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Murder in the Pit
Julia Kogan, a brilliant young violinist, teams up with opera-loving cop Larry Somers to solve the high profile murder of a famous opera conductor. In the process, Julia and Larry discover an opera house rife with with a dangerous web of secrets, intrigue, lethal rivalries, and danger.
228 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2010
2 people are currently reading
22 people want to read
About the author
Erica Miner
9 books20 followersFormerly a violinist with the New York Metropolitan Opera, Erica is now an award-winning author, journalist, lecturer and screenwriter. Erica's debut novel, Travels With My Lovers, won the Fiction Prize in the Direct from the Author Book Awards. Her screenplays have won awards in recognized competitions. Aria for Murder, the first in her Opera Mystery series published by Level Best Books, was a Finalist in the 2023 Eric Hoffer Book Awards. The sequel, Prelude to Murder, releases in September 2023, and the third book in the series is due for publication in 2024.
Erica is a regular contributor of articles and interviews to such arts websites USBachtrack, BroadwayWorld, and LAOpus.com.
An experienced speaker, seminarist and workshop giver, Erica was a top-rated lecturer for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines. She has since presented regularly for the Seattle Symphony pre-concert talks, Osher Lifelong Living Institute at University of California San Diego and University of Washington, Wagner Societies on both coasts and in Australia, and numerous other venues.
Erica is a regular contributor of articles and interviews to such arts websites USBachtrack, BroadwayWorld, and LAOpus.com.
An experienced speaker, seminarist and workshop giver, Erica was a top-rated lecturer for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines. She has since presented regularly for the Seattle Symphony pre-concert talks, Osher Lifelong Living Institute at University of California San Diego and University of Washington, Wagner Societies on both coasts and in Australia, and numerous other venues.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
May 8, 2020
This was an enjoyable enough way to pass the time, with some interesting tidbits about life at the Met, but I didn't find it to be a very good mystery or well-written. Bottom line, this reads like a first draft. It could have benefited from a merciless editor. The author's writing style is a bit clunky; her descriptions were convoluted and extremely over-wordy, and although you could usually see what she was trying to get at when describing a sight or emotion, she didn't quite get all the way to making you see or feel it. The characters were flat (none of the pairings had any chemistry and pretty much everyone's voices sounded exactly the same - everyone seemed to call the heroine "kid", which made me think this book was written in like the 80's or something haha). They all had complex pasts and dark secrets, which I appreciated, but I'm not sure why we need to know about the dark secrets of every single character when the emotional ramifications of these are never fleshed out and they don't contribute to the plot (did the main character really - minor spoiler alert - have to see her father murdered in front of her as a child if that's not something that's going to be woven into the rest of the story? It seemed like a poorly-conceived attempt to be 'edgy'.) Other things: Physical descriptions are scarce and characters' ages and other important details often aren't mentioned until a long time after we meet them. This added confusion and in one case made the plot harder to follow, at least for me; I was very surprised to find out one of the characters was only in their 30's, and if I'd known that sooner, I would have figured out the mystery sooner. The villain was, in my opinion, unnecessarily creepy and perverse; that isn't really the sort of book I'm looking for when I pick up a mystery set in an opera house. Most irritatingly of all - and this was the real reason I couldn't give the book more than three stars - the killer was so obvious that I thought they must have been written that way to distract from the real culprit (but no). This had the effect of changing the book from a whodunit to a howdidit/whydidit about halfway through but without telling the reader (if that makes any sense), which was very disorienting. Worse, it made the POV character (I hesitate to call her a heroine, as she remains irritatingly passive until the last scene - when she makes a very morally questionable decision - so much so, in fact, that I wished the book had been narrated by someone else, preferably the likeable sleuth, who is the only character with a hint of personality) seem so dim for not figuring it out sooner that you wonder how she had the brains to become a classical violinist.
