Orchestrated Murder

By Rick Blechta

Something is terribly wrong at Symphony Hall. Luigi Spadafini, the symphony's star conductor, has been murdered-and the entire orchestra has confessed to the crime. This is the mess that Detective Lieutenant Pratt walks into one Saturday morning. Overworked and tired, he's also saddled with Detective Ellis, the newest member of the homicide squad and still very wet behind the ears. With both the mayor and several big shots from the symphony's board of directors demanding a speedy resolution of the crisis, Pratt is pushed to the limit. The trouble is, he also faces a seemingly endless list of suspects with good reasons to want the philandering Spadafini dead. With the clock ticking, Pratt is forced to use both his wits and the computer skills of Detective Ellis to solve the mystery.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Raven Books
• Release date: Oct 1, 2011
• ISBN: 9781554698868

Rick Blechta

Rick Blechta brings his musician's viewpoint to the thriller genre in such novels as Shooting Straight in the Dark, When Hell Freezes Over, and The Fallen One. Cemetery of the Nameless was shortlisted for an Arthur Ellis Award for Best Crime Novel. Rick is an active musician in Toronto.

Reviews for Orchestrated Murder

[thornton37814 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The conductor of an orchestra is murdered. When the entire orchestra confesses, Detective Lt. Pratt knows he and the young detective sent with him have their work cut out for them. Using their own unique skills, they are able to determine the identity of the person who did the dastardly deed. This book is part of the Rapid Reads series designed for persons learning English as a second language or who are reluctant readers. I read the entire book in under an hour and enjoyed it immensely. This book did not suffer from many of the plotting issues that short stories and novellas do, although it could have been developed in greater detail and with richer words for more advanced readers. This is the first book I've read by Blechta, but I'll be looking for other books he has written.

[debavp · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is another selection of the Rapid Reads program, As with a previous story from them, it took me less than an hour, start to finish. This go round, I didn’t care as much for the story, perhaps because it felt like I was reading a script for a entertainment news re-enactment more than reading an actual short story. As with my prior selection, as a tool for helping in adult literacy programs, this would be another good choice. I also think it would be great for someone that wanted a light ,quick read, something that could be finished in a waiting room.

[busyreadin · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This was my first experience with a "Rapid Reads" book, and I was surprised when it arrived, at how small it was.That said, this was a concise, interesting murder mystery that wrapped up in 122 pages. I enjoyed the details of behind the scenes of the orchestra as much as I did the who done it.

[momgee_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

When Detective Pratt arrives at Symphony Hall to see what all the brouhaha is about, he is told that Luigi Spadini, the orchestra leader is dead; not of natural causes judging by the cello wire wrapped around his neck. Detective Pratt and his rookie squad member, Ellis, start the investigation in the normal way but are flummoxed when they find out the entire orchestra has confessed to his murder. Really? Seriously? I can't get 5 people to agree on dinner, never mind getting a large crowd to lie about committing a major felony. A little implausible to say the least.As it turns out, of course, everyone hated Spadini; admittedly a genius but he was a tough taskmaster, a womanizer and just a plain old SOB. It seems the orchestra members used to joke about the different methods of doing him in. I guess someone really meant it!Even though Ellis is brand new in the department, he is skilled in technology while Detective Pratt is pretty much just putting in time until his retirement and thinks technology a waste of effort. Good old-fashioned police work should suffice. You guessed it! The rookie shows up the veteran detective. Quite the cliched plot we have here. No sense of place and with little character development along with a few weak plot points, this book was a "meh" read for me. The best thing is it was short.

[brianewilliams · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I received this book as a LibraryThing Early Reviewer. It is a good quality short story/novella that is fast paced, which accords with the "Rapid Reads" theme, and is also entertaining. It can be read in a couple of hours.The shortness of the story means there is little character development -- the characters are cartoonish: the hard boiled older cop, the young rookie, the arrogant symphony executive and so on. Readers do not get the opportunity to know the protagonist, Detective Pratt. The resolution of the murder mystery comes naturally, although there's no explanation of the murderer's means. There's a motive and opportunity, but the means is not discussed at all, e.g. how did he access the cello?A lot has been sacrificed for the sake of brevity. It is good as a short story/novella and it would have been much better as a longer book.

