Death rides the ferry

In Skalka's labored fourth mystery set in Wisconsin's Door County (after 2016's Death in Cold Water), Sheriff Dave Cubiak is enjoying a day off at the viola da gamba music festival, Dixan, on remote Washington Island, until he's summoned to a ferry, where the body of a shabbily dressed young woman sits in the vessel's lounge. Cubiak saw the woman eating lunch earlier in the day. The ferry captain is reminded of another young woman's death, 40 years earlier, at the first Dixan festival. That event was also notable for the theft of a valuable 16th-century yellow viol, which was never recovered. The fate of the missing viol ties in with a trio of musicians, including George Peter Payette, "one of the world's foremost gambists and the only one to participate in every Dixan festival." Cubiak has to figure out the relationships among Payette and others in the music community as his hunt for a killer heads to its violent conclusion. This outing may appeal to those interested in the world of classical musicians, but the tortuous plot will put off most mystery readers. (May) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Death stalks a classical music festival in a remote Wisconsin venue.Forty years ago, Dixan I, the first Viola da Gamba Music Festival, was spoiled by the sudden, terrible death of a young woman in childbirth. When gambist Franz Acker's wife, Heike, went into premature labor, a storm prevented her evacuation from remote Washington Island, the very tip of the Door County peninsula. Shortly after Heike's death, Acker received a second blow: His 16th-century viola da gamba, the prized yellow viol fashioned by master luthier Augusto Fiorrelli, disappeared. Now, four decades later, Dixan V is at risk of being disrupted by the death of another young woman whose lifeless body is discovered on the ferry Ledstjarna by its captain, Oskar Norling. This time, though, the death is clearly no accident. Medical examiner Emma Pardy is sure that the woman's been poisoned, although what the poison was and how it was administered remain questions as mysterious as the victim's identity. Finding out who she is and how she died is the responsibility of Dave Cubiak (Death in Cold Water, 2016, etc.), who gave up his badge in Chicago to become sheriff of Door County. Although distracted by the news of his second wife Cate's unexpected pregnancy, Cubiak jumps in feet first. Reaching out to the few Dixan V stars who were around back at Dixan I, including wealthy, elusive George Peter Payette and his assistant, Richard Mayes, Cubiak searches for the slender threads that connect his current corpse to a 40-year-old tragedy.Music lovers will join outdoor enthusiasts in welcoming Skalka's third Door County entry. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.