Additionally, the author leaned heavily on musical motifs, such as, for example, juxtaposing a climactic scene with a dramatic opera happening at the same time, but if you're not familiar with the work in question, you won't feel the effect (in fact, I was familiar with 'Tosca', and again, while I understood what the author was trying to do, she didn't quite get me all the way there). That's a device that works in movies, where you can hear the music, but is hard to pull off in books; I think it would have taken a more deft writer to do that.
And there were a number of subplots that had absolutely nothing to do with the central story and didn't even seem like red herrings. I think about 1/3 of the scenes in this book - a secret drug habit, a closet gay affair (though why that should still have qualified as scandalous in 2010 I don't understand; it never really explained why that was such A Shocking Secret that the pair had to hide it) intimacy issues, traumatic childhoods, recovery from alcoholism - should have been set aside to write a gritty realistic-fiction novel about a violinist starting her career at the Met. I would have enjoyed reading it, lol! A couple of redeeming points: It was nice to see into a complex and cloistered world from the point of view of someone who was actually familiar with it (generally when people who haven't lived an experience try to write about it, it doesn't quite work, so this was a refreshing change.) And there was a cool bit (semi-spoiler alert) about code being written into music, which made for a fun little lesson in some of the more obscure aspects of music theory, although it was a bit unclear why the murder victim coded a secret message into music without telling anyone instead of, you know, just leaving someone a note or something.
Overall, I'd say, read this if you like mysteries and are interested in classical music and/or opera, but otherwise, give it a pass.
Additionally, the author leaned heavily on musical motifs, such as, for example, juxtaposing a climactic scene with a dramatic opera happening at the same time, but if you're not familiar with the work in question, you won't feel the effect (in fact, I was familiar with 'Tosca', and again, while I understood what the author was trying to do, she didn't quite get me all the way there). That's a device that works in movies, where you can hear the music, but is hard to pull off in books; I think it would have taken a more deft writer to do that.
And there were a number of subplots that had absolutely nothing to do with the central story and didn't even seem like red herrings. I think about 1/3 of the scenes in this book - a secret drug habit, a closet gay affair (though why that should still have qualified as scandalous in 2010 I don't understand; it never really explained why that was such A Shocking Secret that the pair had to hide it) intimacy issues, traumatic childhoods, recovery from alcoholism - should have been set aside to write a gritty realistic-fiction novel about a violinist starting her career at the Met. I would have enjoyed reading it, lol! A couple of redeeming points: It was nice to see into a complex and cloistered world from the point of view of someone who was actually familiar with it (generally when people who haven't lived an experience try to write about it, it doesn't quite work, so this was a refreshing change.) And there was a cool bit (semi-spoiler alert) about code being written into music, which made for a fun little lesson in some of the more obscure aspects of music theory, although it was a bit unclear why the murder victim coded a secret message into music without telling anyone instead of, you know, just leaving someone a note or something.
Overall, I'd say, read this if you like mysteries and are interested in classical music and/or opera, but otherwise, give it a pass.
December 25, 2020
The protagonist is a brilliant young violinist, just hired by the Met Opera orchestra. (The author herself spent time as a violinist in the Met Opera orchestra, so you know she's writing what she knows here. And it shows.) The writing is solid, occasionally somewhat flowery and dramatic, as fitting for a book that's in the opera milieu. I enjoyed the whole thing; found the protagonist endearing and flawed. The detective (Larry) worked well for me, too.
You don't need to know much about opera to read this, except that you should know that opera is an art form in which a lot of people sing intensely and act dramatically among flamboyant stage settings, usually accompanied by a muscular orchestra; and patrons often pay lots of money to see them do so. But your experience of the book might be enhanced if you know a little something about Tosca, Don Giovanni, and La Bohème (in particular).
