The Figaro Murders

Ably evoking the vital, music-obsessed Vienna of 1786, Lebow’s debut finds theater poet Lorenzo Da Ponte working with Mozart to finish the libretto for The Marriage of Figaro. When an attempt to save a friend from debtor’s prison takes Da Ponte to the home of politician Christof Gabler, he has a contentious encounter with Gabler’s young page, Florian Auerstein. After Florian is pushed from a window to his death hours later, Da Ponte is arrested. The police offer him a choice: face certain conviction, or live in the Palais Gabler to unmask the murderer. Once in residence at the Palais as a poetry teacher, he falls in love with Gabler’s beguiling wife, Caroline. Threats and assaults don’t deter his investigations into the household’s many intrigues. Meanwhile, rivals sabotage his career as a librettist, and inquiries for his bankrupt friend uncover dark secrets. The likable Da Ponte offers an insider’s perspective on a fascinating world, though overelaborate subplots muddle the main story line. [em]Agent: John Talbot, Talbot Fortune Agency. (Mar.) [/em]