Music of the Spheres

MUSIC OF THE SPHERES
By Michael Burke
A Caravel Mystery
Pleasure Book Studio: A Literary Press
December 1, 2010
Trade Paperback
ISBN: 978-1-929355-70-9
180 pages
$16.00

What is “The Music of the Spheres”?

“You can’t hear it. It’s not audible; it’s just there. It’s based on the rhythms of the universe. Pythagoras came up with it.”

When Hank Menotti decides to return to his home from spending twelve years in prison, the local bartender is concerned about conflicts. LeRoy calls his longtime friend, Blue Heron, to look in on Billy Windsore, son of the murdered man. Since Hank pleaded to the lesser charge of manslaughter, there have always been questions about who really killed George Windsor.
Blue decides to drive over to Bill’s house and nicks a car’s bumper while avoiding a collision with another vehicle. Instinctively, he feels a need to continue to Bill’s house immediately. When he knocks on the door, there is no answer. He then starts walking around the house and looks in through a window to see Bill’s body laying face down. Blue tries the back door and finds it unlocked. He rushes in and rolls Bill over. Bill is barely alive and whispers, “Blue, red, green, red, yellow, green,” and dies.
Logically, Hank would be the obvious suspect, but Blue begins to work with the police to investigate both the original murder as well as Bill’s. Someone with money makes it obvious that Blue is stepping on their toes. Also, what did Bill’s last words have to do with anything, except maybe a traffic light?
Michael Burke graduated from Harvard and has spent time in the army as well as working with the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. He also worked for New York City with urban planning and taught at Columbia University. For the past thirty years, he has developed a career in painting and sculpture.
MUSIC OF THE SPHERES is a short, high-action, adventure in the old detective style of many years ago. The style refers to when men fought, drank, smoked, spent much time in bars, and did manly things while all women were extremely curvaceous and enjoyed being ogled. This is a tightly strung together novel that keeps you wondering even after you finish the last page.