Hardcover with dust jacket. "Mozart scholar and classical pianist Slater (In Mozart"s Footsteps, 1991) tries his hand at a musical thriller with mixed results. Matthew Pierce is a struggling musicologist who stumbles on what may be a diary Mozart kept as an adolescent. Attempting to have the diary authenticated, Pierce lands in the middle of a struggle between rival Mozart authorities gathered at a philanthropist"s villa in France. From there, Slater again follows Mozart"s footsteps across Europe in the company of his gang of feuding performers and musicologists, who jump from one spectacular locale to another, bumping off various of their tribe as they go. The Mozart material is fascinating and provides a compelling background for a thriller. Unfortunately, Slater"s debut reveals serious weaknesses both in style (Pierce is forever prefacing interior monologues with phrases like, "I felt myself overcome") and in plotting (too many clues and a credulity-straining finale). And, yet, the subject matter alone makes this flawed novel marginally recommendable, at least for Mozart-loving mystery fans" (Bill Ott, American Library Association).; Jahr: 2002; Format: Oktav; Anzahl der Seiten: 559; Auflage: 1.; Zustand: 2 (black scoring trace on lower edge)