About the Book

Book: Rhapsody in Red

Author: Donn Taylor

Genre: Mystery

Release date: September 2018

“IT WAS A BAD DAY TO FIND A CORPSE ON CAMPUS.”

Preston Barclay is a reclusive history professor with musical hallucinations. The feisty Mara Thorn is a newly arrived professor with a strong desire to be left alone. But finding the body of a murdered colleague shakes them out of their quiet lives. Worse yet, police accuse them of her murder, forcing the ill-matched pair into an uneasy alliance for their defense. However, that proves more perilous than they’d thought. To succeed, they have to outwit the police, avoid discipline by the college’s incompetent administration, and escape threats and attacks by the unseen and ruthless forces behind the murder. It’s a one-in-a-hundred chance, and if they fail, they’ll end up unemployed, behind bars, or worse . . .

Click here to get your copy!

About the Author

Donn Taylor led an Infantry rifle platoon in the Korean War, served with Army aviation in Vietnam, and worked with air reconnaissance in Europe and Asia. Afterward, he earned a PhD in Renaissance literature and taught literature at two liberal arts colleges. His published works include six suspense novels and a book of poetry. He is a frequent speaker at writers’ conferences. He lives in the woods near Houston, TX, where he writes fiction, poetry, and essays on current topics.

More from Donn

About Rhapsody in Red: From teaching eighteen years in small denominational colleges, I knew that part of the academic world well. So when I came to write the Preston Barclay Mystery Series, that’s where I turned. What would happen if someone dropped a murder into that placid environment?

That was the basic question. But that part of the college world also has internal conflicts and tensions that even the best-intentioned people can’t avoid. That leads most faculty into being discreet. But what would happen if one professor kept saying openly what the rest of the faculty were only thinking? That’s why the series protagonist, Professor Preston Barclay, is always in trouble.

In writing the series I wanted to mainly to give readers an interesting story about a murder and the complications leading to its solution. But I also wanted them to enjoy the story’s interplay of strong and often quirky personalities navigating the varied conflicts of the small-college world.

Whether I’ve achieved those objectives will be decided by each individual reader. But CBA Retailers and Resources Magazine wrote that Rhapsody in Red is “peopled with academia’s most intriguing eccentrics and snobs,” and Christian Review of Books wrote that it’s “a delightful change from the clichés of most novels.”

Readers who enjoy Rhapsody in Red may want to look at its two sequels, Murder Mezzo Forte and Murder in Disguise.

My Thoughts

Rhapsody in Red is a mystery written by Donn Taylor. This is book 1 in the Preston Barclay Mystery series. This is the 2nd book that I have read by this author. This book was an interesting read. This is more of a mystery then a Christian Fiction book. While there is mention of church and some mention of the Gospel, the Gospel message is not overly pronounced. It is a clean read with no intimacy or cursing.

Preston Barclay is a professor and a Christian. Mara Thorn is a new edition to the university and a wiccan. Another professor is murdered and the police seem to have Preston suspected of their death. Preston and Mara team up (a very unlikely pair) to figure out who is really behind it. However they will bend a few rules in order to get this done. Now as a Christian, I had a problem with this.

The suspense is great, I was kept guessing until the end. The characters are well written, I enjoy the author's writing style. The author sprinkles wit and humor throughout the whole book and I enjoyed that.

I received a copy of this book through the Celebrate Lit blogging Program, all thoughts are my own.