Third Place Books is delighted to welcome back former Metropolitan Opera Orchestra violinist and now writer and lecturer Erica Miner to our Lake Forest Park store! Miner will be discussing the second book in her Opera Mystery series, Prelude to Murder. This event is free and open to the public.
For important updates, registration is highly recommended in advance. This event will include a public signing and time for audience Q&A. Sustain our author series by purchasing a copy of the featured book!
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Front row seats to a thrilling and evocative musical mystery in the further adventures of Julia Kogan, a young violinist with the Metropolitan Opera, who leaves New York City for a three-month guest appearance with the Santa Fe Opera, where there’s enough ambition, intrigue, and jealous wrangling to ensure plenty of suspects when murder takes center stage. A Shakespeare-quoting detective, a pragmatic NYPD lover, a falsely accused friend, and a wealth of opera lore, combined with Julia’s parallel journey of self-discovery, will surprise and fascinate the neophyte as well as the opera buff.
"Erica Miner's Prelude to Murder will thrill opera lovers, mystery lovers and nature lovers. Miner's personal experience and insight into the inner workings of an opera house rings true on every page. You will be transported by the sights and sounds of The Santa Fe Opera and its incomparable surroundings, while a hint of the paranormal will keep you guessing as you uncover each layer of this haunting story wrapped in adobe pink."
—Tina deBellegarde, author of Winter Witness and Dead Man's Leap
"Prelude to Murder is a tantalizing peek behind the curtain of the world-renowned Santa Fe Opera. There's plenty of mayhem on the bill, rich spirituality, sumptuous history, and metaphysical frights, too. So much to enjoy in Erica Miner's new novel. But it's the music that steals the show. Concertmaster Julia Kogan, on loan to Santa Fe from the Metropolitan Opera, returns (after Aria for Murder), and finds herself smack in the middle of a clever and dramatic mystery set against bloody arias and deadly recitativo."
—James W. Ziskin, author of Turn to Stone and Bombay Monsoon
"Erica Miner has created a world few people know or have access to: a mystery with music beyond the words on the page. If all music aspires to the human voice, this author has found hers from the start. Bright and hot by day in the desert sun, violinist Julia Kogan has cold feet and colder nights in her next adventure in Santa Fe. Readers will enjoy a tasting flight of opera, a hint of the paranormal, and the promise of romance. Erica Miner's Prelude to Murder is an introduction to a new voice for those who enjoy music with their mystery."
—Gabriel Valjan, author of the Shane Cleary series
"Prelude to Murder provides front row seats to a thrilling and evocative musical mystery in the further adventures of Julia Kogan, a young violinist with the Metropolitan Opera. Julia leaves New York City for a three-month guest appearance with the Santa Fe Opera, where there's enough ambition, intrigue, and jealous wrangling to ensure plenty of suspects when murder takes center stage. A Shakespeare-quoting detective, a pragmatic NYPD lover, a falsely accused friend, and a wealth of opera lore, combined with Julia's parallel journey of self-discovery, will surprise and fascinate the neophyte as well as the opera buff."
—Lori Robbins, author of Murder in First Position
Formerly a Metropolitan Opera Orchestra violinist for 21 years, Erica Miner now enjoys a multi-faceted career as an award-winning author, lecturer, screenwriter, and arts journalist. Erica’s debut novel, Travels with my Lovers, won the Fiction Prize in the Direct from the Author Book Awards. Her screenplays have won awards in the Santa Fe, WinFemme and Writer’s Digest competitions. Erica’s passion for “Bringing Murder and Music together” is embodied in her 3-part Julia Kogan “Opera Mystery” novel series, published by Level Best Books. Starting with Aria for Murder set at New York’s Metropolitan Opera, Erica draws on her own real-life experiences working at the Met with Maestro Leonard Bernstein and other superstars of the music world. The series’ young violinist sleuth, Julia Kogan, investigates murder and mayhem behind the Met’s “Golden Curtain.” The series continues with sequels that take place at Santa Fe Opera and San Francisco Opera. A resident of the Pacific Northwest, Erica is a top speaker and lecturer on opera and writing.
Want a signed edition of the featured book, but can't make it to the event? Order through our website or over the phone, and write your request for a signature or personalization in the comments field at checkout. Please call the hosting store if you're placing your order within 24 hours of the event.
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For media inquiries, access inquiries, or questions about our Covid-19 policies, please email events@thirdplacebooks.com or call our Lake Forest Park store at (206) 366-3311.
