Played to Death: A Scott Drayco Mystery (Scott Drayco Mystery Series Book 1) by BV Lawson
Former piano prodigy-turned FBI agent Scott Drayco is still suffering nightmares from his last case as a private consultant. To add insult to injury, he’s bequeathed an unwanted and rundown Opera House in Cape Unity, a down-on-its-luck seaside village where vacation homes were once a playground for the rich.
His hopes for a quick sale are dashed when a new client with dreams of his own redemption is murdered in the Opera House, the letter “G” mockingly carved into his chest. Working with a wary Sheriff, Drayco has to navigate a complicated maze of illicit love affairs and hostility over immigration and coastal development.
But Drayco’s confidence in his decision-making abilities is shaken when the flirtatious and lonely wife of a Town Councilman almost derails Drayco’s efforts with her attempts to seduce him, despite the fact she had an affair with the victim. Then, one mystery turns to two, as Drayco learns of a famous Polish pianist whose last concert was at the Opera House fifty years ago – and was murdered after returning home.
Drayco is pulled into a tangled web of jealousy and betrayal that reaches across the Atlantic into some of the darkest days of human history. But will he be able to untangle the threads before the tensions in Cape Unity explode into more violence and he becomes the next victim?
“An engaging lead and atmospheric setting make for an ideal travel read.” – Library Journal
“Lawson uses the gothic features of the abandoned Opera House to great effect, creating an atmospheric background for the crimes and the solving of them, all of it accompanied with music that’s almost like another character. The pace never sagged and it kept me enthralled.” – Long and Short Reviews