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Angels’ Blood: Murder in the Chorus
It is concert night for the New York Luminoso Chorus, and the conductor is behaving strangely. When a leading soprano is found dead backstage, arts reporter Piper Morgan rushes to the scene and covers the murder for The New York News.
The next day, a dispute over two identical music manuscripts erupts in the chorus, drawing Piper to the plight of a forgotten 19th century composer, Lisha Lovington, whose unheard Requiem will soon be premiered by the chorus. Did Lovington plagiarize the famous composer rumored to be her lover? If so, the conductor has vowed to strike her name from the music.
Searching Lovington’s old letters for evidence, Piper finds a bombshell —a hundred-year-old coverup that, if revealed, would rock today’s music world. Then a second chorus member is murdered, and Piper realizes her quest for the truth could kill her.
The next day, a dispute over two identical music manuscripts erupts in the chorus, drawing Piper to the plight of a forgotten 19th century composer, Lisha Lovington, whose unheard Requiem will soon be premiered by the chorus. Did Lovington plagiarize the famous composer rumored to be her lover? If so, the conductor has vowed to strike her name from the music.
Searching Lovington’s old letters for evidence, Piper finds a bombshell —a hundred-year-old coverup that, if revealed, would rock today’s music world. Then a second chorus member is murdered, and Piper realizes her quest for the truth could kill her.
Kindle Edition
Published April 24, 2025
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About the author
Roberta Mantell
1 book2 followersRoberta Mantell is the pen name used by author and longtime journalist Roberta Hershenson.
For over three decades, Roberta Hershenson worked as an arts reporter and photographer for The New York Times and other prestigious publications. As an arts and culture writer, she published hundreds of music articles in The New York Times over more than 25 years. She is an East Coast native who lives and works in Manhattan, the vibrant setting for her debut novel.
She launched her fiction career under the name Roberta Mantell after being inspired by the literate mysteries of the crime writer Batya Gur.
Her debut novel, "Angels’ Blood: Murder in the Chorus", is the first in the Piper Morgan Mystery series. The story draws directly from her personal experience as a chorus singer, as it is a murder mystery set in the world of a present-day New York chorus. Roberta was a dedicated chorus member for over two decades, singing in the tenor section of groups like the Oratorio Society of New York and the Cecilia Chorus of New York. During this time, she performed dozens of times at Carnegie Hall and traveled on chorus trips to international cities, including Beijing, Prague, and St. Petersburg. She also contributes essays to the website NYCityWoman.com and leads a Manhattan writing workshop. She is currently working on the sequel to her debut novel.
For over three decades, Roberta Hershenson worked as an arts reporter and photographer for The New York Times and other prestigious publications. As an arts and culture writer, she published hundreds of music articles in The New York Times over more than 25 years. She is an East Coast native who lives and works in Manhattan, the vibrant setting for her debut novel.
She launched her fiction career under the name Roberta Mantell after being inspired by the literate mysteries of the crime writer Batya Gur.
Her debut novel, "Angels’ Blood: Murder in the Chorus", is the first in the Piper Morgan Mystery series. The story draws directly from her personal experience as a chorus singer, as it is a murder mystery set in the world of a present-day New York chorus. Roberta was a dedicated chorus member for over two decades, singing in the tenor section of groups like the Oratorio Society of New York and the Cecilia Chorus of New York. During this time, she performed dozens of times at Carnegie Hall and traveled on chorus trips to international cities, including Beijing, Prague, and St. Petersburg. She also contributes essays to the website NYCityWoman.com and leads a Manhattan writing workshop. She is currently working on the sequel to her debut novel.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
April 14, 2025
“Angels’ Blood” is an impressive debut that blends murder mystery and historical fiction in a way that feels refreshingly original.
At the heart of the story is a lost manuscript of a Requiem. The central question: Was it composed by the little-known female composer Lisha Lovington, or by the celebrated Edward Elgar? Set between England and New York, the novel immerses readers in the world of the New York Luminoso Chorus and introduces a cast of richly drawn characters. What begins as a narrative about music and legacy quickly transforms into a layered and suspenseful murder mystery.
