Music to Die for

by Radine Trees Nehring

Book Overview

Carrie McCrite and several friends have planned a weekend vacation at the Ozark Folk Center State Park in remote Stone County, Arkansas, where they're signed up for craft classes. Crafts take a back seat to a kidnapping, arson, and murder after Dulcey Mason, four-year-old daughter of famous country musicians Chase Mason and Tracy Teal, disappears, and her abductor is found stabbed, his house burned. Romance ignites again between Carrie and her...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0966187989
• ISBN13: 9780966187984
• Release Date: October 2003
• Publisher: St Kitts Press
• Length: 292 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.3" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

a terrific Ozark cozy

As the Arkansas highway tourist information manager, widow Carrie McCrite attends the annual Department of Parks and Tourism Convention at The Ozark Folk Center State Park near Mountain View with several of her friends including her closest pal Henry King. Carrie especially looks forward to attending the craft classes that she signed up for and to attending the performances especially country and western stars Chase Mason and Tracy Teal, but dozes through the lectures. However, instead of a weekend of relaxation mellowing in the remote local, all hell breaks lose. Someone abducts Farel, the four year old daughter of Chase and Tracy; however Carrie and Henry find the culprit dead and his house burned down in a deliberate fire. The child remains missing. As they work in tandem while their feelings for one another blossom Carrie and Henry desperately hope to save a little girl even at a risk to their own lives. MUSIC TO DIE FOR is a terrific Ozark cozy that brings to life this region of the country. The mystery is cleverly designed so that the lead amateur sleuths and the audience seem to only find more questions and plenty of troubles, but no child. Henry is a delightful lead as his admiration and fondness for Carrie grow; she is an intriguing charter who when struggling asks the Lord for guidance. Fans of regional cozies will enjoy this tale and like this reviewer seek Radine Tree Nehring's first Ozark mystery, A VALLEY TO DIE FOR. Harriet Klausner

A sweet and tender tale

Radine Trees Nehring is a journalist and author who writes for any occasion, be it a radio news show, a magazine story, a news story, or her second mystery. Her first mystery is entitled SOMTHING TO DIE FOR. Radine is a resident of Arkansas, and understands its rich culture and traditions.Carrie McCrite is about as unlike a detective as a heroine can be. She goes to a tourism convention at the Ozark Folk Center State Park and decides to get involved when her charges, a famous country singing duo, Chase Mason and Tracy Teal, are pulled into murder and the kidnapping of their little girl. Dulcey has disappeared; Tracy's cousin, Farel Teal, is dead with a pair of scissors stuck in his chest, and Tracy is a basket case:"`I didn't pay any attention to who ran past me. Whoever it was went toward the auditorium real fast. There was no way to tell. It was dark...and anyway, there was Farel...' `But did you see that it was a man?' Tracy stared wide-eyed at Carrie and didn't answer."There is something awfully tantalizing about a dark, moonlit night, a Southern setting, and country music. This backdrop is sparked by romance, family feuds, and the compelling feeling of having to rescue a little girl in distress. Nehring's characters spark a plot that is easily carried by a situation that branches out into one heck of a puzzler. Nothing is as it seems, evidenced by a crooning woman called Mad Margaret, who turns in a fine performance.Carrie McCrite is down to earth, but not above a little romance with her best friend ex-cop Henry King, who charges in to the rescue at just the right moment. Nehring's action and denouement usually involve poor Carrie ruining what clothes she is in, getting bumped on the head, or scratched by vicious branches. But in the end all turns out for the best, leaving the reader sighing in satisfaction, just as if I'd indulged in a piece of either apply or peach chunky; as Nehring thoughtfully provides recipes for each at the end of this sweet and tender tale.Shelley GlodowskiReviewer