A Fatal Overture, by Kathleen Marple Kalb

I found myself deliberately slowing down my reading pace as I wanted the story to last awhile longer for my enjoyment. Although this was a new series to me, I will definitely be following the adventures of opera singer Ella Shane in the future, not to mention going back and reading the previous entries. While the story unfolded at a perhaps slower pace than many others of the same ilk, perhaps appropriately since it unfolds in the early 1900's, it was a delight to meet not just Ella and her beau Gil, a duke/barrister/lawyer, but his family and Ella's extended family and friends. And let's not forget Montezuma, an Amazon parrot, who is thoroughly entertaining with his renditions of not just opera but raucous drinking songs with attitude.

I loved that Gil's mother, a countess, no less, and aunts weren't put off at all by Ella's humble roots or mixed religious influences, even if it was a bit surprising to read they'd discovered a body in the bathtub of their hotel suite. True, he sounds like someone soundly deserving of his fate but, well, this death sets off a series of events and actions that draw you further into Ella's surroundings and reveal past events to those like me who are just discovering Ella Shane.

It's a fascinating world, too, peopled by characters that author Kalb brings to life well. I was particularly intrigued that one of the characters had been a drummer boy at Gettysburg as I, too, have an ancestor who fought in that battle. True, Ella is only a figment of Kalb's imagination but it shows how well she ties the characters, good or not-so-good, alive and part of their world, not just tossed in as distractions. Not only is there the bathtub murder to solve but the question of who is threatening GiI and what role does Ella's reporter friend have in the murder. And, oh, yeah, that ominous message from an aunt with second sight that Ella should be careful where fire is involved. The laudanum dreams Ella has at one point are both wonderful and reveal much background in a way that works, too. Finally, toss in the negotiation going on between Gil and Ella, both of them with many responsibilities, and every chapter was intriguing and informative on who these people were.

Bottom line, I'm looking forward to the next entrant to their lives. Thank you NetGalley and Kensington Press for introducing me to these fascinating people.