The Sound of Murder: Musicals Are Murder #1

by Joseph Zellnik

Being out of town with a musical can be murder...

October 3, 1959: Rodgers & Hammerstein’s latest musical, “The Sound of Music,” starring Mary Martin, has just had its world premiere in New Haven, the first stop on its road to Broadway. But for one member of the company it will prove to be the final performance. The following morning, the lifeless body of beautiful newcomer Eva Rossi – Mary Martin’s understudy – is discovered in a bizarrely-appointed hotel room, beneath a wall defaced with a bloody How do you solve a problem like Maria?

As the case gets stranger, assistant stage manager Lee Solomon finds himself cast in the role of company sleuth. Forced to play go-between for producers, police, and the mercurial star (and her controlling husband), Lee soon finds he has a natural talent for detection. But can he uncover the culprit or culprits, before anyone else dies?

First in a new historical mystery series celebrating classic musicals from Broadway's Golden Age!

"...while you’re shopping for books for your summer vacation, do bring along Joseph Zellnik’s The Sound of Murder. Show-music fans will enjoy the pitch-perfect historical detail, and it’s also a crackling good story." – John McWhorter, The New York Times, 8/7/25

"A captivating, glorious book... If you've ever craved a time machine to visit another era of Broadway, look no further! Joseph Zellnik has crafted a tale that is so deeply embedded in real theatre history that readers will wonder which salacious details are actually fiction! The Sound of Murder is populated with characters that I couldn't get enough of. Not only was I dying to know whodunnit...I was also dying to know what each character would do next. I didn't want The Sound of Murder to end, because it was the ultimate compelling historical fiction read for theatre nerds. A terrific book!" – Jennifer Ashley Tepper, author of Women Writing Musicals and 4 volumes of The Untold Stories of Broadway

"Stuffed with backstage intrigue, a killer cast, and a clever murder mystery, The Sound of Murder will be on every musical lover’s list of favorite things. With style and wit to spare, Zellnik weaves together his obvious love for theatre history and Christie-style puzzlers into one singular sensation (wrong musical, but you get the idea). An absolute delight!" – Thomas Mizer, Emmy-nominated songwriter for The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

"Addictive and, amazingly, historically accurate down to the euphemism that Mary Martin used in place of a profanity. If God is in the details, then Joseph Zellnik is arguably divine!" – Peter Filichia, Broadway Radio

"Joseph Zellnik – composer of the highly-regarded musical Yank!, now turned crime novelist – [delivers] a delightful romp for Broadway musical fans!" – Steven Suskin, author of The Sound of Broadway Music and Offstage Observations

"A total surprise – and a delight. It’s a bold choice to create a murder mystery fantasy around the facts of an out-of-town tryout of a much loved musical – and one whose movie version remains the most popular musical film of all time. Bravo!" – Ted Chapin, former President of the Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization, and author of Everything Was The Birth of the Musical Follies

Genres: Mystery, Fiction

426 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 3, 2025

About the author

Beyond the literary sphere, Joseph is a Drama Desk-nominated theatrical composer, best known for the off-Broadway hit "Yank!", which has had successful productions in New York, London, Manchester, Brisbane and Rio de Janeiro (Winner 2017 CENYM Award for Best Musical) as well as numerous cities around the US.

Reviews

[Katie Morrison · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this one! The author did an excellent job describing what it’s like to work in theatre and I loved the footnotes along the way to fill in any industry gaps. The plot happily kept me guessing until then end.

[Christine Eskilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rounded up from 3 1/2 stars. It felt a bit overstuffed with Broadway musical trivia but the mystery was solid.

[Diana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't like mysteries. Mysteries are always throwing facts and plot in my face, when what I really want is for characters to have witty conversations that reveal their characters, preferably somewhere outdoors, in a beautifully described natural world. Or for a secret book to be discovered, or for a northern landscape that has to be survived in specific ways, with details of fishing or bread-baking, or for complicated and possibly funny relationships between family members or friends to unfold.

So it says something that I really enjoyed this! I grew up on my stomach on living room floors, my feet up in the air, singing along to the record album that was playing, the lyrics on the album cover open in front of me. I really love musicals. Almost everything I know about Jesus came from Jesus Christ Superstar. I wildly looked forward as a child to The Simple Joys of Maidenhood. And the first spark of desire I ever felt was when Maria danced with Captain Von Trapp in the garden.

I love The Sound of Music. Shut up! I don't care if it's not cool.

This mystery sets us down in 1959, as the production of the new musical The Sound of Music, is on the road before its Broadway premiere, first in New Haven, then in Boston. Mary Martin is the leading lady and an important character in the novel. The author obviously steeped himself in research, and the world is so real. Of course there's a murder, and the main character, an assistant stage manager, gets really involved in the investigation. The characters are good, too. I especially enjoyed the parts that included a dying Oscar Hammerstein. There's even the beginning of a sweet little romance.

I think this is the first in a series, and I hope so!

[Joseph · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just finished reading "The Sound of Murder" by Joseph Zellnik, published by Ziggurat Books.
Now as frequent readers of my reviews here on social media are aware of, I will always be forthcoming when I have a connection with a author, or musician, or an artist, or a singer/actor, or movie producer. Joseph Zellnik, and his brother David are the creative geniuses behind Yank!: A WWII Love Story, and back in 2010 David was kind enough to send me a demo on a burned CD of the show's songs, and both David and Joseph was kind enough to send me a CD of the cast album when it was released by PS Classics because I wrote a review of the songs on the demo that David mailed out to me.
Flash forward 15 years later when Amazon recommended "The Sound of Murder" by Joseph Zellnik and I was immediately intrigued enough to add it to my Amazon cart and buy it. It's not everyday that successful producer of musicals and noted Broadway historian takes pen in hand and writes an intriguing murder mystery centering around one of the most successful and beloved musicals of all time.
Young assistant stage manager Lee Solomon finds himself playing sleuth when Mary Martin’s understudy is found dead in a crime scene disturbingly linked to the show. Lee is soon caught between wanting justice for the dead newcomer and the demands of his bosses -co-producers Richard Rodgers and Richard Halliday—Mary Martin’s overbearing husband. They want to keep the investigation quiet so the musical can succeed. Lee keeps unearthing secrets as the company moves from New Haven to Boston to New York, digging deeper and deeper into his colleagues’ backgrounds and movements to the shocking conclusion where the motive is revealed.
I am looking to the next novel in Zellnik's "Musicals Are Murder" series!
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
TEN STARS!







https://www.amazon.com/Sound-Murder-M...

[Andrew Gerle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely unique – a terrific murder mystery inside a detailed and accurate theater history. You feel like you're living with Rodgers & Hammerstein, Mary Martin, and the whole backstage crew as they bring The Sound of Music to Broadway, all while trying to figure out a shocking murder. Zellnik writes musicals, too, so he knows the world and writes about it like an expert. Time travel at its best, and great characters (both fictional and non-). Definitely recommend for anyone who loves Broadway, historical murder mysteries, or both!

[Jean Koppen · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Sound of Murder creatively combines two personal loves of mine - murder mystery and broadway theatre! Ingeniously set during the out of town tryout for The Sound of Music, we get not only an intriguing mystery but the insider background of one of the most enduring musicals in American theatre. How perfect that our "detective" is the Stage Manager - everyone's theatre hero. I simply cannot wait for the next book in this series. I'm hooked!

[Amanda Vrany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved learning about the inner workings of a Broadway show and what the theater community of the 1950s was like. This was also a well crafted murder mystery that had me guessing. A fun summer read when you want something light, engaging and nostalgic.

[Mim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not just a fun whodunit with a great twist ending (and a well-earned one), but so much fun backstage detail about musical theatre in general and Sound of Music specifically. Adored it.

[Pat · Rating 5 out of 5]

The backstage activities and interactions made this an usually interesting mystery.

[Victoria Huston-Elem · Rating 5 out of 5]

An expertly written, witty whodunnit from an author who clearly understands the dynamics of the theatre world from behind the scenes. Kept me guessing each step of the way!

In a genre where characters can often become stereotypes, Zellnik manages to find depth, heart, and substance - well rounded humans in mysterious circumstances will always keep my pages turning. Highly recommend for anyone who enjoys a mystery, even if you’ve never been to the theatre.

[Kristin H · Rating 4 out of 5]

The musical theatre kid / archivist in me was delighted by this book. An Agatha Christie style detective romp set backstage with REAL musical theatre history facts? An inside look into the 1959 out of town tryout of The Sound of Music? Sign me up. What a brilliant idea and I will definitely read the authors next installment of the Musicals are Murder series.