Haha, I'll confess that I'm a moderate fan of big opera but a really big fan of little opera, particularly in translation and in smaller venues where you can feel the singers breathing and understand what they're singing. (Like Donald Pippin's Pocket Opera in San Francisco.) At this point, I've seen a large number of operas from the standard repertoire; except that I don't care for Wagner at all, sorry. So, a book that's overflowing with opera, opera, and more opera, featuring a vulnerable little violinist, is just up my alley. I'm glad I read this, particularly this year, as I was very heart-broken most of this year because the opera was all cancelled due to Covid-19. So, yes, I hope 2020 gets walloped hard in the ass on its way out the temporal door, so to speak. And, I'm definitely going to read the next book in this series at some point. Especially if the next opera season also gets cancelled.
[Coda: For what it's worth, if you've ever been curious about opera and wonder what all that singing is about but fear being overwhelmed with old-fashioned Italian, I'd suggest you start with something light and English, like Gilbert and Sullivan's Iolanthe. Or try grooving to The Mikado after watching Topsy Turvy.]
You don't need to know much about opera to read this, except that you should know that opera is an art form in which a lot of people sing intensely and act dramatically among flamboyant stage settings, usually accompanied by a muscular orchestra; and patrons often pay lots of money to see them do so. But your experience of the book might be enhanced if you know a little something about Tosca, Don Giovanni, and La Bohème (in particular).
Haha, I'll confess that I'm a moderate fan of big opera but a really big fan of little opera, particularly in translation and in smaller venues where you can feel the singers breathing and understand what they're singing. (Like Donald Pippin's Pocket Opera in San Francisco.) At this point, I've seen a large number of operas from the standard repertoire; except that I don't care for Wagner at all, sorry. So, a book that's overflowing with opera, opera, and more opera, featuring a vulnerable little violinist, is just up my alley. I'm glad I read this, particularly this year, as I was very heart-broken most of this year because the opera was all cancelled due to Covid-19. So, yes, I hope 2020 gets walloped hard in the ass on its way out the temporal door, so to speak. And, I'm definitely going to read the next book in this series at some point. Especially if the next opera season also gets cancelled.
[Coda: For what it's worth, if you've ever been curious about opera and wonder what all that singing is about but fear being overwhelmed with old-fashioned Italian, I'd suggest you start with something light and English, like Gilbert and Sullivan's Iolanthe. Or try grooving to The Mikado after watching Topsy Turvy.]
August 25, 2020
This book seems to be written in the style of an Opera - it is full of melodrama, and references to music that are supposed to set the mood for the scene. For a person who has seen all the Operas referenced, and knows the music well enough to hear it in their head just from seeing the name of the piece or one line from it, that might work. For myself, not having heard those songs before, it's only fluffy melodrama written in flat prose with irrelevant references to songs I've never heard.
The prose is far too wordy, and meanders too much, to hold any tension at all. It is full of rabbit trails and irrelevant details about things that have no direct connection to the plot at all.
Every character has an obvious role and it's clear from the beginning who will be the framed innocent, who will be the hero, who will be the charming seducer with evil motives, etc. The roles are copy-pasted directly from an Opera template. It is full of cardboard characters and clichés. There is an attempt at a twist, where the Opera piece set up to mirror the plot has something happen that doesn't happen in the book plot - but I never expected it to, because the tone of the book never seriously led me to believe it might. The story ended pretty much exactly how I expected from the beginning.
There is a long-winded melodramatic speech by the villainous villain just in his dramatically staged moment of triumph, with results you can see coming from the first words.
If you dabble in Opera as a hobby, and dabble in reading light fluffy mysteries, then this combination might work for you. You can imagine it being played out on a stage with bright costumes and impressive arias. With that perspective, it might be decent entertainment for you. But I didn't really enjoy it at all.
The prose is far too wordy, and meanders too much, to hold any tension at all. It is full of rabbit trails and irrelevant details about things that have no direct connection to the plot at all.
Every character has an obvious role and it's clear from the beginning who will be the framed innocent, who will be the hero, who will be the charming seducer with evil motives, etc. The roles are copy-pasted directly from an Opera template. It is full of cardboard characters and clichés. There is an attempt at a twist, where the Opera piece set up to mirror the plot has something happen that doesn't happen in the book plot - but I never expected it to, because the tone of the book never seriously led me to believe it might. The story ended pretty much exactly how I expected from the beginning.