[cbl_tn · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Detective Pratt's love of classical music earns him an assignment to investigate the murder of conductor Luigi Spadafini. He has plenty of suspects since the whole orchestra has confessed to the murder. Who are they trying to protect?This book is part of the publisher's Rapid Reads collection, and, as promised, it can be read in one sitting of under an hour. It is more like a short story than a novel. I'm not sure how much the book will appeal to adults who struggle with literacy. Is classical music and its performance a high-interest topic for the majority in the target group? I do think it would be useful for many ESL learners. It also has appeal for crime readers who enjoy reading short stories or novellas.Music is one of my special interests, and I enjoy reading mysteries that involve the music world. The author is a musician and has written other novels, including one that was shortlisted for the Ellis Award. I'm happy for the opportunity to discover a new-to-me author, and I've already added another of his books to my wish list.This review is based on an advance reading copy provided by the publisher through LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program.

[phoenixcomet · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Labeled a "Rapid Reads" books, the novel delivers. Quick paced and minimalistic, the story of an extremely talented, yet certifiably obnoxious conductor's murder has the police up in arms. Detective Pratt and Detective Ellis are assigned to the case to determine who did it. With the entire orchestra claiming responsibility, the officers have much to plod through. Suffice it to say that they do and the guilty party is found and arrested.

[jjlangel · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

"Rapid Read" is right -- I pulled this out of the mailbox about noon and had it read by 1:30. It's an interesting concept, and the author did a really good job cramming a an almost full-size mystery into a pint-size book. I felt a tiny bit cheated by the detection, which relied a bit too much on data not presented to the reader, but the setup, pacing, and tone were all nicely done. As long as you know this is a novella and not a tome, I'd recommend it.

[chitchens_3 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I'll start by saying I really like the Rapid Reads series from Orca. I have worked with students who have difficulty reading, and I know from statistics that many adults have low literacy skills. Too often the books available to them are not interesting. Rapid Reads provides fast-paced stories from well-known authors. They are quick reads for a regular reader and they provide a hi/lo experience for someone who needs it.Orchestrated Murder was great -- a mystery set in an orchestra is perfect for a music lover like me. It had all the intrigue you would expect from a group of musicians and a solution that made sense once it was revealed. Highly satisfying.

[readerbynight · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Orchestrated Murder by Rick BlechtaPublished by Raven Books: Rapid ReadsA most unusual way to begin an investigation into a murder--the entire orchestra has claimed they are guilty! Someone has murdered the conductor, Luigi Spandafini, but which one of the orchestra is the murderer, and who is being protected by everyone else? Detective Lieutenant Pratt has been assigned to the case, and his partner in this is a rookie, Ellis. It just happens that Pratt is familiar with the orchestra as a patron. Luigi has been strangled, and though Pratt knows symphonies, it is the newcomer Ellis who can identify the "weapon". He has been strangled with a cello string, both ends of the string tied with timpani mallets which makes for a better grip for tightening the string without injury.This was an entertaining book and a quick read. Smoothly written and easy to follow, but still with a satisfying mystery. Spandafini was not a well-liked person overall, though a brilliant conductor. He was also well-known for chasing skirts and attacking the orchestra members. Apparently the members of the orchestra held him to blame indirectly for the deaths of two members. Curiously, the timpani player and the cellist were the victims.Rick Blechta has done an excellent job of creating a fascinating closed-room murder mystery packed into a short book, maintaining the feel and allure of the murder mystery genre. Just right for the commuter or someone with a busy schedule. There are the usual twists and turns, misdirection, and of course what is probably the largest group of suspects all in one place. I really enjoyed it and read it in one go.

[pmarshall_82 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

In “Orchestrated Murder” by Rick Blechta the much hated, but highly successful conductor, of a large symphony orchestra is found dead and the entire orchestra confesses to the crime. They don’t know who did commit the murder but they know it was an ‘inside job’ so they confess to protect an unknown fellow musician. Detective Lieutenant Pratt is being pressured by the mayor, and some big shots on the board of directors to close the case quickly and with as little publicity as possible. With his long list of suspects with motives to kill the egotistical, philandering, nasty Spadafini Pratt is feeling the pressure. However with some luck and good police work the case is solved within a few hours.The novella format works but I think it leaves the reader out of the detecting because the length of the book has been pre-determined. On the whole Blechta is able to develop the personalities of the key characters and link this to the solving of the murder.“Orchestrated Murder” is the second book in the Rapid Read series I have read. “Rapid Reads focus first and foremost on strong writing and storytelling. We are committed to providing books that will help adults achieve their literacy goals in an interesting and accessible way. Each novel in the Rapid Reads series is written between a 2.0 and 4.5 reading level. The plots are contemporary and entertaining, with adult language and themes.” < rapidreads.ca/>. I can’t speak for all their audiences but I found it to be an enjoyable, quick read. For English as a Second Language (ESL) and adults who struggle with literacy the series offers a variety of interesting fiction and non-fiction, which would encourage them to read. I would read from this series again and I do recommend it to others,