When Eve Springer arrives to join the Songbirds it's the fulfillment
of her lifelong dream. But that dream is soon to become a nightmare.
Somebody is murdering the Songbirds, using their own instruments as
weapons. Will Eve be next?
"Passionate, overwhelming, a classic thriller with a rock rhythm." --
Ernesto Gastaldi, screenwriter of So Sweet... So Perverse
I read this story with ever-increasing interest. The dynamics and
tension felt reminiscent of my thriller films from the 70s and 80s,
which have been appreciated by many American directors such as Quentin
Tarantino. It would make a great film for lovers of the genre. Ottimo
intrigo! -- Sergio Martino, director of All the Colors of the Dark
and Torso
Intricately plotted in the classic giallo style, with plot twists and
murders galore. John Everson has written a thriller that is sure to
appeal to devotees of lurid Italian mystery thrillers. -- Troy
Howarth, author of So Deadly, So Perverse: 50 Years of Italian Giallo
Films
Somebody is murdering the Songbirds...
A modern Giallo, Everson's homage to the stylish Italian mystery
thrillers. When Eve Springer arrives in Belgium to study with the
world-famous Prof. Ernest Von Klein at The Eyrie, an exclusive music
conservatory, it's the fulfillment of a lifelong dream. But that dream
is soon to become a nightmare.
When the star of the school's piano program is strangled with a piano
wire, the only clue to the killer is a grainy picture of the victim
during her final moments, mouth wide and screaming, posted on the girl's
own Facebook account, alongside a classic music video. What does it
mean? Eve soon finds herself taking the girl's place as the enclave's
star pupil, in line for a coveted scholarship and a new member of the
famed jazz combo, the Songbirds.
When Eve is drugged and another Songbird murdered at a campus party, she
suddenly finds herself on the list of suspects. Another picture is
posted online of the victim in her final moments, and this time, Eve is
sure the hands around the girl's throat... are hers! Could she have
killed the girl while under the influence of whatever someone had
slipped in her drink? The police and others at the Eyrie are suspicious;
the murders began when she arrived. Her new boyfriend Richard insists
that she could not be the killer. But who would want the Songbirds dead?
One of the other Songbirds, like Gianna, the snarky sax player who seems
to hate everyone? Or Philip, the creepy building caretaker and
occasional night watchman? Or could it be Prof. Von Klein himself, who
seems very handy with a camera and has a secret locked room behind his
office where the light always seems to be on after dark?
Whoever it is, Eve knows she needs to figure it out. Because when a dead
canary is left as a bloody message on the keys of her piano, she knows
her own life may be in deadly danger.
FLAME TREE PRESS is the imprint of long-standing Independent Flame
Tree Publishing, dedicated to full-length original fiction in the horror
and suspense, science fiction & fantasy, and crime / mystery / thriller
categories. The list brings together fantastic new authors and the more
established; the award winners, and exciting, original voices.
