Spur of the Moment: A Renata Radleigh Opera Mystery

Aging British opera singer Renata Radleigh, the heroine of this overly complicated series launch from Linzee (Housebreaker), has joined the St. Louis Opera, whose director of development is her younger brother, Don Radleigh. Don has landed a major gift from Helen Stromberg-Brand, a renowned medical scientist, and her husband, Bert. Then Bert returns home late one night to find Helen lying on their living room floor with her head bashed in. When Bert claims that Don was having an affair with his wife, Don becomes the primary suspect in Helen’s murder. With no support from the opera company, Renata sets out to clear her brother’s name. The action slowly picks up once Renata joins forces with medical writer Peter Lombardo, and they suspect that Helen’s death was connected to a valuable vaccine that she and Keith Bryson, the Stromberg-Brands’ billionaire business partner, planned to market. Insights into the opera world and what it’s like to be a British expat in America make up only in part for a routine mystery. (Apr.)