Aria for Murder

In this brand-new version of the first in Erica's Julia Kogan "Opera Mystery" series, the brilliant young neophyte violinist witnesses the assassination of her mentor, a famous conductor, on the podium of the Metropolitan Opera, teams up with the NYPD detective on the investigation, and finds herself in danger of becoming the killer's next victim.
"A cosy mystery at its very best...The stuff of which Hallmark TV mystery movies are made" - Midwest Book Review

Prologue

Chi è morto, voi, o il vecchio?
Che domanda da bestia! Il vecchio.
Who’s dead, you or the old man?
What an idiotic question! The old man.

—Mozart, Don Giovanni, Act I


Collateral damage. Sometimes it just can’t be avoided.

That was what his partner had told him. When you’re trying to kill someone, other people can get in the way. It’s not planned. It just happens. Though the Metropolitan Opera’s orchestra pit was the largest in the world, when the orchestration of an opera was vast, as in Wagner or Strauss, things could get quite crowded for the one hundred or so musicians squeezed together there. Tonight’s Verdi was no exception. Grand opera at its loftiest, with plenty of brass, extra strings, and the like. He would do his best to hit his target precisely. But it wasn’t an exact science. And if, under pressure, he was slightly off, well...

Tanto peggio, as they say in French.

He chortled to himself. Everyone in the Met knew “tanto peggio” was Italian, not French.

He salivated with anticipation as he lovingly cleaned his VAL Russian sniper rifle with its special bronze-bristled brush, and oiled and lubricated the ammunition chamber with the fine-spray One Shot gun cleaner and a cotton swab. He picked up the last tiny fragments of powder residue with an alcohol patch threaded through a needle attached to the brush. Then he polished the entire instrument with one of his special-order McAlister microfiber gun cleaning cloths.

If you look after your firearm, when the time comes, it will look after you.

A vintage model, no longer available, the VAL was precious, but not because of its monetary or historic value. It was his own personal Stradivarius: a thing of beauty, a state-of-the-art example of genius in design at its time, and still as reliable as ever. He knew that the cartridge of this rifle, with the immense power contained within its barrel, was capable of forcing a bullet to explode at a higher speed than a mere handgun: the kind of velocity he needed to accomplish his goal.

Lord knows I need something dependable—and powerful.

No one knew he kept the VAL right inside the opera house, practically under everyone’s noses. To head off the possibility that they might install metal detectors at the Met—which everyone seemed to be doing these days—he had found the perfect hiding place for his beloved firearm, in a far-off corner away from prying eyes. It remained there, at the ready, just in case he needed it. No one was aware of its existence, let alone its hidden location.

Except me. And my partner.

And what better time for an assassination than opening night at the Met?

My partner is a brilliant planner. I will do my part. Justice will be served. Finally.

With a sigh, he wrapped his instrument in its plush chamois cloth and painstakingly laid it in its temporary resting place beside its smaller sibling, the Beretta.

It won’t be long now, my trusted friend. It won’t be long.

Violinist turned author ERICA MINER now has a multi-faceted career as an award-winning author, screenwriter, journalist and lecturer. A native of Detroit, she studied violin with Boston Symphony Orchestra concertmaster Joseph Silverstein at Boston University where she graduated cum laude; the New England Conservatory of Music; and the Tanglewood Music Center, summer home of the Boston Symphony, where she performed with such celebrated conductors as Leonard Bernstein and Erich Leinsdorf. Erica went on to perform with the prestigious Metropolitan Opera Company for 21 years, where she worked closely with renowned maestro James Levine.

When injuries from a car accident spelled the end of her musical career, Erica drew upon her lifelong love of writing for inspiration and studied screenwriting in New York and Los Angeles with script gurus Linda Seger and Ken Rotcop. Erica’s screenplays have won awards in a number of recognized competitions such as WinFemme, Santa Fe and the Writer’s Digest.