There is a long-winded melodramatic speech by the villainous villain just in his dramatically staged moment of triumph, with results you can see coming from the first words.
If you dabble in Opera as a hobby, and dabble in reading light fluffy mysteries, then this combination might work for you. You can imagine it being played out on a stage with bright costumes and impressive arias. With that perspective, it might be decent entertainment for you. But I didn't really enjoy it at all.
June 2, 2022
Julia Kogan, a 22 year-old ingenue, is about to make her debut in the Metropolitan Opera orchestra. The famous conductor Able Trudeau has been her mentor for several years, eventually shepherding her into landing a position. Julia is a modestly sympathetic main character, though her naivete stretches the reader's belief, and alternates with a stand-offish and prickly nature that is better understood if a little jarring. Able is murdered during her initial performance and events cascade from there.
The novel is strong on place and setting, though wordy with middling fair dialog. It is strongly aimed at opera buffs who have a reasonable appreciation of the pieces referenced throughout and the connection of the plot to the performance. The character motivations are questionable and even as the culprit is unmasked, not entirely satisfying. The initial police investigation settles on a suspect with surprising speed and little apparent cause - possibly to match Julia's confusion over just what had happened. The detective who eventually becomes her love interest seemed straight out of a Hallmark mystery.
The novel is strong on place and setting, though wordy with middling fair dialog. It is strongly aimed at opera buffs who have a reasonable appreciation of the pieces referenced throughout and the connection of the plot to the performance. The character motivations are questionable and even as the culprit is unmasked, not entirely satisfying. The initial police investigation settles on a suspect with surprising speed and little apparent cause - possibly to match Julia's confusion over just what had happened. The detective who eventually becomes her love interest seemed straight out of a Hallmark mystery.
June 5, 2018
A fun rendering of classic opera into contemporary murder mystery.
Erica Miner deftly twines the story of the opera Tosca with a twist of relationships between contemporary opera cast and crew in her debut mystery novel. She combines personal experience as a violinist in the Metropolitan Opera orchestra and her deep knowledge of opera lyrics and stories with her own skilled storytelling to captivate the reader. I found it hard to put down.
Julia, the main character, at times is seemingly deep-valued and emotionally complex and at others acts against those very values and her own instincts with too little angst. The truth is, I have the same critique of most operas (I’m a mystery fan, and a music fan, but admittedly far less an opera fan), so perhaps it’s a function of the reliance on opera characters to define the characters in the book.
Still, a high four stars and I will definitely read the next in the series.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Erica Miner deftly twines the story of the opera Tosca with a twist of relationships between contemporary opera cast and crew in her debut mystery novel. She combines personal experience as a violinist in the Metropolitan Opera orchestra and her deep knowledge of opera lyrics and stories with her own skilled storytelling to captivate the reader. I found it hard to put down.
Julia, the main character, at times is seemingly deep-valued and emotionally complex and at others acts against those very values and her own instincts with too little angst. The truth is, I have the same critique of most operas (I’m a mystery fan, and a music fan, but admittedly far less an opera fan), so perhaps it’s a function of the reliance on opera characters to define the characters in the book.
Still, a high four stars and I will definitely read the next in the series.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
February 28, 2011
Made me want to listen to some opera, particularly Tosca
March 8, 2011
A mystery which took place in New York. It kept your turning pages to find out who the killer was and why that person was killing certain people. A real winner. Loved the book. Linda Meckler
April 2, 2025
I think this is the same book as Aria For Murder, which has some minor changes and updates.
I enjoyed this first in a series about a young violinist at the NY Metropolitan Opera House.
I have no knowledge of opera, but I did enjoy the murder mystery. I had the killer pegged early, but read on to see what the motive and other twists would be. I enjoyed it enough to also buy the second in the series, location Santa Fe and the third located in San Francisco.
