Review: No bodies, but a wonderful yarn with great characters
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 03 1, 2012
This was my first Schweizer novel, but it won't be my last. However, a word of caution: almost all reviews state that in every Mark Schweizer novel, a body turns up. I kept waiting, but nobody. Plenty of busybodies, all fleshed out very well by the author.What we have is a mystery, in this case about a cantata, but it could have been a piece of history, a secret Declaration of In Dependents, or secrets to fly fishing. It doesn't matter. It remains a mystery until near the end.For lack of a better word, it's a "comfortable" book. Great bedtime reading that leaves one kind of warm and toasty (well, it does take place at Christmastime) and extremely satisfied with the conclusion.I've already bought two more of Schweizer's books, but first I have to get through others that I have bought from writers of a new generation who seem to write in the "old" style. All of a sudden, thanks to the more believable (i.e., their protagonists are not super-human) writers such as Schweizer, Culver, and Horrocks, I'm back in my "reading mood."EWMarch 28, 2013: I have now bought every Schweizer novel for my KF. As I was reading, almost every one became my favorite, but in the final analysis - such as it is - The Christmas Cantana was my favorite. I do wish I had read others beforehand, but it's not absolutely necessary. Fortunately, Mr. Schweizer started out of the gate beautifully and never wavered stylistically or in keeping with his characters. Oddly, I just finished the Alto Wore Tweed, his first book. Can't wait for his next one...