The Iron Tongue of Midnight (Tito Amato, #4)

The Iron Tongue of Midnight by Beverle Graves Myers
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoy these mysteries. I am learning more and more about opera, history and Italy. The author is able to recreate the time period and adds enough historical value to actually teach something as well as entertain.

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Cruel Music: The Third Baroque Mystery

Cruel Music: The Third Baroque Mystery by Beverle Myers
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In this book, we find our valiant Tito and his friend Gussie attempting to come to the rescue of Tito's older brother, Alessandro. Someone has framed him and he has been arrested on smuggling charges. Helping his brother has Tito traveling to get to the bottom of this mystery.

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Painted Veil (Tito Amato, #2)

Painted Veil by Beverle Graves Myers
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Tito Amato has gotten cocky. His talent is enormous, but he has not been giving his best and his delivery has gotten sloppy. Suddenly an guest Castrati appears and Tito is forced to take supporting roles. This is especially galling because the young man is something of a "sacred monster" and lives up to the Diva reputation of the profession.

When the talented scene painter of the company is found dead, Tito is only too glad to do some sleuthing himself and hopefully to get back into the good graces of the Opera owner and producer. Why does a man with the mask of the Plague Raven keep showing up and who is he? Tito and his English friend Augustus "Gussie" Rumbolt are determined to get to the bottom of the mystery.



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Monday Mourning (Temperance Brennan, #7)

Monday Mourning by Kathy Reichs
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was the fascinating story of bones from three girls who were buried in an old cellar. Detectives think the bones are from the past, but Tempe Brennan feels that they are current. When her lab results indicate that she is correct, she begins to look for people who were living on or near the premises at the time she thinks the bones were interred. I found that the combination of the forensics on the bones and the investigation of the history of the buildings fascinating.

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Interrupted Aria (Tito Amato, #1)

Interrupted Aria by Beverle Graves Myers
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a fascinating series about a fascinating subject. The series takes place in the opera world of Venice in 1731. The opera in Venice is something like football season. Wealthy patrons purchase boxes and attend sometimes daily to see and be seen, but even the not so wealthy attend as devotedly. Tito Amato is a "castrati" and a darling of the opera. As a child, he had an exceptional voice and so his father had him castrated to preserve it and he began his opera training. That in itself is interesting, but when you add to it, a murder and a mystery the book is captivating.

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