I have a friend to donate this copy to, as it was not available in the public library.
I enjoyed this first in a series about a young violinist at the NY Metropolitan Opera House.
I have no knowledge of opera, but I did enjoy the murder mystery. I had the killer pegged early, but read on to see what the motive and other twists would be. I enjoyed it enough to also buy the second in the series, location Santa Fe and the third located in San Francisco.
I have a friend to donate this copy to, as it was not available in the public library.
July 25, 2025
Before I write a review, first of all, I need to say that getting this book into my hands was a long, frustrating and disappointing ordeal!!! I tried to order it from Amazon in Australia, and it was not available for purchase. Then I tried Amazon in Canada, and the paperback is listed at $107.08, and none of the options available were for a NEW book, but used! A used book for $107.08 is just outright ridiculous. Then I tried Amazon.com, and only the paperback was available at $8.85. Speaking as an author and customer of Amazon, I must say that the Amazon algorithms are a nightmare! Well, I finally managed to get the book in my hands, and it did not arrive in Amazon packaging as expected but in the packaging by vendor "Discover Books." I tried to order a new copy, but only an old and used copy was delivered. I was disappointed to see that the book was a bit tattered, signed by the author inside the cover, but it was signed to some individual who scratched out their name, and then I saw a sticker price tag of $1.00 on the side! Unfortunately, I did not get to pay $1.00 for this book but about $15 for a used, tattered book. Thank goodness I have several addresses around the world that I can use to ship an order. By the time I got this book in my hands, I was disappointed with the condition it arrived in the P.O. BOX. Nonetheless, I tried to be positive and open-minded when I sat down to read this book. I really wanted to read this book because I am a musician and patron of the Met and love flying into New York to see the Metropolitan Opera perform. While I lived in New York, I never attended the opera, ballet or symphony. It wasn't until I moved out of NY that I regretted that I didn't take advantage of appreciating the concerts live while I was in town. So I delved into this book because it's all about things such as music, New York and the lives of musicians, which are all dear to my heart and I can relate to such.
FINALLY THE REVIEW:
Opens with a foreword, acknowledgement and a list of characters. No table of contents. Each chapter opens with a quote in Italian and English and the reference, which is taken from an opera. When I started chapter 1, I thought it was about Puccini' Tosca Act II because that was the quote. Instead, it starts with violinist Julia heading to the MET to perform on her violin. Chapter 2: Verdi, Un Ballo in Maschera, Act 1: author tells about the life of Julia at the opera house. I felt like I was getting a backstage pass and glimpse into the perspective of a musician in the orchestra pit. This chapter made me think and reflect upon the times I spent at the Lincoln Center as a patron. By Chapter 3: Mozart, Don Giovanni Act II, I was eager to read about the operas that the author chose to post but realized that the chapters were not about the opera. Chapter 3 was only 3 pages. Chapter 4: Tchaikovsky, Pique Dame Act II is also a short chapter of only 4 pages. I had a hard time getting into the story even though I enjoyed reading about the life of the violinist and what she experienced through her eyes. In Chapter 8, the author mentions the blizzard of that year when Mayor Giuliani closed the city, and this brought back many memories. Chapter 11, Puccini, Tosca Act II, is one of my favorite operas, and the chapter opens with Julia and Sidney sitting at the bar directly across from Lincoln Plaza. I can picture that bar in my mind, as I walked past that bar on several occasions. I also liked how the author included the tidbit about Juilliard in this chapter. In Chapter 13, Beethoven, Fidelio Act II (one of my favorite operas), the author introduces the NY scene of Police Commissioner, Mayor Giulani and Detective Larry Somers. I enjoyed reading about how the NYPD and the mayor interacted and attempted to solve this high-profile case. Reading about the unfortunate murder of the conductor Abel wasn't quite plausible in my opinion, but I kept reading. Chapter 31 ends with a scene, "I'd rather listen to La Bohème," which I can relate to. Me too. Chapter 35: The grand piano in Dr. Haim Ghent's Upper West Side apartment in the historical landmark Ansonia building makes me want to go to the Upper West Side on 73rd Street and check it out! Overall, I found the story fell a bit flat, the ending abrupt and the whole murder situation not quite plausible. On page 222, there is a page about the author and then a list of her books that can be ordered with the publisher Twilight Times Books. I went on the publisher's website and could not find the books or a way to order. The coupon on page 224 is a unique idea and a bit dated because people generally do not rip a page out of a book to mail in a coupon to the publisher. The synopsis on page 225 would have been better placed on the back cover of the book. Overall, the musician in me is glad I read this book.
