The Detectives Who Loved Beethoven

Dressed in formal black, the string quartet members raised their bows to begin their first number in the Beethoven Bash concert at the Journal Theatre. Before they played a note, the second violinist pitched forward, knocked his stand over, and showered the stage with white pages of music. The other three musicians almost bumped heads as they bent over the crumpled body. One loosened the fallen man’s tie while another lifted an eyelid. But they quickly realized nothing could be done to save him. In the chaos following his death, someone spirited away his high-priced Stradivarius violin. Later after a flautist also died of poisoned coffee, the musicians switched to drinking canned soda and bottled water. The killings had quite an impact on Albuquerque. The press referred to the deaths as the Beethoven murders, a catchy phrase which initiated national coverage. The name gave the city a reputation for having posh, black tie murders in addition to its hot air balloon festival. Consequently, all the concerts were sold out, standing room only. In their search for clues, Monica Walters, an English Literature teacher, and a detective from the Albuquerque Police Department investigate both the backstage participants and the audience to find the murderer., ISBN13: 9780692401200 ISBN10: 0692401202 Material Type: paperback