Friday Freebie: Bellweather Rhapsody by Kate Racculia

Congratulations to Thomas Baughman, winner of last week's Friday Freebie: Wynne's War by Aaron Gwyn.

This week's book giveaway is Bellweather Rhapsody by Kate Racculia.  If you saw the earlier post here at The Quivering Pen where I featured Racculia's novel on a Trailer Park Tuesday, you know Bellweather Rhapsody is near the summit of my towering To-Be Read pile (aka Mt. NeveRest).  Other reading obligations have prevented me from cracking it open as of yet--but make no mistake, I'll get there soon.  In the meantime, two of you lucky so-and-so's will win a copy of the novel (the publisher has kindly supplied me with a pair of hardcover copies to give away to Quivering Pen readers).  I think you'll be delighted to win this one.  I mean, just take a look at the plot synopsis and tell me if you're able to resist a novel that has reviewers mentioning Agatha Christie, The Shining and Glee in the same breath....

Fifteen years ago, a murder/suicide in room 712 rocked the grand old Bellweather Hotel and the young bridesmaid who witnessed it.  Now hundreds of high school musicians, including quiet bassoonist Rabbit Hatmaker and his brassy diva twin, Alice, have gathered in its cavernous, crumbling halls for the annual statewide festival; the grown-up bridesmaid has returned to face her demons; and a snowstorm is forecast that will trap everyone on the grounds.  Then one of the orchestra’s stars disappears—from room 712.  Is it a prank, or has murder struck the Bellweather once again?  The search for answers entwines a hilariously eccentric cast of characters—conductors and caretakers, failures and stars, teenagers on the verge and adults trapped in memories.  For everyone has come to the Bellweather with a secret, and everyone is haunted.  Full of knowing nods to the shivery pleasures of suspense and the transporting power of music, this is a wholly winning new novel from a writer lauded as “charming” (Los Angeles Times), “witty” (O, The Oprah Magazine), and “whimsical” (People).

Blurbworthiness:  "Witty and smartly moving, Kate Racculia's Bellweather Rhapsody offers a heart-thumping mystery of music and murder, wherein the past repeats itself, and in doing so becomes malleable again: just as an orchestral score can be rearranged to new effect, so an unsolved crime sometimes returns to shock and surprise anew—and in both cases the outcomes are as unpredictable as they are suspenseful."  (Matt Bell, author of In the House upon the Dirt between the Lake and the Woods)

If you’d like a chance at winning a copy of Bellweather Rhapsody, simply email your name and mailing address to

thequiveringpen@gmail.com

Put FRIDAY FREEBIE in the e-mail subject line.  One entry per person, please.  Despite its name, the Friday Freebie runs all week long and remains open to entries until midnight on June 26, at which time I’ll draw the winning name.  I’ll announce the lucky reader on June 27.  If you’d like to join the mailing list for the once-a-week newsletter, simply add the words “Sign me up for the newsletter” in the body of your email.  Your email address and other personal information will never be sold or given to a third party (except in those instances where the publisher requires a mailing address for sending Friday Freebie winners copies of the book).

Want to double your odds of winning?  Get an extra entry in the contest by posting a link to this webpage on your blog, your Facebook wall or by tweeting it on Twitter.  Once you’ve done any of those things, send me an additional e-mail saying “I’ve shared” and I’ll put your name in the hat twice.