When an enemy makes overtures of friendship, is anyone safe?An unexpected invitation from wily King Frederick causes composer Joseph Haydn to fear he’s walking into a trap. After all, the Prussian King has never had any use for Haydn’s music. His Majesty seems more intrigued at Haydn’s being the son of a market-judge.Worse still, the invitation appears to stir up suspicion in the highest quarters … to stir up suspicion in the highest quarters in Vienna. So much so that a mysterious, cloaked lady visits Haydn’s Music Room and issues a thinly veiled threat.
Now Haydn is convinced there’s mischief afoot. But not even he can foresee that he will stumble upon the corpse of the imperial ambassador a day after his arrival in Frederick’s Prussia, along with evidence that His Lordship may have been a common thief.
Can Haydn salvage the imperial ambassador’s reputation—and find his killer?
Praise for the Joseph Haydn Mysteries
“A standout in the genre of historical mysteries. An encore is requested!”
Midwest Book Review
“Tustin occupies a unique niche in the historical mystery world.”
Edith Maxwell, Agatha-nominated Author, Quaker Midwife Mysteries
“Wonderful read for fans of historical cozy mysteries. . .The characters are strong and the writing is smooth. . .”
Books a Plenty Book Reviews
“An interesting journey and Haydn is a likable main character.”
Christa Reads and Writes
“Vivid historical descriptions, intricate details, and a fascinating central character kept me turning the pages. Bravo!”
Amanda Carmack, award-winning author of The Elizabethan Mystery Series
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PRUSSIAN COUNTERPOINT by Nupur Tustin
The Third Joseph Haydn Mystery
When Empress Maria Theresa summons Joseph Haydn, he’s stunned to find that the great Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach has requested to meet him. There is much more afoot, however, than musical interest. King Frederick of Prussia is up to something and the Empress, along with Prince Nikolaus of Esterhazy and most of his household, including Haydn, venture into Potsdam to discover what. Does the Prussian King wish to prevent war? Or start one? Is this part of a plan to decimate Poland? Haydn soon finds himself it the midst of espionage, theft, and murder. Will he be able to figure out the plot against the Empress or will he wind up arrested? Or worse?
Filled with historical significance PRUSSIAN COUNTERPOINT had great meaning for me. Being of Polish descent I am quite familiar with the partitioning of Poland and while the murder was solved, I knew that Haydn wouldn’t be able to save Poland.
Although we got to meet C.P.E. Bach, the third Joseph Haydn mystery had little to do with music, and was instead filled with espionage and political machinations. The details about cryptography and steganography were fascinating! I want to try hiding messages that require special masks to read. I loved Haydn’s and his maids’ reaction to the many paintings of Bach’s son, oblivious to their true purpose!
PRUSSIAN COUNTERPOINT is a fascinating political mystery. Sumptuous period detail and exacting historical research add to the intellectual nature of the novel while rich characterization brings heart.
FTC Disclosure – The publisher sent me a digital ARC provided through NetGalley, in the hopes I would review it.
Meet Marie Antoinette’s mother and sister, famous composers Haydn and Bach, and many more actual historical characters who “come to life” and draw the reader into their world. I was very impressed by the author’s obvious scholarship and “feel” for the period, the people, and the political situations involved, but don’t think of this book as a “scholarly tome,” because it is first and foremost a fascinating mystery story! The reader doesn’t need to know anything at all about the time period to enjoy this novel. (Although I did learn some historical details along the way!) This book is well-written and will keep the reader’s interest. If you like music, that would be a plus. If you enjoy the “Brother Cadfael” series (which is one of my favorites) you will like this book. I definitely hope to read more books in this series.
What a pleasant surprise this story was! This author was able to take a period in time when the famous composer Joseph Haydn was the Kapellmeister—Director of Music—to the powerful Esterházy Princes, and mix in political drama, court intrigue, murder and theft. As with Books 1 and 2 in this series, we again join with Haydn and his brother in an effort to solve the mystery surrounding the murder of the Ambassador to Prussia. Then there is another murder of the liason with the Ambassador. Once again time is of the essence. War is to be averted, large areas of land are about to be stolen by a more powerful country, and important arranged marriages between the ruling families must be completed without putting the empires at risk. I absolutely love historical mysteries, and this series is just amazing. Just as our detectives close in on a theory or a suspect, an event or a circumstance occurs that changes everything, deepening the mystery. I found this book extremely interesting and enjoyable, and look forward to following the Kapellmeister in more of his adventures.