Swing: A Novel

Summary

An exciting reissue of Rupert Holmes’s sophomore mystery novel, Swing—hailed as “imaginative, smart, and impressively elaborate” (The New York Times)—irresistibly repackaged in the vein of his breakout bestseller, Murder Your Employer.

Jazz saxophonist and arranger Ray Sherwood, touring with the Jack Donovan Orchestra, is haunted by personal tragedy. But when a beautiful and talented Berkeley student named Gail Prentice seeks his help in orchestrating a highly original composition called Swing Around the Sun, which is slated to premiere at the Golden Gate Exposition on the newly created Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay, Ray finds himself powerfully drawn to the young composer. Within moments of first setting eyes on her, Ray also witnesses a horrifying sight: a woman plunging to her death from the island’s emblematic Tower of the Sun.

As the captivated Ray learns more about Gail and her unusual family, he finds himself trapped in a tightening coil of spiraling secrets—some personally devastating, all dangerous and deadly—in which from moment to moment nothing is certain, including Gail’s intentions toward him and her connection to the dead woman who made such a grisly impact upon the stunning island. As events speed toward a shocking climax, Ray must use all his physical daring and improvisational skills to unlock an ominous puzzle whose sinister implications stretch far beyond anything he could imagine.

Swing is a brilliant historical thriller—with an extra twist that extends beyond its pages. Accompanying the novel is a playlist of original songs and music that feature prominently in the story, within which the reader may find additional clues to the mysteries of Swing.