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Alisa Craig
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Trouble in the Brasses (The Madoc and Janet Rhys Mysteries Book 4) Kindle Edition

by Charlotte MacLeod (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.5 out of 5 stars 413 ratings
A Canadian Mountie investigates a murder among musicians in this mystery by the Edgar Award–nominated author of the Peter Shandy series.
 Although he is a decorated officer of the Mounted Police, Madoc Rhys’s tin ear has long been an embarrassment to his musically fixated family. But when his father’s orchestra needs a policeman, the Mountie gets a chance to make daddy proud. It began as pranks among the brass instruments, but something is rotten inside the Wagstaffe Symphony, and is about to graduate to something criminal. Called in to look into the tensions within the group, Madoc arrives just in time to see the French horn player keel over. The death appears natural, and the orchestra boards the plane to its next engagement. But when a storm forces them to make an emergency landing and take shelter in an eerie old lodge, the extent of the danger becomes clear. Madoc may never understand music, but he has a good ear for murder, and is about to show off his chops.
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  1. Book 4 of 5
    The Madoc and Janet Rhys Mysteries
  2. Print length
    239 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    MysteriousPress.com/Open Road
  5. Publication date
    October 2, 2012
  6. File size
    4.3 MB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“The epitome of the ‘cozy’ mystery.” —Mostly Murder “MacLeod can be counted on for a witty, literate and charming mystery.” —Publishers Weekly “Charm, wit, and Holmesian logic.” —AudioFile

About the Author

Charlotte MacLeod (1922–2005) was an internationally bestselling author of cozy mysteries. Born in Canada, she moved to Boston as a child, and lived in New England most of her life. After graduating from college, she made a career in advertising, writing copy for the Stop & Shop Supermarket Company before moving on to Boston firm N. H. Miller & Co., where she rose to the rank of vice president. In her spare time, MacLeod wrote short stories, and in 1964 published her first novel, a children’s book called Mystery of the White Knight.  In Rest You Merry (1978), MacLeod introduced Professor Peter Shandy, a horticulturist and amateur sleuth whose adventures she would chronicle for two decades. The Family Vault (1979) marked the first appearance of her other best-known characters: the husband and wife sleuthing team Sarah Kelling and Max Bittersohn, whom she followed until her last novel, The Balloon Man, in 1998. 

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0099J3DMK
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ MysteriousPress.com/Open Road (October 2, 2012)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 2, 2012
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 4.3 MB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 239 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 out of 5 stars 413 ratings

About the author

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Alisa Craig

Alisa Craig

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Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
413 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book well-written and engaging, describing it as a light-hearted murder mystery with compelling characters. The plot receives positive feedback, with one customer noting a neat last-minute resolution of the criminal aspect. Customers find the book interesting and worth their time.

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14 customers mention "Readability"14 positive0 negative

Customers find the book well written and fun to read, with one customer describing it as screwball comedy at its best.

"...The plot twists are interesting and plausible, Rhy's sleuthing makes sense and is well laid-out...." Read more

"...Sir Emlyn and Lady Rhys are compelling characters , well written and well thought of!..." Read more

"...but this is one of the ones where her touch is just perfect; cute, funny and clever. Enjoy!" Read more

"...I love the characters and couldn't put it down. This was an incredible read." Read more

9 customers mention "Plot"9 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the plot of the book, describing it as a light-hearted murder mystery with an engaging storyline.

"...is true of 'Trouble with Brasses', a lighthearted mystery with multiple murders and a cast of professional musicians with more than a few little..." Read more

"This is a book I reread regularly. It is a light hearted murder mystery that is one of Charlotte Macleod's best...." Read more

"...They are less amusing but more dramatic. All her books are well written and very entertaining." Read more

"...Personally missed her. The plot and development are otherwise good, the writing fine fun." Read more

8 customers mention "Character development"8 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the character development in the book, with one mentioning it's part of a series with continuing characters.

"...Detective Inspector Maddoc Rhys of the RCMP is a balanced, likable and intelligent character...." Read more

"...Sir Emlyn and Lady Rhys are compelling characters , well written and well thought of!..." Read more

"...The Inspector, his mother, and father, are interesting characters as is the orchestra group...." Read more

"...I love the characters and couldn't put it down. This was an incredible read." Read more

6 customers mention "Value for time"6 positive0 negative

Customers find the book interesting and worth their time.

"...with more than a few little idiosyncrasies which make for a most interesting stew...." Read more

"...anyone who hasn't read the book yet but I assure you it will be well worth the time...." Read more

"I read all of this series and enjoyed them all. They are old fashioned but fun and interesting. I cannot get a handle on what era they are set...." Read more

"...know who the villain is and why, but that doesn't detract from the fascinating and very amusing story." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Alice L. Ramirez
    5.0 out of 5 stars Likable characters, engrossing plot
    Reviewed in the United States on February 22, 2008
    Verified Purchase
    One of Charlotte MacLeod's best. Written under the pseudonym Alisa Craig. Detective Inspector Maddoc Rhys of the RCMP is a balanced, likable and intelligent character. In this one, his world-class conductor father is concerned about undercurrents in the orchestra as they are about to go to a major music festival somewhere out west and asks for his son's help. Leaving his wife Janet behind in Frederickton, he goes to answer his father's call for help.

    Right before the key characters pile onto a private jet to fly to said festival, one of the musicians drops dead backstage. They are allowed to leave because at the time it was believed that the fat man died of natural causes. The plane is forced to make an emergency landing much farther north, in the middle of nowhere, in what is in summer an old west style resort, but in fall and winter essentially a ghost town. A second murder occurs while they are stranded.

