If you liked
Books like Flash Point
by Paul Adam
Paul Adam's Flash Point handles the Cremona-and-Moscow classical music procedural better than any other contemporary mystery writer. If the Stradivarius-and-conservatory texture is the part that hooked you, these five.
The shortlist
What to read next
Murder on a Midsummer Nightby Kerry Greenwood
“Murder on a Midsummer Night by Kerry Greenwood 2008 review. The seventeenth Phryne Fisher Mystery sends the Honourable Miss Fisher chasing two cases at once in summer 1929 Melbourne.”
Malice at the Palaceby Rhys Bowen
“Malice at the Palace by Rhys Bowen 2015 review. The ninth Royal Spyness mystery sends Lady Georgiana Rannoch to Kensington Palace to chaperone Princess Marina before her royal wedding.”
When Rich Men Dieby Harold Adams
“When Rich Men Die by Harold Adams 1987 review. The fifth Carl Wilcox Depression-era mystery sends the alcoholic itinerant artist back to Corden, South Dakota for a banker’s murder.”
Silksby Dick Francis
“Silks by Dick Francis 2008 review. Geoffrey Mason is a barrister who rides as an amateur jockey on weekends, until his only racetrack friend turns up dead.”
Dead Heatby Dick Francis
“Dead Heat by Dick Francis 2007 review. Chef Max Moreton survives a gala poisoning at the Newmarket races and has to figure out who is killing his guests and why.”
FAQ
Common questions about Flash Point read-alikes
- None of these are classical-music mysteries. Why?
- Because almost no one else writes them. Donna Leon's Acqua Alta and Aaron Elkins's old Gideon Oliver books are the closest cousins; none of the books in our review catalog match Flash Point directly. The picks above keep the patient single-profession procedural register that makes Adam work.
- Which is closest in tone?
- Dick Francis's Silks. Dual-profession (barrister-jockey there, journalist-classical-music-world here), same patient procedural depth, same kind of fair-play whodunit.
- I want more Paul Adam specifically. What else?
- Sleeper and Paganini's Ghost are his two strongest classical-music-and-Italy mysteries. Both are unfortunately out of print in U. S. trade paper but available on Kindle.
The original