Our Opera Singer

By Kristine Kathryn Rusch

At times, many seek ways to change their existence. Some take classes.

Our Opera Singer shows up in a voiceover class. A decision everyone in the class might come to regret. Perhaps most of all, her.

"Our Opera Singer" perfectly captures Kristine Kathryn Rusch's mastery of crime fiction.

"Kristine Kathryn Rusch's crime stories are exceptional, both in plot and in style."

—Mystery Scene Magazine

• Language: English
• Publisher: WMG Publishing
• Release date: Jun 12, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223216360

Kristine Kathryn Rusch

New York Times bestselling author Kristine Kathryn Rusch writes in almost every genre. Generally, she uses her real name (Rusch) for most of her writing. She publishes bestselling science fiction and fantasy, award-winning mysteries, acclaimed mainstream fiction, controversial nonfiction, and the occasional romance. Her novels have made bestseller lists around the world and her short fiction has appeared in eighteen best of the year collections. She has won more than twenty-five awards for her fiction, including the Hugo, Le Prix Imaginales, the Asimov's Readers Choice award, and the Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine Readers Choice Award.   

Book preview

Our Opera Singer

OUR OPERA SINGER

KRISTINE KATHRYN RUSCH

WMG Publishing, Inc.

CONTENTS

Our Opera Singer

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About the Author

Also by Kristine Kathryn Rusch

OUR OPERA SINGER

They say none of us are the same after the pandemic. They say that we all do things now that we never even considered before.

We didn’t believe them. We just tried to move forward with our lives.

We acted like nothing was wrong, like we hadn’t gone through a horrific year filled with illness and fear and death.

We pretended just fine.

Until we didn’t.

She said: It’s a shame no one dresses up anymore.

She didn’t say it conversationally or even nicely. She said it, with a judgmental edge, in front of the frumpy older woman in the front row. That woman, had she dressed up, had she styled her flyaway white hair, had she worn just a little bit of makeup, would have been stunningly beautiful.

But that woman, clearly tired, wore wrinkled khakis and a purple Queen T-shirt that had seen better days. She had tried to tame her flyaway white hair with a purple scrunchy, the only gesture she made toward anything like a style.

They were in a crowd of wannabe voice actors—crowd by post-pandemic standards—in a studio that could probably fit a dozen more people. The students varied in age from maybe twenty to maybe seventy. The class was made up of actual aspiring voice actors and students from the local university’s continuing education program.

The woman who had spoken had already told the class that she sang opera. Professionally. She wore her unnaturally red hair in a bun on the top of her head, and somehow had forgotten to soften the look with slight curls around her face. Her face was too round, her makeup a little too red, and her eyes—well, her eyes seemed a little bit manic.

As she spoke, she turned her toe ever so slightly, the way women did when their feet hurt. Her brown leather skirt, styled for a thinner woman, looked more expensive than it was, judging by the silk on her white blouse.

She smiled