The Countertenor Wore Garlic

The Countertenor Wore Garlic
By Mark Schweizer
St. James Music Press
March 2011
ISBN: 978-0-9844846-2-1
192 pages
$12.95

Everyone needs to just relax and have a good laugh occasionally. You won’t find a better series of
books that always have a crime, usually a murder, an investigation, a church choir and the behind the
scenes politics of a church, and a separate mystery in the old private investigator style of Raymond
Chandler. These books have no sexual content, minimal violence, no bad language, and are just fun to
read. These are somewhat similar to Jan Karon’s but more from a male point-of-view and humorous..

The Countertenor Wore Garlic takes place in the fictional town of St. Germaine, North Carolina located
in the Appalachian Mountains. The small town is currently infected with teen vampires who are
anxiously awaiting the author of a famous vampire series of books at their local bookstore while
zombies are also roaming the town as a result of a flash mob. Somehow I had visions of the Twilight
Series by Stephanie Meyers.

The death of a town citizen in the hay maze behind the church leads Hayden Konig, the chief of police
and the organist for the Episcopal church to find out who killed Flori Cabbage, secretary to Ian Burch,
PhD, who also is a countertenor singing the alto part beautifully in the choir. Added to that, the
current pastor of the church is leaving to become a bishop. In her place is a Scottish reverend that
plans to send the church back to the Dark Ages in terms of liturgy, the sermon, and the status
of women.

Being this is the ninth book in this series, I was concerned about whether a reader could understand this novel without having read the previous eight. Yes, this is a series that reacquaints the continuing characters and could easily work as a standalone. However, you’re missing a delightful and laughable series of books if you don’t read them all. The
characterization is fictional but very realistic in that you can visualize these people in your
personal everyday life.

Mark Schweizer has a doctoral degree in vocal performance from the University of Arizona. He has worked extensively with regional opera companies and has also appeared as the bass soloist with the Robert Shaw Chorale. He currently is the director of St. James Music Press while writing these series, as well as Christmas opera librettos, choral selections, and several children’s musicals.

What will the next novel be called? The Composer Wore Corduroy or The Choir Director Wore Double Knit are my suggestions.

Need a good enjoyable laugh? Read The Countertenor Wore Garlic.