Played to Death: A Scott Drayco Mystery
Scott Drayco, no. 1
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4.0 • 283 Ratings
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Publisher Description
Named Best Mystery in the Next Generation Indie Book Awards and a Shamus Award finalist for Best Indie P.I. Novel
Simmering resentment in a small coastal town. A missing manuscript. A dark family secret.
Scott Drayco isn’t a typical detective: a former concert pianist with synesthesia, he turned to law enforcement when a violent attack put an end to his music career.
After Drayco inherits a rundown Opera House in a Virginia seaside town following a particularly brutal case, he just wants to arrange a quick sale for the unwanted “gift” while nursing his battered soul in a peaceful setting near the shore.
Those hopes are shattered when a dead body turns up on the Opera House stage, a mysterious "G" carved into the man's chest. With himself a suspect in the murder, Drayco digs into very old and very dangerous secrets to solve the crime and clear his name.
But first...Drayco must dodge a wary Sheriff, hostility over coastal development, and the seductive wife of a town councilman—before the tensions explode into more violence and he becomes the next victim.
EDITORIAL REVIEWS:
"Lawson's protagonist is greatly compelling." - Publishers Weekly Booklife Prize
"Worth putting on your reading list." - The Library Journal
"The storyline here is nicely structured, and creatively ties together two murder mysteries, which occurred decades apart. The small town setting is ideal, the lead character engaging, and the supporting cast interesting and diverse. Overall, a solid start to this series." - Omnimystery News
"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 & Short Reviews
Customer Reviews
Requiem for innocence
Awesome! Well written. Fast page turning book. Loved it. Need more like this.
Played to death
Scott Drayco takes you through a riveting tale of murder, love, betrayal and corruption. This is a great read it kept me up all night to finish it. Past, present and future are drawn together with Drayco finding the answers to many questions and a few of his personal ghosts.
Top notch whodunit, fascinating complicated tale
If you like Agatha Christie, this book will interest you. It is a long, satisfying read with many layers to the story. Every time we find an answer to a question, more questions arise and something deeper is revealed, much like peeling back the layers of an onion. The protagonist is unique — a former child prodigy concert pianist, former FBI agent, now in private practice. We get to know all the characters little by little, much like how the plot unfolds. The mystery was complex and involved music, history, inheritance, murder, small town development and more. Even at the very end of the book, I could not figure out who did it until the answer was revealed; then it seemed obvious! I’m going to read the next book immediately.