Beethoven's Tenth

By Brian Harvey

Piano tuner Frank Ryan is paid in kind by an aging music teacher with an old manuscript that turns out to be Beethoven’s Tenth Symphony. Launched into a world of intrigue and violence, Ryan, an unlikely sleuth, realizes he must use his wits to conquer his enemies and solve the mystery of the manuscript. In the process Ryan discovers whom he can trust and what he is made of. The first in a series featuring Frank Ryan, Beethoven’s Tenth is a smart page-turner.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Orca Book Publishers
• Release date: Apr 1, 2015
• ISBN: 9781459808713

Brian Harvey

Brian Harvey is a scientist and writer. He holds a PhD in marine biology and specializes in conservation of aquatic biodiversity. Brian’s first nonfiction book for a general audience, The End of the River, was published in 2008. He is currently finishing a second nonfiction book about sailing around Vancouver Island and is working on several fiction projects. Brian lives in Nanaimo, British Columbia. For more information, visit www.brianharvey.org.

Book preview

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Chops

It’s amazing what people lose inside grand pianos. House keys, a corned beef sandwich, a single dirty sock—I think I’ve seen it all, then somebody goes one better. Once I found a black bra between the last three bass strings of a nine-foot concert grand. Not jammed, not stuffed, but carefully threaded, way down at the end of the instrument. Don’t ask me why. The owner of the piano was a retired concert pianist about a hundred years old. When I gave the undergarment a tug, a little piece came away in my fingers. It must have been as old as he was. Maybe it was a keepsake. Maybe it was his. You just never know.

So when Miss Pieczynski called to tell me her piano was making a clicking noise, I made room for her in my schedule. I like old people. They don’t waste your time trying to impress you. And I especially liked Miss P.

Is terrible! she shouted. I held the phone at arm’s length. Miss P.’s early experience of telephones had probably been in one of those eastern European countries, don’t ask me which. It seemed she had never adapted to phones that actually work.

Is not Steinway anymore, she yelled. Is typewriter!

When Miss P. opened her apartment door, I could hear some innocent Mozart sonata being bludgeoned to death. She grabbed my wrist and pulled me so close I could count the cracks in the powder on her cheek. Her lipstick was off target. It looked like she’d put it on in her sleep.

Beginner, she hissed. This one I am teaching only for the money. She tugged me toward what she called her music room while I hopped and stumbled out of my shoes. My toolbox swung and caught me in the knee. Is okay—he tries hard. And he pays cash. She rubbed a bony thumb and index finger together.

Miss P.’s music room was also her living room. It might have been her dining room too if her piano hadn’t been so long. The guy attacking it looked more like a meat-packer than a music student. He was hunched over Miss P.’s beautiful old Steinway, pounding on it like he was tenderizing a slab of beef. The sleeves of his leather jacket were rolled back, revealing wrists so hairy you could have lost a Rolex in there. A knockoff Rolex probably. His fingers were as fat as the Bavarian smokies you can buy on the waterfront in the summer.

Stefan! Miss P. rapped the top of his shaven head with a battered ruler. She was old school. Is enough. He looked up, took me in and cracked his knuckles. The skin around his eyes was bruised-looking, as though he hadn’t slept for a week. I began to wonder what Stefan did for a living. She nudged one creaking leather shoulder. Let the tuner look at my piano. Before you are killing it.

I hate being called a tuner. Tuners tune, and I can do that as well as anyone, but tuning is just the warm-up. I’m a piano technician, and the technician is the person who can make your instrument sing the way it’s supposed to. Or make it stop sounding like a typewriter. Whatever it takes.

Miss P.’s student rose. There was a lot of him. An elderly cat wound its way between my ankles and then limped across the carpet into the kitchen. The whole apartment smelled of cat piss and something else I couldn’t identify. It wasn’t pleasant. Stefan wandered over to the music cabinet and began thumbing through Miss P.’s scores. Every few pages he’d lick one of those sausage fingers. He looked like a guy checking out the skin magazines at the corner store.

Where’s Coco? I asked. Coco was one of those little rat dogs—don’t ask me what breed—but Miss P. loved him. Usually Coco spent most of my session humping my ankle. Miss P. shrugged and righted a faded, signed publicity shot that Stefan had knocked over with his butt-sized shoulder. A lovely woman, smiling, confident, in a fifties perm. The young Miss P.

Maybe Coco hides, she said. From Stefan. She giggled. Now sit. Play. Fix. I have another student very soon. Good student, not like this one. Stefan was still sifting through music scores as if looking for something specific. What would a guy like him be looking for in a bookshelf full of Beethoven and Brahms? Miss P. rapped him on the shoulder again, stuck out a hand and watched him deal four tens into it. She made a fist around the money and jerked her head toward the door. When the door closed she said, Play something nice. Chopin maybe. You play so good, Frankie. You have the chops.

