What do you think?
Rate this book
Mister Puss #2
ChoirMaster
A marriage of convenience ... a crisis of faith ... a talking cat.
What could possibly go wrong?
In idyllic little Dumont, Wisconsin, the historic but financially troubled St. Alban's Episcopal Church has a new rector who plans to turn things around, a woman named Joyce Hibbard. Local architect Marson Miles puts two and two together and figures out that Mother Hibbard's husband is none other than his long-ago college friend, Curtis Hibbard, who is now a prominent New York attorney. And unless Marson is mistaken, Curtis and Joyce must have a marriage of convenience.
Mother Hibbard wants to build a fabulous new church to replace the crumbling St. Alban's. Local philanthropist Mary Questman wants her friend Marson to design it. And Mother Hibbard's husband really wants the hunky young choir director, David Lovell. But then, in a god-awful development, someone turns up dead.
It was murder, all right, and suspects abound. Once again, Marson's dashing husband, Brody Norris, steps into the role of amateur sleuth and sidekick to Sheriff Thomas Simms. And once again, Brody himself gets a bit of help--from Mary Questman's exotic cat, a chatty Abyssinian named Mister Puss.
ChoirMaster is the second book in the Mister Puss series.
What could possibly go wrong?
In idyllic little Dumont, Wisconsin, the historic but financially troubled St. Alban's Episcopal Church has a new rector who plans to turn things around, a woman named Joyce Hibbard. Local architect Marson Miles puts two and two together and figures out that Mother Hibbard's husband is none other than his long-ago college friend, Curtis Hibbard, who is now a prominent New York attorney. And unless Marson is mistaken, Curtis and Joyce must have a marriage of convenience.
Mother Hibbard wants to build a fabulous new church to replace the crumbling St. Alban's. Local philanthropist Mary Questman wants her friend Marson to design it. And Mother Hibbard's husband really wants the hunky young choir director, David Lovell. But then, in a god-awful development, someone turns up dead.
It was murder, all right, and suspects abound. Once again, Marson's dashing husband, Brody Norris, steps into the role of amateur sleuth and sidekick to Sheriff Thomas Simms. And once again, Brody himself gets a bit of help--from Mary Questman's exotic cat, a chatty Abyssinian named Mister Puss.
ChoirMaster is the second book in the Mister Puss series.
288 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2019
About the author
Michael Craft
44 books57 followersMichael Craft is the author of 20 published novels, four of which have been honored as finalists for Lambda Literary Awards. The first installment of his Dante & Jazz series, "Desert Getaway," was a 2023 MWA Edgars nominee for the Lilian Jackson Braun Award. The second installment, "Desert Deadline," was a Gold Winner of the IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award, as was his 2019 mystery, "ChoirMaster." In addition, his prize-winning short fiction has appeared in British as well as American literary journals. Craft grew up in Illinois and spent his middle years in Wisconsin, which inspired the fictitious small-town setting of Dumont, used in many of his earlier books. He holds an MFA in creative writing from Antioch University, Los Angeles, and now lives in Rancho Mirage, California, near Palm Springs, the setting of his current Dante & Jazz mystery series. In 2017, Michael Craft's professional archives were acquired by the Special Collections Department of the Rivera Library at the University of California, Riverside. Visit the author's website at www.michaelcraft.com.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
October 13, 2019
ChoirMaster (Mister Puss Mystery #2)
By Michael Craft
Questover Press, 2019
Five stars
My favorite Abyssinian has returned, and for the small city of Dumont, Wisconsin, unexplained death has returned, too. Michael Craft offers us a delicious adventure in which the action is low-key, carefully paced, and as subtle as Mister Puss’s purred messages.
“ChoirMaster” brings us back into the quiet domestic world of Marson Miles and Brody Norris. Marson is the age I am, more or less, while Brody is the age I constantly forget I’m not. While both of these men are architects, and technically Brody is Marson’s nephew (by marriage, to make that clear), they also represent two aspects of the gay world, two generations with deeply rooted differences. I point this out because this generational gap is important in the unrolling of the narrative.