Piper Morgan, an arts journalist accustomed to covering cultural events, is thrust into unfamiliar territory when a chorus member is found murdered. One murder becomes two, and suddenly, everyone is a suspect. The suspense is masterfully paced, and I found myself second-guessing every character’s motives.
Mantell shines brightest in her portrayal of the historical barriers faced by women in classical music—especially the challenges of creating while juggling the expectations of marriage, motherhood, and societal roles. That thread of historical truth gives the novel added depth and makes it much more than a simple whodunit.
Overall, Angels’ Blood: Murder in the Chorus is a thoroughly engaging and well-crafted read. It doesn’t feel like a debut at all—Mantell’s voice is confident, and her passion for music and history is evident on every page. If you enjoy mysteries with rich character development, historical insight, and a touch of the musical world, this one is definitely worth picking up.
At the heart of the story is a lost manuscript of a Requiem. The central question: Was it composed by the little-known female composer Lisha Lovington, or by the celebrated Edward Elgar? Set between England and New York, the novel immerses readers in the world of the New York Luminoso Chorus and introduces a cast of richly drawn characters. What begins as a narrative about music and legacy quickly transforms into a layered and suspenseful murder mystery.
Piper Morgan, an arts journalist accustomed to covering cultural events, is thrust into unfamiliar territory when a chorus member is found murdered. One murder becomes two, and suddenly, everyone is a suspect. The suspense is masterfully paced, and I found myself second-guessing every character’s motives.
Mantell shines brightest in her portrayal of the historical barriers faced by women in classical music—especially the challenges of creating while juggling the expectations of marriage, motherhood, and societal roles. That thread of historical truth gives the novel added depth and makes it much more than a simple whodunit.
Overall, Angels’ Blood: Murder in the Chorus is a thoroughly engaging and well-crafted read. It doesn’t feel like a debut at all—Mantell’s voice is confident, and her passion for music and history is evident on every page. If you enjoy mysteries with rich character development, historical insight, and a touch of the musical world, this one is definitely worth picking up.
May 1, 2025
I had heard about this book before it was released and have been eagerly awaiting it. As someone who myself sings in an elite amateur chorus very much like the one in this story, I'm so impressed with how Ms. Mantell captures the details of this unique world--the thrilling anxiety of performing, the camaraderies and rivalries among singers, the fear of being embarrassed by a bad note or early entrance, the panic of losing your place in a complicated passage. She underscores the jarring contrast between the glittery illusion onstage versus the rather creepy reality of a theater's backstage labyrinth, and the dynamics of a hundred people sharing crowded dressing rooms and bathrooms (particularly during intermission when the performers must scurry to do their business and get back on stage in 15 minutes without getting lost in the bowels of the theater or returning late to the stage).
The story begins with a backstage tragic death that is instantly suspicious, interwoven with a mystery about an antique forgotten score allegedly written by a woman--or a man. Is this plagiarism? How can we ever know who was the actual composer? An exploration of the historic dearth of great female composers enriches delving into the lost manuscript and the plan to premiere the piece--whether credited to the famous man or the unknown woman. Along with this intriguing research, we have the intrigue of the conductor's infatuation with a soprano in the chorus who sings alongside his wealthy, powerful wife, and a number of other entanglements within the chorus. All these facets are brought together by our heroine who, like our author, is not only an experienced choral singer herself, but also a journalist working for a highly respected newspaper. She doesn't give up on her quest for the truth no matter how many dead ends, stone walls, contradictory clues, unanswered questions, and personal threats she endures, and neither will the reader.
I can't help but imagine this as a movie or series, it's so rich and juicy, appealing to everyone from murder mystery fans to classical music buffs to those who just enjoy an entertaining story that weaves together counterpoint themes into a single gripping composition.