Nobody calls me Frankie—except Miss Pieczynski. For her I make an exception. The funny thing is, if I’d known what kind of people I was about to start associating with, the name Frankie would have fit just fine. But now I just smiled. Chops, for a musician, means great technique, and she was right. As a piano student I’d had chops in abundance. Chops matter. You can have all the talent in the world, but without chops you’re never going to have a career. I was the other way around, at least with the classical stuff Miss P. had made her living playing and teaching—lots of chops but not enough talent. That combination only works with great looks, and I flunked in that department too. Then there was my name. Frank Ryan—does that sound like a classical pianist to you? Frank Ryan Plays Debussy? It just doesn’t work. Franklin might, but that’s not what my parents named me.

When I turned to jazz, though, the talent problem disappeared. Feeling and chops are enough. As a jazz pianist, I’m in my element. I’m still not a fashion model, but I have two requirements out of three, and most of the clubs I play are dark enough that I'm just a bent-over blob with fingers. And as a name for a person who tunes pianos by day and plays the jazz bars by night, Frank fits.

Some Schumann, Frankie? Schubert? Scriabin?

I don’t like being pushed. Not today. I sat down. The seat was still warm. It was unnerving, like sitting on a toilet some stranger has just left. Let’s go with Sinatra. I waggled my wrists and tucked into the opening of Fly Me to the Moon.

Fly me to the moon, Sinatra sang in my head. Let me play among the—

CLUNK.

"Is the problem I

Reviews for Beethoven's Tenth

[thornton37814 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Piano technician and jazz pianist Frank Ryan comes into possession of a partial manuscript of Beethoven's Tenth symphony after rescuing a deceased dog from a 9 foot Steinway at Miss Pieczynski's home. He would have preferred financial remuneration for his work. Miss P ends up dead. One of her students is one of the first to accost Frank. It seems like everyone is out to get him. It's a comedic mystery, but I found much of the humor to be a bit course. It is part of a Rapids Reads series and will probably interested the intended audience of ESL readers. This review is based on an advance reading copy loaned to me by a friend rather than one received directly from a publisher for review purposes.

[gypsysmom_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I really like these short mysteries published by Raven Books. I have read a number of them now and they are just the thing for light reading but with something to think about.Frank Ryan is a piano tuner by day and a jazz musician by night living in Nanaimo, BC. He's seen all kinds of things stuffed in pianos but the dead dog in piano teacher Miss Pieczynski grand piano is one of the worst. Miss P. (as everyone calls her) seems distracted, even more so than usual. When she decides to pay him with an old piece of music Frank isn't too impressed as he would rather have money. When he gets it home and discovers that it is an original score from 1825 which appears to be handwritten by Beethoven he gets excited. Trouble is other people are looking for this piece of music. Miss P. is discovered dead in her apartment and it was not natural causes. Frank not only has to decide what to do with this rare find but also stay alive with at least two thugs after him.Brian Harvey is a marine biologist by training but he is a great writer too if this book is anything to judge by. I loved some of his imagery. Here is how he describes playing a duet with the saxophone playing bar owner Kaz "We rode that tune like hawks on hot air, wingtip to wingtip." I hope to see more of Brian Harvey and Frank Ryan.

[riversong_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Did Beethoven really write 10 Symphonies? Frank Ryan is given a manuscript that appears old as payment for tuning the piano of an old lady whose piano he's tuned for years. It seems that some other people would like this manuscript as well and the story revolves around Frank trying to keep hold of it until the celebration of Beethoven's birthday at a convention. This is a fast paced story and fun to read. This is part of the Rapid Reads series so it's more of a novella than a full blown novel.

[jlrobinson99 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book was really good. A quick read. The story was believable. Kind of like Agatha Christie meets Rick Riordian. I recommend it for ages 14 and up.

[clara53_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A tiny paperback with a surprisingly appealing content. A mystery with a fabulous, fresh sense of humor. Brian Harvey (scientist and writer) started with non-fiction (it says here in the book), and I am glad to see that he tried his hand at fiction - for he is very, very good at it, judging by this little mystery. Honestly, I requested this book from Librarything Early Reviewers just because the title intrigued me - "Beethoven's Tenth" - hmmm... - knowing nothing of the author, but the lighthearted and witty tone of it totally won me over (maybe even more so than the plot). There is a certain charm in a self-deprecating, a little goofy, but definitely smart and decent protagonist. I shall certainly look forward to the next Frank Ryan mystery.

[mrsbaty · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a quick read that deserves the title "Rapid Reads." It's length doesn't detract from the pleasure of reading it, however, you just get the enjoyment in a quick little bite. This is the second book from this line that I've gotten so I looked at the publisher's website and it says this line was developed for adult ESL students, reluctant readers and adults who struggle with literacy. I really like that! I think this is the perfect kind of book to get an adult with literacy issues interested in reading. While the language may not be challenging, the plot line and characterizations would not be insulting to adult learners. I think there's a real place in the book world for this idea. Anything that gets more adults reading is a good idea to me.Frank Ryan, a piano tuner by day and a jazz pianist by night, is working for one of his favorite elderly clients when instead of paying him in cash she pays him with an old manuscript. It's not what he wants but there seems to be no choice so he takes and it and, surprise! It's Beethoven's lost Tenth Symphony. Obviously other people are going to want this thing and come after Frank with a vengeance. This world of crime and violence is not what he's use to but he manages it pretty well and I found it pretty entertaining. Frank is a really fun character with an interesting personality, fun and engaging. I would have given it 4 stars but the ending was a bit predictable for me so I gave it 3 1/2.This would take about an hour to read if you were uninterrupted and my first thought, before I knew why this line was written this way, was "Why would I want to read such a short book?" I like books I can lose myself in for hours and days. But I've decided what a really good use for this type of book would be. I'm going to put it on the night stand in my guest room. All my guests are readers and they all love a good mystery. This would be the perfect thing to read if you found yourself somewhere and forgotten to bring a book or had finished what you brought. It's light, it's quick, it's entertaining and I would be quite willing to read more about Frank Ryan.I received this book through LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program in exchange for an honest review.

