The Beethoven Sequence

by Gerald Elias

What if the president was a political outsider with no experience in government? What if he was mentally unstable? What if he started eliminating his political opponents, one by one? What if the President of the United States was insane? It was as terrifying as it was implausible. Layton Stolz, a humble laborer, concealed a burning core of monomania and suppressed violence. Against all odds, Stolz is swept into the presidency of the United States. Coverup leads to murder as he consolidates authoritarian power. Ballard Whitmore, a young teacher falsely imprisoned for sexual misconduct, narrowly escapes assassination. Will high-spirited female reporter Sandy Duckworthy’s desperate exposé, laying bare the corruption of a president who lost his grasp of reality, save him in time?

243 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 8, 2020

About the author

Shhh! I'll let you in on a little secret. I've been leading a double life. My award-winning Daniel Jacobus mystery series is set in the dark corners of the classical music world, of which I am intimately familiar as a former violinist with the Boston Symphony, associate concertmaster of the Utah Symphony and as a conductor, composer, and teacher. The first novel in the series, “Devil’s Trill,” was a Barnes & Noble Discover: Great New Writers selection, and has been followed by six more, most recently "Cloudy With a Chance of Murder," in 2021. "Combining the deductive reasoning of Sherlock Holmes with the rhetorical finesse of Don Rickles," is what Kirkus Review wrote about the series.

But I've branched out from there. My eclectic short stories and essays have graced prestigious journals and magazines on a variety of platforms. In addition, I've written a psychological-political thriller, "The Beethoven Sequence," an anthology of short stories, a musical memoir, "Symphonies & Scorpions," and a children's book, "Maestro, the Potbellied Pig," about a young harpist who finds true love in an unusual, rambunctious pet. The first two installments of the Jacobus series, "Devil's Trill" and "Danse Macabre," are also available in unique audio books, in which I perform the music that provides clues to the listener.

I continue to my horizons as a musician, as music director of the Vivaldi by Candlelight chamber orchestra series in Salt Lake City, and as a recording artist of a first-ever recording of the sonatas of the Baroque violinist-composer, Pietro Castrucci. On we go!

Reviews

[Bonnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun read. Fun plot. Just a good mystery to escape in.