    The cast of characters include, in addition to Rhys, his Welsh father and his rather haughty mother Lady Rhys, a menagerie of rather eccentric classical musicians as well as the pilots and at least one other endearingly crazy local. The plot twists are interesting and plausible, Rhy's sleuthing makes sense and is well laid-out. Since this is a cozy, the killer gets arrested and hauled off (by a rather eccentric local lady sheriff), and everyone else (at least those not murdered) goes to wherever they wanted to be.

    I liked the book well enough to buy a replacement when my original copy got too ratty. I tend to read my favorites multiple times, and this was a favorite.
    12 people found this helpful
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  • pollymom
    4.0 out of 5 stars Another Madoc Rhys mystery...no Janet just Lady and Sir Rhys and company this time
    Reviewed in the United States on October 29, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    Murder most foul with Sir Ellyn Thus orchestra and choir this time. Missed Janet...hope she and Thus are together again for the last book in the series.
    Anticipate the loss!
    So sad to have a series end when it has hardly begun.
    Characters less likeable this time except for the three members of the Thus family. Sir Emlyn and Lady Rhys are compelling characters , well written and well thought of!
    One can "see" where Madoc gets his temperament and character from. So nice to get to know more of his family after getting to know Jane's in the previous books.
    This more rarified environment, at least at the outset of the story, is a sight different than the farm! Doesn't mean the characters who inhabit it are any less quirky or "individual" than the characters in Pitcher villa or anywhere else doe that matter...reply like Charlotte Macleod's characters and how they develop in each book...the ones we need to know and understand, we do.
    The plot was a tad confusing at times but all is realized at the end, as per usual, in this series as well as her others.
    The downed airplane plot is a tad farfetched.
    but I bought into it as the story unfolds. Loved the ranger, his family, the sheriff and the Ace characters, especially.
    Can't wait to read the last book in this series but anticipate hoping there had been more.
    Recommended.
    These she wrote, originally, under her pseudonym, Alicia, Craig, jyst FYI.
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  • Kindle Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Murder in the Wilds of Canada
    Reviewed in the United States on March 23, 2015
    Verified Purchase
    Admittedly, I am a long time fan of Charlotte MacLeod's, Bittersohn, mystery series, which are sometimes heavier than her other works.With the advent of kindle book copies of the latter, I find her almost equally appealing in these. This is true of 'Trouble with Brasses', a lighthearted mystery with multiple murders and a cast of professional musicians with more than a few little idiosyncrasies which make for a most interesting stew. The setting is Canada, the participants members of an orchestra on tour accompanied by a group of singers, the guest Maestro of said Orchestra and his wife, both titled, and their son, a police inspector on a visit to resolve some problems that have arisen, and an odd old flier and his battered old airplane long since overdue for scrapping. Members of the orchestra and its Maestro and his family, are flying to the next destination of the tour while the singers go by train. Their plane is blown off course by a freak storm and its navigational and operating systems destroyed forcing a landing at a vacant resort hotel in the middle of the wilderness. The author thus creates a desert island effect in which murder takes place (following a possible murder at the last concert of the Orchestra). With a light and deft touch the author delineates life in the middle of nowhere of a group marked by a diversity of reactions to the hardships. The Inspector, his mother, and father, are interesting characters as is the orchestra group. There is a neat last minute resolution of the criminal aspect that has crept into the intensive atmosphere of deprivation and living too close together; the solution, however, offers rather limited opportunities for problem solving by readers so inclined. All in all a pleasantly non-violent murder mystery in a replica of the isolated mansion setting.
    4 people found this helpful
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  • Aerin
    5.0 out of 5 stars Cozy Mysteries par Excellence
    Reviewed in the United States on July 12, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    This is a book I reread regularly. It is a light hearted murder mystery that is one of Charlotte Macleod's best. Madoc Rhys, detective with the RCMP visits his parents - Sir Emlyn (a famous conductor) and Lady Rhys - and joins them for the trip to the orchestra's next gig. The star singers and the top orchestra players are flying on a private plane donated for the occasion by a patron. That's when the fun begins.

    I won't spoil the surprise for anyone who hasn't read the book yet but I assure you it will be well worth the time. Charlotte Macleod has a tendency to push cuteness past the point of amusing to the point of silliness but this is one of the ones where her touch is just perfect; cute, funny and clever. Enjoy!
    4 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars The Madoc series great. What next you ask yourself
    Reviewed in Canada on April 21, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    The Madoc series great. What next you ask yourself. I love it, being a Frederictonian, nee Craig {which she also writes under}, and it is solid for "of the time and area". And a real good mystery!!
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  • puzzle
    5.0 out of 5 stars besonders für Blechbläser ein Vergnügen
    Reviewed in Germany on September 23, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    Charlotte Mac Leod erzählt charmant von Eigenheiten der Blechbläser, Holzbläser, Sänger, Dirigenten... und entwickelt in dieser Szenerie einen stimmungsvollen Krimi im verschneiten Hochland
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  • K.Lee
    5.0 out of 5 stars Hilarious
    Reviewed in Canada on October 19, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    This book was a delight! Well written, with lots of tongue in cheek hilarity. I look forward to reading more about Inspector Rhys.
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  • E Z Reader
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in Canada on April 8, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    Full of humour and intrigue Charlotte MacLeod always makes me laugh out loud
    Report

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