[rowingrabbit · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is an entertaining novella featuring an unlikely hero. By day, Frank Ryan is a 40-something piano technician (don't call him a "tuner", thank you very much) living in Nanaimo. He spends his nights playing jazz at a club owned by the enigmatic Kaz.He has a network of regular customers like Miss Pieczynski, whose piano yields a nasty surprise after Frank arrives to fix it. In lieu of payment, she gives him an old music manuscript. That's when things get weird.Frank puts his music degree to good use & recognizes the hand written score as being a new symphony by Beethoven. And life as he knows it is over. Pretty soon he's dodging thugs & cops as he tries to stay alive long enough to present the work at a bash for Beethoven's birthday in Vancouver. I won't reveal any more as it's only 160 pages. But it's amazing how much is packed into this slim volume. It's told in first person & Frank is a charming narrator. HIs chatty & humorous voice will have you laughing & cringing, often at the same time, as he relates his story. The characters are well developed & distinct. It's an easy, fast paced read with a couple of nice little twists I didn't see coming. And I now know waaaay more about septic tanks than I ever wanted to. By the end it's obvious Frank's life is heading in a new direction & I'd like to see where the author takes him next.

[gpangel_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Beethoven's Tenth by Brian Harvey is a 2015 Raven Books/ Orca Books publication. I received a copy of this book for review purposes as part of the LibraryThing Early Review program. Frank Ryan, jazz musician and piano turner, who prefers to think of himself as a piano technician, gets a call from his favorite,albeit eccentric, elderly client.. Mrs. P. He rushes over to get her piano in working order and observed an odd pupil rifling through her things while he did his job. Now Mrs. P has turned up dead and her student is missing. When Ryan discovers a musical manuscript in Mrs. P's home, he knows it was written by none other than Lugwig Van Beethoven. A very valuable and rare find indeed! Of course, someone knows about it and Frank, an unlikely detective, finds himself mired in a dangerous and murky mystery. This short cozy style mystery is very easy to read, has a moderately interesting plot, and moves forward with a fast pace. The book is a “Rapid Reads” imprint and is 138 pages in length, making this a great book to pack with you for an airplane trip, a dentist appointment, or a lunch/break time escape. It is also a great idea to have book like this available for those who are always pressed for time, who love mysteries and are looking for a story that can be easily absorbed. So, if you like short, easy, light mysteries, by all means give this one a try. This is the first in a planned series, so you can get into it from the beginning! 3 stars

[19anne44 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I received an Early Reviewers copy of Beethoven’s Tenth by Brian Harvey.Here is my review.Frank Ryan is a piano tuner and a jazz pianist in the small British Columbia town of Nanaimo. While he finishes tuning Miss Pieczynski’s piano her extremely large and unlikely piano student browses through her collection of music scores. After he leaves and the piano problem is rather troublingly solved Miss P, who is clearly afraid, finds a score from her shelf and gives it to Frank “For the world”.When Miss P is murdered and Frank is threatened, he decides to find out why someone is after the score he has been given and discovers it is almost certainly a manuscript of Beethoven’s Tenth symphony. Frank is determined to save the manuscript but the crooks are equally determined to get hold of it. Frank is on the run and becomes trapped in one of the most original prisons any author has invented. The book ends with a very unexpected O Henry kind of twist.Brian Harvey has written a fast paced, very original and well plotted book which is an excellent addition to this excellent Rapid Reads series.

[cbl_tn · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Piano technician Frank Ryan becomes a hunted man after one of his clients gives him an old manuscript in lieu of payment for his services. When he examines the document, he discovers that it is an unknown symphony that can only have been composed by Beethoven. He can't ask his elderly client about the manuscript because she died soon after she gave it to him. Frank was one of the last people to see her alive. Before he can make up his mind what to do with the manuscript, he finds out that someone else is after it. That person seems to be willing to do just about anything to get hold of the manuscript – including murder.This fun mystery is part of the Rapid Reads line of books aimed at adult ESL readers and adult readers with lower levels of literacy. It will work equally well for most mystery readers whose taste runs to short stories with a bit of a noir or hard-boiled flavor. I have a fondness for mysteries with a music or a hidden treasure angle, and the local color of Nanaimo adds even more to the appeal. Other than a disturbing incident involving a small dog, I really liked this book. The information on the back cover of my ARC indicates that this is the first of a series featuring Frank Ryan. I will keep an eager eye out for the next one.This review is based on an advanced reading copy provided by the publisher through LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program.