The Case of the Orphaned Bassoonists

Cassandra Reilly, globetrotting translator and accidental detective, is called to Venice by her friend, Nicola Gibbons, a baroque bassoonist with a particular interest in the all-women orchestras of the city's musical past. Nicola, it seems, has been accused of stealing an antique bassoon. When Cassandra arrives to help, she finds herself in a web of intriguing international musicians, all of whom have a secret to hide, and one of whom will be murdered because of it.
Will it he Bitten, a stunning six-foot-tall Swedish bassoonist who harbors a grudge against Nicola? Or her German lover, Gunther, always speaking secretly on the phone? What about the young clarinetist Roberta Sandretti and her handsome but perhaps too pliable brother Marco? And why does Albert Egmont, an antiques dealer from England and an old acquaintance of Cassandra, appear in black leather gloves, reading Ruskin in the Piazza San Marco and hinting that he can find out where heirloom bassoons go when they go missing?
Written with Barbara Wilson's trademark wit, “The Case of the Orphaned Bassoonists” explores a largely hidden aspect of Venice's history: the splendor of the music composed by Antonio Vivaldi for the orphaned daughters of this celebrated city. “The Case of the Orphaned Bassoonists” is a comic romp and enlightening guide to the musical heritage of Venice that will delight Wilson's fans and charm new readers.
(© Seal Press)