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Death and Transfiguration: A Daniel Jacobus Mystery. Gerald Elias. New York: Minotaur Books, 2012. 319 pages.
Any great mystery novel must be a page-turner, a book with so many twists and turns that it becomes impossible to put it down. Gerald Elias has composed just such a mystery, featuring his favorite character, the great blind violinist and teacher-turned-investigator Daniel Jacobus. Old and irascible, he has the uncanny ability to discover with his hearing what most people cannot accomplish with their eyes.
The fourth book in Elias's Jacobus mystery series (the current title comes from Richard Strauss's tone poem of the same name), the author is himself a professional violinist. No wonder all of his books are based on great classical works of music. In fact, a very attractive feature of his novels is the...