That said, Brody is the narrator, who guides us through the surprisingly complex social world of this vividly described fictional midwestern town. He speaks to us in a voice that is oddly formal for someone in his mid-thirties, but that (at least for me) is a comfort rather than a drawback. In a world full of fiction loaded with contemporary tropes and millennial slang, it is lovely to read a book with this kind of mannered literary style. Brody, after all, despite being raised in California by a feminist lesbian, is a rather old soul. Brody’s attraction to older, creative men might in fact be a reaction to his mother’s world view.
Two seemingly unrelated themes in the book’s plot are gay men who are, or were, married to women; and the ongoing decline of the Episcopal church (specifically, St. Alban’s, the Episcopal church in Dumont). I confess that, being intimately familiar with both of these subjects, I was drawn into the plot quickly, curious to see what Craft would do with them. A third, immediately noticeable theme, is scent. I rather loved this, because gay romance novels tend to be obsessed with men’s cologne and after-shave, (probably because, once upon a time, a successful gay romance novelist - who turned out to be a straight woman - strongly advocated using the description of smells and scents to make one’s prose more vivid. Craft is not that simplistic. He teases quietly, letting Brody’s thoughtful observations fill our minds with details. Nothing is accidental, but not everything is equally important.
Ultimately, “ChoirMaster” is about relationships – personal, familial, community, commercial, spiritual, and psychological. Life (and death) is not about action, but about interaction. Through Brody Norris’s senses, we get to experience his life and, indirectly, those of everyone around him. Including Mister Puss. The cat.
There are some welcome references to Craft’s important Mark Manning mystery series from 20 years ago. Finally I could understand how those books link to this one. Once more, it’s a generational shift, which is another way of saying “history.” There is a marvelous little teaser right at the end that made me hanker for book 3. Like everything else in this book, this hint-of-cliffhanger is precisely placed and perfectly tuned. Mister Puss knows we’ll be back.
By Michael Craft
Questover Press, 2019
Five stars
My favorite Abyssinian has returned, and for the small city of Dumont, Wisconsin, unexplained death has returned, too. Michael Craft offers us a delicious adventure in which the action is low-key, carefully paced, and as subtle as Mister Puss’s purred messages.
“ChoirMaster” brings us back into the quiet domestic world of Marson Miles and Brody Norris. Marson is the age I am, more or less, while Brody is the age I constantly forget I’m not. While both of these men are architects, and technically Brody is Marson’s nephew (by marriage, to make that clear), they also represent two aspects of the gay world, two generations with deeply rooted differences. I point this out because this generational gap is important in the unrolling of the narrative.
That said, Brody is the narrator, who guides us through the surprisingly complex social world of this vividly described fictional midwestern town. He speaks to us in a voice that is oddly formal for someone in his mid-thirties, but that (at least for me) is a comfort rather than a drawback. In a world full of fiction loaded with contemporary tropes and millennial slang, it is lovely to read a book with this kind of mannered literary style. Brody, after all, despite being raised in California by a feminist lesbian, is a rather old soul. Brody’s attraction to older, creative men might in fact be a reaction to his mother’s world view.
Two seemingly unrelated themes in the book’s plot are gay men who are, or were, married to women; and the ongoing decline of the Episcopal church (specifically, St. Alban’s, the Episcopal church in Dumont). I confess that, being intimately familiar with both of these subjects, I was drawn into the plot quickly, curious to see what Craft would do with them. A third, immediately noticeable theme, is scent. I rather loved this, because gay romance novels tend to be obsessed with men’s cologne and after-shave, (probably because, once upon a time, a successful gay romance novelist - who turned out to be a straight woman - strongly advocated using the description of smells and scents to make one’s prose more vivid. Craft is not that simplistic. He teases quietly, letting Brody’s thoughtful observations fill our minds with details. Nothing is accidental, but not everything is equally important.
