Quick-take: Good Premise. Weak Execution.

Dan's Review

Dr. Gethsemane Brown was recently hired to teach orchestra at a premier high school in Ireland. While there, she discovers a ghost who tells her about a cold murder case, and she decides to help solve it to bring solace to the ghost.

I thought this book had really good promise... mystery, murder, music, and a ghost. The book failed to deliver.

First complaint: Dr. Gethsemane Brown

She is very boring. She is a young woman of exceptional skill and zero character flaws. She is a virtuoso violinist, a softball state champion, world traveler, knowledgeable in distillation, knowledgeable in engineering, knowledgeable in teaching, and on, and on.

After this book, she can add another accomplishment: Cold Case Detective. There is literally nothing she can't do. The book always has an answer though: "My sister is a blah." "My dad is a scientist" "My uncle is a lawyer" "I once stayed at blah".

And, of course, she has become a world-traveling PhD-holding violinist just in her early 30s. Why is she both broke and able to special-order bourbon?

Second complaint: No music

The book is "Murder in G Major". Gethsemane was hired to teach orchestra. There is very, very little orchestra in this book. The only musical element about the book is her job title is "Director of Music '' at the school. If the book did not remind me every few chapters by having a couple paragraphs of her getting frustrated with the music class, I would have forgotten.

Third complaint: Timeline is too fast

She has 6 weeks to whip the orchestra in shape and also solve a 25 year-old cold case. The cold case could be possible if you get a very lucky break. The first task is impossible.

The school is supposedly a near bottom-tier orchestra that wants to jump to the top at the contest. Gethsemane has 6 weeks. She takes over, and has new music written in the middle of this task. 2 months is beyond bonkers.

It is even more unbelievable when 90% of her time is solving the murder. She must be absolutely amazing during normal class time to be able to devote zero after school prep time to this incredible task.

Score: 2/5. Apparently, this book kicks off the Gethsemane Brown series, of which I have no interest.