ChoirMaster

A marriage of convenience … 

a crisis of faith … a talking cat.


What could possibly go wrong?

MISTER PUSS MYSTERY #2

by Michael Craft


In idyllic little Dumont, Wisconsin, the historic but financially troubled St. Alban’s Episcopal Church has a new rector who plans to turn things around, a woman named Joyce Hibbard. Local architect Marson Miles puts two and two together and figures out that Mother Hibbard’s husband is none other than his long-ago college friend, Curtis Hibbard, who is now a prominent New York attorney. And unless Marson is mistaken, Curtis and Joyce must have a marriage of convenience.

Mother Hibbard wants to build a fabulous new church to replace the crumbling St. Alban’s. Local philanthropist Mary Questman wants her friend Marson to design it. And Mother Hibbard’s husband really wants the hunky young choir director, David Lovell. But then, in a god-awful development, someone turns up dead.

It was murder, all right, and suspects abound. Once again, Marson’s dashing husband, Brody Norris, steps into the role of amateur sleuth and sidekick to Sheriff Thomas Simms. And once again, Brody himself gets a bit of help — from Mary Questman’s exotic cat, a chatty Abyssinian named Mister Puss.



Available in hardcover, paperback, and e-book.

288 pages, Questover Press. 

Copyright © 2019 by Michael Craft.

Scroll down to author’s notes.

“Compellingly odd … this cozy setting with its nosey inhabitants makes for a lovely place to spend a few hours trying to figure out whodunit and why. A satisfying mystery, pleasantly told.”   — Kirkus Reviews

“Readers looking for a murder mystery that goes beyond a whodunit to probe the hearts, minds, and lives of small-town residents will relish the realistic setting, diverse characters, and quirky cat profiled in ChoirMaster … An intriguing, fast-paced story … A satisfying series addition standing nicely on its own four paws.”  — Midwest Book Review

“Craft knows mystery writing … The reader is breathless from possibilities and flipping pages briskly to find out what’s really going on … A lovely murder mystery that will charm the author’s loyal following as well as fans of Richard Stevenson, R.D. Zimmerman, and Mark Richard Zubro.”  — Andrew J. Peters, Out in Print

“In a world full of fiction loaded with contemporary tropes and millennial slang, it is lovely to read a book with this kind of mannered literary style.”  
Ulysses Dietz, Backlot Gay Book Forum

Note

from the author.

WHEN I SET OUT a year ago to introduce the reading world to Mister Puss in FlabberGassed, I had no idea whether the notion would fly or not. I wasn’t even sure how to explain the concept: “It’s a gay cat mystery. I mean, the amateur sleuth is gay, not the cat. And the cat talks. Sort of.” 

Somehow, the seeming absurdity of that premise proved to be the very aspect of the story that drew so many readers to the book. And their ringing enthusiasm is what gave me the confidence to proceed with this unlikely series.

Therefore, I would like to acknowledge and thank you, my readers, for wanting this second installment, ChoirMaster.

                                                — Michael Craft

CHOIRMASTER
received the following honors:

• Gold Winner, IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award

• Finalist, Lambda Literary Award, Gay Mystery

• Finalist, Cat Writers Assn., Muse Medallion

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