Ultimately, “ChoirMaster” is about relationships – personal, familial, community, commercial, spiritual, and psychological. Life (and death) is not about action, but about interaction. Through Brody Norris’s senses, we get to experience his life and, indirectly, those of everyone around him. Including Mister Puss. The cat.
There are some welcome references to Craft’s important Mark Manning mystery series from 20 years ago. Finally I could understand how those books link to this one. Once more, it’s a generational shift, which is another way of saying “history.” There is a marvelous little teaser right at the end that made me hanker for book 3. Like everything else in this book, this hint-of-cliffhanger is precisely placed and perfectly tuned. Mister Puss knows we’ll be back.
October 17, 2019
Mister Puss delivers!
This second foray into the world of Mister Puss - the Abyssinian cat who translates his thoughts to certain humans - is nothing less than magnificent. I could not put this book down as I once again lost myself in the world of Dumont, Wisconsin and architects Brody and Marson (and, of course, Mister Puss along with his main human, Mary Questman). The characters are intricately drawn and the mystery is superior. I had no clue whodunit, and I'm a lifelong mystery aficionado. Suffice to say I am truly invested in this world and I can't wait to see more.
This second foray into the world of Mister Puss - the Abyssinian cat who translates his thoughts to certain humans - is nothing less than magnificent. I could not put this book down as I once again lost myself in the world of Dumont, Wisconsin and architects Brody and Marson (and, of course, Mister Puss along with his main human, Mary Questman). The characters are intricately drawn and the mystery is superior. I had no clue whodunit, and I'm a lifelong mystery aficionado. Suffice to say I am truly invested in this world and I can't wait to see more.
October 14, 2019
I've read both Mister Puss books and look forward to more. Craft is an excellent writer, and this series provides an entertaining mystery populated by colorful characters. I enjoy the relationship between Marson Miles and Brody Norris that serves as the center and anchor of the cast. The talking cat continues to leave it up to the reader to decide if he really does talk, or if Brody and Mister Puss's human, Mary Questman, are just imagining it. A murder, a list of suspects, and a whodunit, all presented with skill and a page-turning plot.
January 10, 2021
He gets it
Michael Craft understands small towns and the ethos of the Episcopal Church. That’s the primary reason Choirmaster is so engaging. The characters are folks who could be your next door neighbors.
Michael Craft understands small towns and the ethos of the Episcopal Church. That’s the primary reason Choirmaster is so engaging. The characters are folks who could be your next door neighbors.
May 28, 2020
Choirmaster by Michael Craft is the second mystery featuring a savvy and charming Abyssinian cat named Mr. Puss who has very special talents. (I thoroughly enjoyed meeting Mr. Puss in the first of the series titled FlabberGassed.) Mix a bizarre murder in an Episcopal church with the sleuthing skills of architect Brody Norris and a delightful romp through the intrigues of Dumont, Wisconsin begins. Characters reappear from the first book who are like old friends, such as philanthropist Mary Questman (owner of Mr. Puss) and reporter Glee Savage (who drives a tricked-out Gremlin). You get the idea.
April 18, 2020
I really enjoyed this second book in the Mister Puss series. The story was good and the book was well written. I love the idea of Mister Puss but don't be put off by the idea of a talking cat. We don't know whether it is he who is talking or we are just getting the subconscious thoughts of the humans that he is with. Whatever you believe, it is fun.
I'm really looking forward to the next book in the series.
I'm really looking forward to the next book in the series.
January 12, 2020
A solid and interesting read in this new series from Craft; it was a plus having the added 'twist' of a 'taking Abyssinian cat'! I was kept guessing til the end of the identity and motive of the killer.
September 15, 2020
Fast read and interesting premise for a cozy mystery.
Read
October 8, 2019Lammy award-winning mystery author Michael Craft’s latest novel is a cozy, small town whodunnit with a compelling cast of characters, including a talking cat.
Read the rest of my review at Out in Print.
Read the rest of my review at Out in Print.
October 25, 2019
Silly but fun.
September 14, 2025
A fun read that will be especially appreciated by those who know the ins and outs of how a church really operates! I will read the rest in the series!
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews