*** Author’s Preferred Edition ***
Music professor Gus LeGarde is about to embark on a European honeymoon with his new wife, Camille, when his socially challenged brother-in-law receives a mysterious invitation to visit an ailing relative in Germany. Siegfried can’t travel alone, but the newlyweds have no qualms over bringing him along.
Unfortunately, their idyllic vacation takes a dark turn … vacation takes a dark turn at the first stop in Paris, when Gus and Siegfried are caught in a bloody street brawl with a group of neo-Nazis — and a flawed news report frames Siegfried for the murder of one of their leaders, thrusting him into the deadly group’s crosshairs.
After a narrow escape, Gus manages to bring his brother-in-law safely to Germany, where he hopes to both salvage the rest of the honeymoon and explore the shocking family secret that awaits there. But the events they’ve set in motion have far-reaching consequences, and the ruthless leader of the terrorist faction has lethal plans in store for Gus, Camille, and Siegfried — and ultimately, the world.
Books by Aaron Paul Lazar:
LEGARDE MYSTERIES, in order of release date:
1. DOUBLE FORTÉ
2. UPSTAGED
3. MAZURKA
4. FIRESONG
5. TREMOLO: CRY OF THE LOON
6. DON’T LET THE WIND CATCH YOU
7. THE LIAR’S GALLERY
8. SPIRIT ME AWAY
9. UNDER THE ICE
10. LADY BLUES
11. VOODOO SUMMER
THE LEGARDE MYSTERIES OMNIBUS
LEGARDE MYSTERIES, in order of chronology:
TREMOLO: CRY OF THE LOON
DON’T LET THE WIND CATCH YOU
VOODOO SUMMER
SPIRIT ME AWAY
DOUBLE FORTÉ
UPSTAGED
MAZURKA
FIRESONG
THE LIAR’S GALLERY
UNDER THE ICE
LADY BLUES
GREEN MARBLE MYSTERIES
THE DISAPPEARANCE OF BILLY MOORE (formerly Healey’s Cave)
TERROR COMES KNOCKING
FOR KEEPS
TALL PINES MYSTERIES
FOR THE BIRDS
ESSENTIALLY YOURS
SANCTUARY
BETRAYAL
TALL PINES BOOK SET
PAINES CREEK BEACH, love stories
THE SEACREST
THE SEACROFT
THE SEADOG
BITTERSWEET HOLLOW, romantic suspense
DEVIL’S LAKE
DEVIL’S CREEK
DEVIL’S SPRING
WRITING GUIDES
WRITE LIKE THE WIND, volume 1
WRITE LIKE THE WIND, volume 2
WRITE LIKE THE WIND, volume 3
contact the author at [email protected] or visit his website for free excerpts at http://www.lazarbooks.com.
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Having had the great fortune to recently devour MAZURKA: A Gus LeGarde Mystery, penned by the talented Aaron Paul Lazar, I’d first like to share I’m totally in awe by this author’s great gift for storytelling.
The book begins with newlyweds Gus LeGarde and Camille (his new bride and second wife), who’re traveling to Paris for their honeymoon with Siegfried, Gus’s first wife’s brother, and a man’s who’s survived a terrible accident with residual issues, but still possessing a loving demeanor.
Their flight is trapped directly in the middle of a horrendous thunderstorm, and the way the author describes the terror these passengers feel as the plane zigzags through turbulence and dives made me feel like I was sitting in the same row as Gus and his wife, as they wonder if they’re going to survive.
Personally, this kind of plane ride is every traveler’s nightmare, but that’s just the beginning of this thrilling novel. Once Mr. Lazar has the reader safely grounded, along with his characters, the action begins anew, and upends the reader for another zinger starting with the very next chapter.
And the next, and so on…I could hardly breathe.
Mr. Lazar’s tale is historically based on the worst crimes committed by Adolf Hitler in WWII, namely the Holocaust, and he weaves the story line around descendants of those who’ve perished in concentration camps, and ultimately, what has now become a new terrorist group of Neo-Nazi villains intending to cause harm.
Too bad Gus, his bride and brother-in-law have inadvertently become entangled with one of the worst plots in recent times to murder peace loving Germans…but I’m getting ahead of myself.
Every chapter in MAZURKA screams plot twists, passionate interludes, danger, and an unexpected secret revealed from the distant past from the mid 1800’s. I almost fell off the sofa – Did NOT see that one coming at all.
Gus LeGarde is also a gifted pianist, a gardener, a dad and Pop-Pop, AND a new husband – he has so much to live for – When danger strikes, how will he maintain his position as the beloved family matriarch?
Enough with the spoilers – I most enthusiastically recommend this novel – Both my heart and soul were captivated in each and every part of this clever, well thought out narration.
Every. Single. Scene.
Bravo, Aaron Paul Lazar – you are a masterful storyteller. Five stars for keeping this reader enthralled – again.
I am not one to give a synopsis when I leave a review. That’s sufficiently done by the author. Instead, I prefer to give a vivid picture of the style, characters, storyline, and whatever intrigues me — or not — about the author’s work. In this story, Aaron Paul Lazar wove an action-packed thriller, taking the reader on a rollercoaster ride through Europe in MAZURKA: A Gus LeGarde Mystery.
I’ve come to love this author. He has plenty of books to choose from, but I haven’t had the opportunity to read other books in this series. Fortunately, that wasn’t a problem as Mazurka absolutely stands on its own. Lazar’s gift for storytelling keeps me wanting to read more.
One of my favorite things about this author is his description and writing style. I’m very visual and can literally see the characters come to life in my mind as I read Lazar’s work. I held my breath with the newlyweds—Gus LeGarde and Camille, his new bride and second wife— when their flight dropped in altitude and they prepared for a crash… and as they fought for their lives, lost in tunnels underneath a landmark.
I fell in love with Siegfried, Gus’s first wife’s brother, and a gentle giant. I rooted for him through his entanglement with the neo-Nazis and felt the emotion after the incident in Germany.
The thrills never stopped, except to give the reader a sigh of relief and a quick breath before moving onto the next tense situation. The author’s authenticity from music to scenery added to his historical knowledge of World War II and understanding of Neo-Nazis gives his tale a realistic storyline and setting.
As each chapter unfolds, new twists and turns abound with nail-biting suspense and passionate moments. But it wasn’t until the very end that I actually understood why the author chose the title Mazurka.
I highly recommend this enthralling story. One thing is for sure… You’ll want more.
Mazurka is a thrilling story that weaves family, suspense and romance threads together, only to bring forth the essence hiding underneath. As the title suggests, that essence, to me, is music. Gus, a music professor, states at the beginning, “Most days I played Chopin’s mazurkas, nocturnes, waltzes… My soul was being cleansed as my fingers danced over the ivories.” His late wife, Elsworth: had a passion for his music, too, instilled in her since childhood, so their love used to resonate on that note, as well.
On a honeymoon trip with his new wife, Camille, who has a history of abuse at the hands of her ex-husband, Gus is so gentle, so patient with her. Right from the start, this trip does not go as planned. “Hope glinted momentarily behind her long lashes util the plane quaked again.” The love scene is delicately described. Later, they visit places near and dear to his heart. “This is where he composed his last Mazurka, Camille.” And on second thought, he realizes, “I realized that when I sat at home in front of my old Mason and Hamlin piano and lost myself in one of Chopin’s melancholy nocturnes, I was closer to his genius than when I stood in front of this old building in Paris.”
But even in this romantic location, which is so vividly captured in this book, trouble is brewing, when they are faced, time and again, with members of a neo-nazi group. “There is a great deal of fear out there now, fear of those fanatics organizing and gaining some political momentum.” There are chase and escape scenes that will leave you hanging by your nails… Until, in the end, a revelation that harkens back to the musical theme, when they discover a precious, never before published manuscript by Chopin, for the woman in his life. Thus, love and music are woven together once more, even in the face of fear and mishaps. “My hand trembled as I held the precious manuscript under the light.”
The audiobook narrator, Lou Hecker, did justice to the writing, giving voice to Gus, giving a hesitant, soft voice to Camille, and endowing the other characters with different accents and intonations. I enjoyed his performance.
Highly recommended. Five stars.
***** A Power House of a Book!
What made this book so memorable for me was not just a great plot and touching characters, but also the author’s ability to combine some fine, descriptive, and literary language along with power-packed action scenes and a sense of danger lurking throughout. A danger that kept me wondering––and dreading. And turning pages. Opening with a detailed and harrowing depiction of a tremendously rocky airplane flight heading toward Paris, we meet newlyweds, Gus LeGarde and Camille, his new wife, who are accompanied by Siegfried, Gus’ German childhood companion, mentally disabled by an accident years before.
On the plane, the three of them notice a skinhead with a Swastika tattoo. Disgusted, as soon as they land––safe after all––they think nothing more about him and move on. Imagine their surprise when they run into the same Neo Nazi and his cronies on a boat ride. Soon, these same young men are staging a New World Delegates demonstration, honoring their leader, Kirk Müller, and all with an eager CNN team nearby, filming everything.
Then things go horribly wrong. While Camille is off shopping, Müller and the half Jewish Siegfried get into a fight and Müller is accidentally killed by his own men’s friendly fire. But CNN states it all wrong and now Siegfried is a major target. And so starts the nonstop, frightening, cat-and-mouse journey of these three main characters being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Terrific read!