Inspired by journals she wrote during her travel adventures abroad, Erica penned the novel and screenplay of Travels With My Lovers, winner of the Fiction Prize in the Direct from the Author Book Awards. She also has written the feature screenplay and TV Series Bible for FourEver Friends, the first in her journal-based novel series chronicling four teenage girls' coming of age in Detroit in the volatile 1960s. Subsequent novel in the series are set in Boston and New York. In addition, Erica has written the screenplay of her mystery novel Murder In The Pit, now renamed Aria for Murder, released in Oct., 2022 by Level Best books, which takes place at the Met Opera. The sequel, Prelude to Murder, set at Santa Fe Opera, releases in Sept., 2023. The next sequel, which takes place at San Francisco Opera, will release in Oct., 2024.

Erica's lectures, seminars and workshops on writing and on opera have received kudos in venues worldwide, including: pre-concert lectures for the Seattle Symphony at Benaroya Hall; the Wagner Societies of New York, Boston, Los Angeles, San Diego, Northern California, North Carolina and Sydney, Australia; the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of California, San Diego, and the University of Washington; for the Creative Retirement Institute at Edmonds College near Seattle; and on the High Seas, where Erica was named a top-rated speaker for both Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruise Lines. Her wide-ranging topics range from "The Art of Self Re-Invention" to "Journaling for Writers: Mining the Gold of Your Own Experiences”, "Wagner and Bernstein: Parallels and Contrasts", "Opera Meets Hollywood"; Shakespeare and the Opera Composers Who Loved Him; and numerous others.

Now a well recognized reviewer for Seattle Opera and San Diego Opera, as well as San Diego Symphony, Seattle Symphony and Pacific Northwest Ballet among many others, Erica is a regular contributor of articles, reviews and interviews to:
- BroadwayWorld BroadwayWorld Articles
- Bachtrack Bachtrack Articles
- LAOpus LAOpus Articles
- OperaPulse.com OperaPulse.com Articles

Erica's writings also have appeared in Leitmotive, the magazine of the Wagner Society of Northern California, Italian American Magazine, San Diego Jewish Journal, Del Mar Lifestyle, Opera+ St. Petersburg Music & Art Magazine, Vision Magazine, WORD San Diego, Istanbul Our City, and numerous E-zines.

Erica Miner announces the publication of her latest novel Aria for Murder: A Julia Kogan Mystery, on Oct. 28, 2022. Erica is the award-winning author of 5 novels, one of which won the Fiction Prize in the Direct from the Author Book Awards.

Synopsis: When a renowned conductor is assassinated on the podium of the Metropolitan Opera, a young female violinist is thrust into the investigation and finds herself the killer’s prime target.

Here’s what industry professionals are saying:

“A ruthless and clever killer haunts the Metropolitan Opera and the hidden recesses of Lincoln Center. Violinist Julia Kogan, a rising star in the pit, must unmask the murderer or become a victim herself. Erica Miner’s richly satisfying Aria for Murder delivers a compelling mystery, replete with devious characters, glorious music, and plenty of behind-the-scenes dirty laundry. A musical and dramatic triumph. Bis! Encore!”
- James W. Ziskin, Anthony, Barry, and Macavity Award-winning author of the Ellie Stone Mysteries. Edgar®, Agatha, and Lefty Award finalist

“A brilliant murder mystery set in the grandeur of the Metropolitan Opera House in NYC. Filled with nonstop action and vibrant color, this story will whisk you away to another world where you’ll fall for the characters and yearn for more. I really loved this book. The opera background just filled me with so much joy. your background and scenery all played so strong with me! All in all, a brilliant work. Highly recommended.”
- Aaron Paul Lazar, USA Today Bestselling Author

“Erica Miner, the Agatha Christie of the opera world, continues the genre with a wickedly wonderful, fast-paced updated version of the former 1st book in the series, Murder in the Pit. Her brand-new thriller, Aria for Murder, delights in every way, as plot twists and turns left my heart racing through the suspenseful dénouement. Miner's 21 years as violinist with the Met Orchestra gives credence to her knowledge of the opera house, both in front of and behind the Gold Curtain. This is simply brilliant writing. Bravissima!”
- Richard Stilwell, international opera star

“An expert in the opera world, Miner strikes a Major chord!”
- Gerald Elias, author of The Devil’s Trill

Now available in all formats on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Aria-Murder-Julia-Kogan-Mystery/dp/1685121985/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

ISBN-10: ‎ 1685121985
ISBN-13‏: ‎ 978-1685121983