cover image Broken Consort

Broken Consort

James Gollin. St. Martin's Press, $15.95 (200pp) ISBN 978-0-312-03298-2

Responding to readers' calls of ``encore'' after the close of The Philomel Foundation , Gollin offers the fourth in his series on the Antiqua Players. Alan French and his wife Jackie head the group of thoroughly modern New Yorkers who perform medieval music on medieval instruments. Financier Jeremiah Boyle persuades the musicians to sail aboard his yacht with his charming mother Sally, his business partners and their wives. It's a dream voyage in Caribbean waters, until Boyle is found fatally shot. As Sally relies on the strong Irish character behind her graceful persona, so Alan uses the disciplined insights of a maestro to probe the mystery. There is plenty of suspense generated by further attacks, particularly on Jackie, but the novel's main attractions (as before) must be attributed to the author's flawless writing, quiet wit and talent for making the arcana of ancient musical forms not only accessible but enjoyable to a lay audience. (Dec.)