In the Key of Dead: A Miami Music Mystery by Zaida Alfaro

About the Book

Killer songs and a killer voice land Vy in yet another melodic murder mystery. Interlude Records has signed Vy to a long-anticipated record deal after years of rejections, but she never thought that murder would be part of the deal. Now, Vy finds herself, yet again, at the center of a murder investigation that may change the course of her music career.

It seems that someone doesn’t want Vy to record her album, and is doing everything to sabotage the release date, including murdering a key member of the production team. So Vy and her sister, Alexia, are back at it again—detecting in their own way. This time they’re using their quick-witted banter, and super sleuthing skills to ensure that Vy’s record makes it to the Billboard Top 100 list before the murderer makes it to the Miami Beach Police Department’s most wanted list.

They say the music industry is cutthroat, but Vy has never taken that statement literally. Could this be the strum of Vy’s guitar playing her last note IN THE KEY OF DEAD?

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Excerpt

“Good. Are we done now? I have a session in about one hour.” The reply was a simple 
impassive nod. “Okay, then I will see you tomorrow.” 

She rotated the chair once again, facing the soundboard and dismissing the conversation as quickly as it started. She picked up the silver Bose headphones, placed them on her ears, and started to work. She knew that nothing else could be said or done. It took many years in this business to train her mind to not let her emotions get in the way. She refused to feel guilty about a business decision that would save the label money. Business is business, so she placed her left index finger on the slider and turned up the volume. The track played loudly through the headphones. She closed her eyes and started to dissect the errors she had to correct. 

She was so engulfed in her musical world that she did not notice or care about anything around her. She did not notice she was not alone in the room. She did not notice a figure standing in the corner of the room looking at a guitar stand holding a white, custom-made nineteen-seventy-eight Les Paul electric guitar. She did not notice the guitar would never be played again. And she certainly did not notice that the guitar had been slowly and quietly lifted from its stand, and was, without any thought, swung in her direction. 

 

About the Author

The Miami Music Mystery series’ main backdrop, the amazing city of Miami, Florida, is beloved and well-known to me. I was born and raised in Miami, and like the novel’s main character Vy, I am a singer/songwriter, Grammy considered, independent artist. All things relating to music or literature are my passion.

Many years ago, I became an avid reader of cozy mysteries. The story lines were intriguing, engaging, and funny at the same time. I was so inspired by the authors, that I then decided to take my musical experiences, and put it on paper. I published my first novel, The Last Note, a Miami Music Mystery. Now, I have brought my characters back to life, in the sequel, In the Key of Dead, a Miami Music Mystery. The phobia's, the dream sequences, and the quirkiness of the main characters, are all based on facts. I hope that I was able to, once again, show the readers of my novels, the love I have for Miami, the Cuban culture, my family, and music.

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