The story begins with a backstage tragic death that is instantly suspicious, interwoven with a mystery about an antique forgotten score allegedly written by a woman--or a man. Is this plagiarism? How can we ever know who was the actual composer? An exploration of the historic dearth of great female composers enriches delving into the lost manuscript and the plan to premiere the piece--whether credited to the famous man or the unknown woman. Along with this intriguing research, we have the intrigue of the conductor's infatuation with a soprano in the chorus who sings alongside his wealthy, powerful wife, and a number of other entanglements within the chorus. All these facets are brought together by our heroine who, like our author, is not only an experienced choral singer herself, but also a journalist working for a highly respected newspaper. She doesn't give up on her quest for the truth no matter how many dead ends, stone walls, contradictory clues, unanswered questions, and personal threats she endures, and neither will the reader.
I can't help but imagine this as a movie or series, it's so rich and juicy, appealing to everyone from murder mystery fans to classical music buffs to those who just enjoy an entertaining story that weaves together counterpoint themes into a single gripping composition.
May 16, 2025
This multi-layered crime novel held my interest from start to finish. Fast-paced and well plotted, it overlays a modern-day double murder with the mystery surrounding a 125-year-old classical composition. Who killed two members of a prestigious New York chorus, and why? And how might the murders relate to the discovery of two identical music manuscripts -- one handwritten by an aspiring female composer and the other by the real-life composer Edward Elgar?
Piper Morgan, arts reporter for the NY News, joins the Luminoso chorus to write a first-person profile of its dedicated members. Halfway through intermission of Handel's Messiah, Daphne, a beautiful lead soprano, falls to her death from a staircase.. An accident? Then why is there blood at the top of the stairs? And why is she stabbed with the conductor's baton?
Piper's feature goes on the back burner as she is switched to the crime beat, where she wanted to be all along. Soon she's immersed in a swirl of suspects, from a few jealous chorus members to Todd, the conductor himself, with whom Daphne was having an affair. Piper finds herself drawn to Nicole, Todd's imperious wife, whose knowledge of her husband's betrayal gives her a motive. Yet the two find themselves collaborating to prove housewife and mother Lisha Lovington is composer of the newly discovered 19th century Requiem.
I admire how the author meshed Lovington's letters to her sister and to Edward Elgar with the contemporary narrative. Lovington's "voice" felt authentic in these letters. They added depth to the plot and raised my awareness of (yet another) form of bias stifling ambitious and talented women over a century ago.
I'm excited that Piper will appear in a series. I hope to see her relationships evolve with sensitive police Detective Knowles, boyfriend Theo, and estranged friend Vicki. Will they all move forward? Mantell is an inventive storyteller and I look forward to the next episode.
Piper Morgan, arts reporter for the NY News, joins the Luminoso chorus to write a first-person profile of its dedicated members. Halfway through intermission of Handel's Messiah, Daphne, a beautiful lead soprano, falls to her death from a staircase.. An accident? Then why is there blood at the top of the stairs? And why is she stabbed with the conductor's baton?
Piper's feature goes on the back burner as she is switched to the crime beat, where she wanted to be all along. Soon she's immersed in a swirl of suspects, from a few jealous chorus members to Todd, the conductor himself, with whom Daphne was having an affair. Piper finds herself drawn to Nicole, Todd's imperious wife, whose knowledge of her husband's betrayal gives her a motive. Yet the two find themselves collaborating to prove housewife and mother Lisha Lovington is composer of the newly discovered 19th century Requiem.
I admire how the author meshed Lovington's letters to her sister and to Edward Elgar with the contemporary narrative. Lovington's "voice" felt authentic in these letters. They added depth to the plot and raised my awareness of (yet another) form of bias stifling ambitious and talented women over a century ago.
I'm excited that Piper will appear in a series. I hope to see her relationships evolve with sensitive police Detective Knowles, boyfriend Theo, and estranged friend Vicki. Will they all move forward? Mantell is an inventive storyteller and I look forward to the next episode.
