovered that the series spans the generations."
Crossman's characters are drawn from people he knew growing up on Vinalhaven. The character of Ab was based on Debbie, a summer girl from New York. "She was a friend who became a flame, and is now a friend," he recalled. "We spent a lot of time together and the adventures in my books are bits and pieces of things that really happened, as well as island legends, island locations, combined with flights of fantasy and imagination".
At the end of the third book, The Legend of Burial Island (published in June 2009), David said, "Bean and Ab have aged. They started out as 12 and 13-year-olds. Now they have a tentative, rather tenuous relationship and are not sure how they feel about each other. Their hormones are beginning to kick in. It reminds me of myself back then."
Crossman's other characters are composites of people from the island although he tries to stay faithful to local types. A lot of people on the island have said, "‘I know I saw myself in your book'." "When people recognize themselves it lets me know I am being true to life." Forty years later his memories of island life remain vivid. David says he can conjure them up wherever he happens to be living.
Burial Island is an actual island, near the entrance to Carver's Harbor on Vinalhaven. And yes, there is a legend connected with it. When I told David I'd heard that his first book The Secret of the Missing Grave might lead to a possib
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 13, 2020
Arthur is a musical genius whose knowledge of real life is lacking in numerous important respects. Having helped solve a series of murders at the college where he teaches, he needs to get away, and finds himself in a boarding house in a small town in North Carolina--a boarding house that has had a murder right next door. Despite his best intentions, Arthur finds his mind engaged, and ends up clearing one of the suspects. That is enough for Arthur--he has no desire to find the murderer. But he recognizes something strange is going on when the smell of garlic lingers in a house where it's never used for cooking, and a cat disappears and reappears with no apparent entry. When the murderer tries to kill Arthur and his newfound friends, he has to act. An anonymous blurb on the cover says "Hilarious. Heartbreaking." Whoever said it--it's fair comment.
February 10, 2013
The second Albert mystery by David Crossman. Professor Albert is a musical savant who finds himself involved in a mystery. His confusion with the world outside of music and his way of coping it, both the confusion and the world, are engaging.
August 28, 2013
I enjoyed this book and the first one too with Albert. Just a really fun read. Crossman writes so the imagination, at least mine, has no trouble "seeing" the action! There were times I laughed out loud!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews