Book Review: The Adagio by Alan K. Austin

The Adagio

Alan K. Austin

Iuniverse, Inc.

ISBN: 978-0-595-4376-3

2007

292 pages

If you are in the mood for a plot twisting, action packed murder mystery then "The Adagio" is for you. The author holds the reader's interest from page one, beginning with hints of a lustful affair between two actors, one of which is married. The bond that holds them is a recording of "The Adagio" in which one partner hears "screams" that no one else can hear.

Determined to find out about the screams in the record, Jack Duncan goes to the source of the recording – his lover's husband. Little did he know that pursuing the answer to the question about who was screaming on the record would lead to several deaths including his lover and her husband. While involving himself in detective work Jack finds himself lying to get out of some trouble and accusations of additional murders.

As he encounters several people who were in the acting field, he meets a doctor who is illegally performing surgery on people who want to change their identity in addition to being a witness to trysts between actors who suddenly end up dead. The doctor, Babcock is a person he knows well – too well.

The reader was drawn into Jack's dilemma. The passion in which Jack pursued his quest at no cost grows with each page. When lies are revealed, and past deadly deeds are accounted for, the reader was right there with the characters, feeling all the emotions and excited, dread and fear they felt.

Review by Dr. H