April 4, 2025
Angels Blood is an outstanding novel. I began reading this book wondering if I would find a novel centered around a a 19th century requiem worth reading past the first 50 pages, I definitely did! There are 2 mysteries in one novel that both drive the narrative. With a homicide who done it combined with a who plagiarised whom, I was drawn in to the word of classical music, choruses and symphony.
Roberta Mantell tells this compelling story set against the back drop of a New York chorus of a reporter who finds herself embroiled in a story far different from the arts section piece she is there to report on as a guest chorus member. Her dogged determination to get to the bottom of both sets just the right pace for this story.
The plot centers around an historic backdrop of two 125 year old requiems being found in a gifted box of old music books and scores that are exactly identical except for the name of the composer. One is a woman, the other a male. Who ripped off whom and how does the murder of a beautiful young singer tie into this? Add in a sleazy descendant of the woman who may have written the requiem looking to turn the score into a huge windfall, a jealous bitter sometime friend, a cheating spouse, an aging editor, the reporter wanting to break into the crime beat as a result of her involvement and a police detective trying to sort out the entire mess turns this into a truly satisfying read. I highly encourage you to sit down with a warm beverage with some classical music playing gently in the background for a truly remarkable read by a very talented author.
Roberta Mantell tells this compelling story set against the back drop of a New York chorus of a reporter who finds herself embroiled in a story far different from the arts section piece she is there to report on as a guest chorus member. Her dogged determination to get to the bottom of both sets just the right pace for this story.
The plot centers around an historic backdrop of two 125 year old requiems being found in a gifted box of old music books and scores that are exactly identical except for the name of the composer. One is a woman, the other a male. Who ripped off whom and how does the murder of a beautiful young singer tie into this? Add in a sleazy descendant of the woman who may have written the requiem looking to turn the score into a huge windfall, a jealous bitter sometime friend, a cheating spouse, an aging editor, the reporter wanting to break into the crime beat as a result of her involvement and a police detective trying to sort out the entire mess turns this into a truly satisfying read. I highly encourage you to sit down with a warm beverage with some classical music playing gently in the background for a truly remarkable read by a very talented author.
April 25, 2025
Roberta Mantell really knows the score when it comes to the worlds of classical music and journalism. In this entertaining, thoroughly feminist novel, she introduces Piper Morgan, a spunky reporter with a two-tone haircut who is writing about the New York Luminoso, a volunteer chorus. Its performance of Handel’s Messiah at an arts center that could easily be Caramoor,north of New York City, is cut short when a radiant young soprano plunges to her death backstage. Piper’s got a scoop.
The chorus’s conductor, his wealthy wife and an array of singers along with a snobbish musicologist become players in Piper’s coverage. The conductor’s beloved baton, which he amusingly named Siegfried, is missing. There are plenty of sour notes in the chorus’s sexual peccadilloes and professional jealousies. Then another chorus member dies and Angels’ Blood takes flight.
Adding to the richness of Mantell’s storytelling is another mystery, about an unknown composition by a forgotten 19th century female composer that the conductor hopes will bring his chorale new acclaim. Lisha Lovington (a fictional character) turns out to be a protegee of Sir Edward Elgar, in fact among England’s better-known musical figures. Too bad an identical version of her piece then surfaces bearing the name of…drumroll, please… Elgar himself.
Throughout, the author shows how discrimination against women jumbles the musical canon, not to mention the work of reporters and editors. As a classical music fan and journalist myself, I found Angels’ Blood to be smart overture to a new mystery series.
The chorus’s conductor, his wealthy wife and an array of singers along with a snobbish musicologist become players in Piper’s coverage. The conductor’s beloved baton, which he amusingly named Siegfried, is missing. There are plenty of sour notes in the chorus’s sexual peccadilloes and professional jealousies. Then another chorus member dies and Angels’ Blood takes flight.
Adding to the richness of Mantell’s storytelling is another mystery, about an unknown composition by a forgotten 19th century female composer that the conductor hopes will bring his chorale new acclaim. Lisha Lovington (a fictional character) turns out to be a protegee of Sir Edward Elgar, in fact among England’s better-known musical figures. Too bad an identical version of her piece then surfaces bearing the name of…drumroll, please… Elgar himself.