FINALLY THE REVIEW:
Opens with a foreword, acknowledgement and a list of characters. No table of contents. Each chapter opens with a quote in Italian and English and the reference, which is taken from an opera. When I started chapter 1, I thought it was about Puccini' Tosca Act II because that was the quote. Instead, it starts with violinist Julia heading to the MET to perform on her violin. Chapter 2: Verdi, Un Ballo in Maschera, Act 1: author tells about the life of Julia at the opera house. I felt like I was getting a backstage pass and glimpse into the perspective of a musician in the orchestra pit. This chapter made me think and reflect upon the times I spent at the Lincoln Center as a patron. By Chapter 3: Mozart, Don Giovanni Act II, I was eager to read about the operas that the author chose to post but realized that the chapters were not about the opera. Chapter 3 was only 3 pages. Chapter 4: Tchaikovsky, Pique Dame Act II is also a short chapter of only 4 pages. I had a hard time getting into the story even though I enjoyed reading about the life of the violinist and what she experienced through her eyes. In Chapter 8, the author mentions the blizzard of that year when Mayor Giuliani closed the city, and this brought back many memories. Chapter 11, Puccini, Tosca Act II, is one of my favorite operas, and the chapter opens with Julia and Sidney sitting at the bar directly across from Lincoln Plaza. I can picture that bar in my mind, as I walked past that bar on several occasions. I also liked how the author included the tidbit about Juilliard in this chapter. In Chapter 13, Beethoven, Fidelio Act II (one of my favorite operas), the author introduces the NY scene of Police Commissioner, Mayor Giulani and Detective Larry Somers. I enjoyed reading about how the NYPD and the mayor interacted and attempted to solve this high-profile case. Reading about the unfortunate murder of the conductor Abel wasn't quite plausible in my opinion, but I kept reading. Chapter 31 ends with a scene, "I'd rather listen to La Bohème," which I can relate to. Me too. Chapter 35: The grand piano in Dr. Haim Ghent's Upper West Side apartment in the historical landmark Ansonia building makes me want to go to the Upper West Side on 73rd Street and check it out! Overall, I found the story fell a bit flat, the ending abrupt and the whole murder situation not quite plausible. On page 222, there is a page about the author and then a list of her books that can be ordered with the publisher Twilight Times Books. I went on the publisher's website and could not find the books or a way to order. The coupon on page 224 is a unique idea and a bit dated because people generally do not rip a page out of a book to mail in a coupon to the publisher. The synopsis on page 225 would have been better placed on the back cover of the book. Overall, the musician in me is glad I read this book.
March 9, 2013
Written with incredible detail, this spellbinding musical drama at the New York Metropolitan Opera House mimics the operatic masterpieces performed by some of the greatest musicians to ever grace the stage. As a murder mystery unfolds amongst members of the orchestra, Julia, a young violinist, finds herself in the midst of the investigation. Determined to find the killer, Julia encounters a unique and colorful cast of characters who shed light into the eccentric life of those in the arts. This delightful story adds rich layers of culture and intrigue to a brilliantly twisted plot that’s guaranteed to thrill the lovers of a great mystery.
I was provided a copy of the book by BTS eMag for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review – all conclusions are my own responsibility.
I was provided a copy of the book by BTS eMag for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review – all conclusions are my own responsibility.
June 30, 2010
The greatest mystery!
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