The latest addition to Agora Books’ Uncrowned Queens of Crime series is a book by an author I thought was new to me, but it turns out I’ve read a few of her books under another of her pseudonyms, Anne Melville. This one, Murder to Music, was her first novel and was originally published in 1959 under the name Margaret Newman. It’s an excellent murder mystery and could have been the start of a great series had the author not moved on to other genres (such as the Anne Melville family sagas).
Delia Jones is on the managing committee of the Metropolitan Choir, who are preparing to give a performance of a new mass composed by their conductor, Evan Tredegar. At the beginning of the novel, we meet the other members of the committee, whom we quickly discover are not the happiest group of people. Below the surface, there are tensions, secrets and resentments, some of which we won’t be aware of or fully understand until later in the story. The assistant conductor, Owen Burr, is particularly unpopular with the rest of the choir, so when he is shot dead just as the performance draws to a close there is no shortage of suspects.
Detective Superintendent Simon Hudson is watching from the audience and is able to begin an immediate investigation. However, things are going to be slightly difficult for Simon…because Delia Jones happens to be his girlfriend. Can she be ruled out as a suspect? Then, just as Simon thinks he has uncovered the motive and is about to identify the murderer, a second death takes place and he is forced to reassess everything he thinks he knows so far.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The characters are strong, with some of them given interesting back stories, and the reasons behind the complex relationships and long-standing feuds between the members of the choir feel believable. I also liked the setting, which made a change from the country house or small village settings which are so common in this type of detective novel. I’m not sure whether Margaret Newman had a musical background, but I felt that she seemed to really understand what was involved in the staging of a musical performance and what it was like to be part of a choir.
As a mystery, I thought the plot worked well and I was surprised by some of the developments in the second half of the book, having been led in the wrong direction for most of the first half! I kept changing my mind between one suspect and another, but in the end I was happy just to let Simon Hudson solve the mystery for me. It’s a shame this seems to be the only book featuring Simon and Delia, but I will be reading more by this author, under her various pseudonyms, and have the third book in her Hardie trilogy lined up to read soon.
Thanks to Agora Books for providing a copy of this book for review via NetGalley.
She Reads Novels 
I’ll have to look for this one. It sounds like a very fun mystery, and one I would enjoy reading. 🙂
It was very entertaining. I think you would enjoy it.
A completely new name to me, and as you say a pity that she didn’t carry on and develop the characters into a series. I wonder what made her change direction?
I sometimes find that when these forgotten authors are brought back into print, there’s a good reason why they’ve been forgotten, but I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve read by her, under both the Margaret Newman and Anne Melville names. This book really felt like the first in a series, so it’s a shame no others were written.
I’ve requested this from netgalley. I do hope I get it! Thanks for the update
Good luck – I hope you get it!
This one looks fun, and I love the cover!
Yes, I love that cover too.
Sounds like another hidden gem! I wish I had two heads so that one of them could spend all its time reading vintage crime… 😉
Good idea – that’s the only way we could keep up with all these tempting reissues!
I have this to read, and I’m very much looking forward to it.
I hope you enjoy it.
A choir sounds the perfect backdrop for politics and general tensions and resentments. Sounds a bit Morse-ish or Agatha Christie-ish.
Yes, the choir was an interesting setting and something a bit different. It wasn’t as good as an Agatha Christie, but it was a similar type of book and I really enjoyed it.