Throughout, the author shows how discrimination against women jumbles the musical canon, not to mention the work of reporters and editors. As a classical music fan and journalist myself, I found Angels’ Blood to be smart overture to a new mystery series.
July 6, 2025
Angels’ Blood:
Murder in the Chorus
A Review
Angels Blood: Murder in the Chorus, a new mystery by debut novelist Roberta Mantell, offers a glimpse into a world unknown to most of us: the backstage life of large mixed-choral groups. Says Mantell, a veteran arts reporter for The New York Times, these groups are “packed with sexual tension and drama” from “singing (their) brains out”, leaving singers “emotionally and physically vulnerable.” It’s no surprise, therefore, that the story opens with the discovery of a gruesome murder of a beautiful young soprano, who apparently has been enjoying weekly orgies with most members of her choral group, plus a more private affair with its conductor.
This first of a promising series is no simple whodunnit, however, nor is it the only murder that takes place. In fact, there’s nothing simple about it. With a large cast of characters eager to share their own misinformation and suspicions with the police and ace arts reporter and heroine of the tale, Piper Morgan, Mantell imagines a world flush with intrigue, betrayal, and sex, not to mention the enticing prospect of fame and a get-rich-quick scheme for the one best able to navigate the maze of trap doors and red herrings that Mantell deftly plots. Handling the many characters, issues, and devices is where Mantell shines, keeping the story coherent, taut, and fast-paced, probably because her real-life experience so closely parallels Morgan’s.
Murder in the Chorus
A Review
Angels Blood: Murder in the Chorus, a new mystery by debut novelist Roberta Mantell, offers a glimpse into a world unknown to most of us: the backstage life of large mixed-choral groups. Says Mantell, a veteran arts reporter for The New York Times, these groups are “packed with sexual tension and drama” from “singing (their) brains out”, leaving singers “emotionally and physically vulnerable.” It’s no surprise, therefore, that the story opens with the discovery of a gruesome murder of a beautiful young soprano, who apparently has been enjoying weekly orgies with most members of her choral group, plus a more private affair with its conductor.
This first of a promising series is no simple whodunnit, however, nor is it the only murder that takes place. In fact, there’s nothing simple about it. With a large cast of characters eager to share their own misinformation and suspicions with the police and ace arts reporter and heroine of the tale, Piper Morgan, Mantell imagines a world flush with intrigue, betrayal, and sex, not to mention the enticing prospect of fame and a get-rich-quick scheme for the one best able to navigate the maze of trap doors and red herrings that Mantell deftly plots. Handling the many characters, issues, and devices is where Mantell shines, keeping the story coherent, taut, and fast-paced, probably because her real-life experience so closely parallels Morgan’s.
April 25, 2025
Who knew a chorus could have so much drama? Good thing for Piper Morgan to be there as everything is folding out. Not typically a crime reporter she has no other choice as she is pulled into a double cross mystery with forgotten Requiem and a murder on scene the first time it’s ever been performed by a full chorus. Could a female actually write such a beautiful masterpiece without plagiarism and who could kill such a beautiful woman right after it being preformed for the very first time? Is the truth worth everything to Piper, even her own life? Does Lisha Livingston deserve to have her recognition even many years later? Piper must decide and soon!
Murder and mayhem was this book and a great first book to this series great job Roberta Mantell
Murder and mayhem was this book and a great first book to this series great job Roberta Mantell
October 21, 2025
Multifaceted storylines that while connected had clearly different conclusions. Great book for murder mystery lovers, choral music lovers, including choral directors ,and composers. Well written.
May 3, 2025
Engaging
This was a lively and intriguing mystery with a fun, musical setting. It was fun go read of the history and inspiration in the acknowledgements.
This was a lively and intriguing mystery with a fun, musical setting. It was fun go read of the history and inspiration in the acknowledgements.
May 14, 2025
This book was absolutely fantastic. So very mysterious until the very end. It would make a very good movie.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews