LeGarde Mysteries
by Aaron Paul Lazar
Reviews
Tremolo: cry of the loon
A great read!, December 1, 2007
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Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) |
Aaron Paul Lazar is a Kodak electrophotographic engineer by day, where he commutes to Rochester, New York, and a passionate writer in the wee hours of the morning. He lives in East Groveland, NY with his wife, three daughters, two grandsons, four cats, a dog (probably a beagle), and a mother-in-law. He loves gardening; the arts; cross-country skiing; and being with his two "buddies," that is, his grandsons.
Young Gus LeGarde is an eleven year old staying at his grandparents' resort in the Belgrade lakes of Maine. He is an only child, but he has "blood bonding" with his friends, Elsbeth and Siegfried Marggrander, German-reared children a little younger than Gus. Together they get themselves into the usual scrapes of intelligent and curious children, but they are unwitting witnesses to a murder/thieving ring. They see a terrified little girl running from a man who clearly intends harm to her, and even though their families are loving and attentive, it takes a while for them to convince their parents and the local police that what they saw is crucial to the investigation of the little girl's disappearance:
"A flash of white whisked through the trees in the distance. It moved across the forest floor, flickering beneath the dense branches. I couldn't make out the shape, but it moved as a human would move. Galvanized into action, I clambered down the tree, yelling to my father and Officer Lawson. I fell from the last branch onto a clump of ferns.
'Dad! I saw her. She's over there,' I screamed. I began to run toward Sharon. Officer Lawson grabbed me by the shoulders and peered into my face.
'What did you see?' he asked firmly."
It is easy to see that Aaron Paul Lazar loves to write, as his style is lilting and beautiful. He weaves childhood memories of the lakes of Maine into a stylized whodunit that is original and breathtaking. His characters are children living in a fishing resort with a very special visitor whose presence lends an air of melancholy to an otherwise carefree environment. Lazar gives the reader an idea of what real pirates can be like as the villains, making the tale even more tempting. There is no code of honor among these thieves. A great read!
Shelley Glodowski
Senior Reviewer
Reviewed by Bob Williams, www.compulsivereader.com
Tremolo: cry of the loon
by Aaron Paul Lazar
Twilight Times Books
2007, ISBN 1-933353-08-2, 223 pages, $18.95
This is the third book in the Gus LeGarde series of mystery novels. Unlike the other books, it takes place when Gus was a boy of eleven and he and the twins, Elsbeth and Siegfried Marggrander, vacation at a Maine resort run by Gus’s grandparents. Lazar has drawn heavily on this material in his other books and in this one he proves what a rich source it is.
As Gus and the twins return home from a boating accident, they encounter a young girl, bleeding from a blow to her mouth, and pursued by a drunken man whom they assume to be her father. The search for the missing girl, Sharon Adamski, runs through the story, in some ways its dominant thread but not the one that most occupies the reader.
The real attraction of the book is – and this quality it shares with the other Gus LeGarde books – the charm of the author and the opportunity for the reader to share in a gracious life built on warm relations with family and friends. The joys of the table and the love of music and the appreciation of the quiet joys of reading embrace an ideal but not impossible world. Lazar has added other strains to this medley. An occupant of one cabin is the mysterious Miss Jones, in reality Rose Kennedy seeking a quiet retreat where she can mourn the death of her son, shot down by an assassin in Dallas. She and young Gus become friends and it is he who rescues her cat Ivanhoe, frightened by a burglar.
It is no accident that the villains in Lazar’s books are villains without redemption. Like a figure from Elizabethan drama or opera they will not only stop at nothing, they will joyfully add gratuitous evil deeds beyond what any reader could expect. It is as if the existence of unqualified malevolence in others is the cost of Gus’s idyllic world, a kind of restoration of balances. Brigit Marggrander, mother of the twins, was the victim of the camps in Germany during World War II. This is another strong statement of the evil that exists in the outer world beyond the charmed circle of the LeGarde family and friends.
Lazar cleverly involves the story with To Kill a Mockingbird, a movie that Gus sees with his parents and which they all find overwhelming. It is a brilliant choice for it is a parallel with the LeGarde circle and the circumstances of Tremolo.
This – if the world is at all just – should be the break-through book for Aaron Paul Lazar. He has served his apprenticeship with two excellent works, but Tremolo reaches far beyond these and is a monument to the enduring values of love, integrity and bravery. Experimental writing is fun but charm and honesty and high ideals have staying power. Tremolo has all the signs of persistent endurance.
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About the Reviewer: Bob Williams is retired and lives in a small town with his wife, dogs and a cat. He has been collecting books all his life, and has done freelance writing, mostly on classical music. His principal interests are James Joyce, Jane Austen and Homer. His writings, two books and a number of short articles on Joyce, can be accessed at: http://www.grand-teton.com/service/Persons_Places |
Title: Tremolo cry of the loon
“Tremolo” describes the laughter of the loon, but the laugh is actually their distress call. What an appropriate title for this murder mystery based on young Gus LeGarde, his family and twin best friends, Siegfried and Elsbeth.
The story evolves while the family summers at Gus’s grandparents’ cabin camp at Belgrade Lake in Maine, around 1964. The story itself is fictional, but very nostalgic for not only the author who spent many childhood vacations there, but for all of us that had the fortune of experiencing camp life. Based at the age in Gus’s life where he is no longer a boy yet not quite a teen, his hormones and emotions are changing and knowing just how far to go is almost a daily decision. Like the time he decides to stay out too long in Grandpa’s boat resulting in Gus, Siegfried and Elsbeth treading water for hours. Not long after they make it to shore, feeling relatively safe, a terrified, bleeding young girl almost runs right into Gus. She tears off into the woods; being chased by a villainous looking man calling her name- Sharon. Haunted by this horrendous encounter, Gus and the twins set out on a dangerous mission to find her. The police search came up empty. Later Gus realizes he has made a mistake in the man’s identity, and assists the police in the search. Not knowing that he himself has become a target, he is kidnapped and has a near death experience in a fire.
As it is with life, there is never just one thing going on. There is a mysterious visitor at the camp with her own personal bodyguards. There are church robberies going on and to prove he is not ‘a chicken,’ Gus attempts some challenges from an older boy, which can only lead to trouble at home. All this as Gus is balancing: friendships, his first crush and his mixed emotions over his parents’ news, which will ultimately change their family life forever.
I would have to agree with Thomas Fortenberry, literary critic, that in this story “The rhythm increases with the pace, until the story soars aloft.” The characters seem so real and are written with warmth, sadness and humor.
Aaron Paul Lazar lives in East Groveland, NY with his wife, three daughters, two grandsons, mother-in-law, dog and four cats. When not immersed in his loving family, he enjoys gardening, art, playing piano and has learned how to take pleasure in the little things. Amazingly with his busy life, he has become a passionate and immensely entertaining author, with many more books coming our way.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would not hesitate to highly recommend it.
Reviewer: Cheryl Ellis, Allbooks Review
Tremolo: cry of the loon
This novel set off powerful waves of memories and pure nostalgia in me. I remembered those days when the Beatles were popular and Beatlemania was in full swing, when John Kennedy and Martin Luther King were well-known and children spent summers outside, not in front of video games.
The power and importance of spending time outside is not a minor them in this book but a major factor. I think nature is almost like another character here, multi-faceted, haunting. Those sections renewed my desire to take the family camping and to enjoy life's simple pleasures, those that are all around us, from a misty morning to the glare of sun on a bright patch of snow.
At the heart of this book is a missing girl, the mystery surrounding her disappearance and young Gus, turning from child to man, coming of age during one memorable summer at a lakeside camp in Maine. From the first sentence in Chapter One: "We're not gonna make it" to the closing lines I felt swept into this book and wanted to know what would happen next.
From that powerful opening, I was captured by the main story, that lost girl and the three children (Gus and his friends, Sigfried and Elsbeth) who try to find out what happened to her. Along the way, mysterious guests arrive, ominous men appear and Gus has to deal with real danger as well as the inevitable turbulence of adolescence, from those first stirrings of love to the odd feelings he has about changes in his family.
One of the hardest jobs as a reviewer is trying to give a sense of the style and power of a book. In Tremolo, I'll note that several things grabbed my attention; the msytery at the heart of the book and also the strong sense of time and details about that particular time in history. I also loved the personality of Gus as well as the way Mr. Lazar intersperses some very real events in his own life with those that are fictional.
In many ways, this book came about - and is a testimony - to Mr. Lazar's father. This makes it particularly special for me. It is impossible to read the Preface to this book and learn about the incredible man who was Mr. Lazar's father without feeling his spirit in many parts of the book, from an incident when a bat gets into the house (those mouselike, flying creature) to sections covering racism, To Kill a Mockingbird and other scenes that paralleled Mr. Lazar's upbringing.
At the same time, this is not a memoir, not in the sense that every event described actually happened in "real" life. If you lived through the '60s, you won't be able to help feeling nostalgic. The icing on the cake is the suspense and mystery in the book, backed up by one boys' take on the whole situaton.
I urge you to visit the author's website at :www.legardemysteries.com and also to visit the author interview to get a fuller look at the author's life and writing habits and suggestions. Most of all, urge you to read this nicely crafted book and discover a promising voice whose mystery series and books are worth savoring.
- Jane Corn, author, January 20, 2008
Tremolo: cry of the loon
Aaron Lazar's Tremolo: cry of the loon -- the tale of a young boy's efforts to resolve the disappearance of a young girl -- is an engrossing mystery that will grab your attention from the start and not let go till you've finished.
Fans who have read Lazar's other books in the "Gus LeGarde Mystery" series and have become enamored with the lead character Gus LeGarde, will rejoice in encountering a young Gus who already shows the courage and resilience and kindliness that the adult Gus manifests. If this book is your first meeting with Gus, you will certainly want to encounter him in as many guises that he chooses to appear.
In Tremolo, Lazar offers the reader not one but several mysteries wrapped within the context of a summertime resort experience. His powers of description make the happenings of those halcyon days vivid enough to convince the reader that he/she is actually there with young Gus – leaping off docks into the icy water, disappearing with friends on berry picking forays, and traversing woods on missions to resolve mysteries -- evoking in this reader a nostalgia similar to that experienced while reading E.B. White's classic essay "Once More to the Lake."
Recommended for all ages 9 to 99.
- Beryl Singleton Bissell, author. February 24, 2008
The Internet is an amazing thing. There are so many people I have "met" whom I would never have known existed if not for this wonderful, and sometimes scary, place. Most of these people are kind, helpful, fun, intelligent, and someone I'd have become friends with had we met face to face. One of these persons is Aaron Lazar, talented author and photographer. Without the Internet, I would never have been a part of his blog tour, had an opportunity to read his book Tremolo: cry of the loon, or shared his talent with my mother-in-law, who also loves mysteries. And, people, that would have been a shame. From the instant the book begins, I was transported into another time and place, where life was simple and people much different than they are today. Images from my childhood and a yearning for the sense of community flooded me with each page I turned. Not in a way that left me sad, but in a way that put a smile on my face and made me wish my daughter would know the sense of freedom from fear that I had as I traipsed around our neighborhood, much like Aaron's trio of young adventurers, Gus LeGarde and his friends Siegfried and Elsbeth Marggrander, do. However, I would not ever wish to experience what these three young friends did in the first few chapters of the book. Those chapters hooked me. Fast paced with vivid descriptions, I could almost hear the maddened drunkard (not revealing his name) chased Sharon Adamski through the woods while the trio hid in the bushes, terrified. Written in first person, Aaron handles this point of view beautifully. Contrary to popular belief, first person is not an easy POV to write. Matter of fact, most people who attempt this POV fail miserably. Not Aaron. On top of a difficult viewpoint choice, he adds the child factor. Writing from a child's perspective is always challenging. As adults, it is easy to slip into our own, more experienced mindset and instill that into the character, giving them adult thoughts, actions, and words they would never have, do, or say. But Aaron does not waver from young Gus's POV even in the most harrowing scenes. His mastery over point of view and the written word made this book a joy to read. Effortlessly, scenes relevant to the time are woven into the story. For instance, one of my favorite is young Gus's reaction to his first viewing of To Kill a Mockingbird. The questions he asks, the emotions he's feeling, all speak of the issues bubbling during the time this was set. Yet, the message wasn't broken over my head, and for that I am grateful and doubly impressed. While the murderer is revealed before the end of the story, this doesn't detract from the building tension. Rather, the revelation enhanced the story because it left me to wonder when the villain would show up again, how they would catch him, what his motivations were, and what would happen in the interim. And so much happened in the interim — real life moments. Instances that make you laugh and cry and gasp in surprise — that it is a pure pleasure getting there. I don't want to give too much away because this is a truly marvelous book that deserves to be read and a story that deserves to be discovered by the reader for herself. Instead, I'll invite you to take the journey to Maine with Aaron, to view the happenings on the lake, meet the people who make up Gus's life — from his parents to his grandparents to his two best friends to their parents to the girls who work at his grandparents' store to the mysterious visitor renting one of the cabins to the rest of the cast — and enter a world, that sadly, we aren't likely to see again. Beautifully paced, I laughed, cried, held my breath, and wanted more...just what a good book is designed to do. Thank you, Aaron.
Tremolo: cry of the loon
Tremolo: cry of the loon
Step back in time...when America's nomadic life had not begun, a time without campers and trailers on the road to theme parks and National Parks, a time before week long stays at Disney World or cruises on the Big Red Boat. Step back in time....summertime...to family camps in the northern woods and you have the setting for Aaron Lazar's latest mystery, Tremolo. Gus LeGarde and his family summer at the grandparents' camp on the shores of Great Pond, one of the Belgrade Lakes, in Maine. It is the summer of 1964 and Gus, the main character, is eleven years old. This will be a summer of enchantment for our hero: rambling around with his two companions on this big fresh-water lake, hikes among the pines and spruces and birches, blueberry raids in the middle of the night. But it will be also a summer of intrigue and mystery and of coming to terms with some of the great moral issues of the day.
Aaron's writing can be compared to a fine mazurka piano piece by Chopin at times. He knows how to weave a fast moving adventure, filled with tension and action....the kind that makes you breathe a little heavier in anticipation of what is going to happen next. At times, one wants to put down the book fearing what will become of the main character and his two good friends. They become part of your life...their adventure, my adventure. Had I not stolen blueberries from a Blueberry Patch as a child as Gus did? In a scene from the midnight raid at the blueberry patch, I held my breath when Gus and his friends might be discovered:
"William flapped his hands frantically toward the woods. We ran like frightened deer, ducking below the bushes in the pitch-blackness...I pumped my legs harder. William and the twins scrambled over a stone wall that separated the woods from the field. I'd nearly reached it when I tripped on an abandoned berry basket and went down. I fell face first onto the wet grass and my knee skidded along the ground. Winded, it took me a moment to recover. The headlights grew brighter as the car rolled toward me... I forced myself to lie motionless on the ground as my lungs heaved, loud and raspy. My heart thudded while a chorus of crickets sang in the background and the car's headlights played in the grass just beyond. A bead of sweat broke on my brow."
In another passage from the book, Gus becomes lost in the forest when he chases "something in white" that he thinks might be Sharon, a missing young girl in the story.
"...a queasy feeling rolled in my stomach. I raced blindly, pushing through the wet branches that slapped against my bare arms and face. I ran until I slipped on a decaying wet log and went down hard on my side. My ribs throbbed as I lay on the wet woodland floor and cried. I cried for the pain in my side, for the girl whose bloody, frightened face I couldn't forget, and for the feelings of intense fear swelling in my heart."
Other times, Tremolo is like a Chopin's Nocturne, expressive lyrical prose that draws you in to Gus's world. Aaron fills the palette of his writing with incredible soft memories of the past...one is constantly drawing parallels to one's own life growing up in the late 50's and early 60's. Did I not grow up with two summertime friends, Brian and Danny, on a pond? Though it was not a Fishing Resort, as the case in Tremolo, I could identify with Gus, Siegfried, and Elsbeth and their adventures. It was a time when summer meant staying outside all day from early morn till late at night, playing Marco-Polo in the water till your eyes were red with bloodshot, catching fireflies in jars and making wishes and becoming blood brothers. One late afternoon, running through camp with his two friends, Gus leaps from the top of the porch to the ground and scrapes his knee on an old pine root. Though it was excruciating as the blood pools along the split in his skin, Gus comes up with the idea that Siegfried, Elsbeth and he should become blood brothers.
"Something about the incident sparked a memory in my subconscious. It had been in a movie. Something about blood brothers...It was a ritual that bound friends together for life. I looked back and forth at the twins......
Siegfried began to chant. 'This ceremony binds us as blood brothers for life. We shall be lifelong friends until the day we die.'
Elsbeth added, Until the day we die. Amen."
How well this passage brought back memories of my two blood brothers. "Until the day we die" brought tears to my eyes. My cousin Brian, Terry's brother, never came back whole from Vietnam and my best friend Danny, who had also gone to Vietnam, died of a cocaine overdose when I was 30. Despite going in different directions after childhood, I mourned each as blood brothers, for did they not know all my childhood hopes and dreams? Did we not have long discussions of what it meant to be a girl? As with Elsbeth in the book, throughout childhood Danny and Brian, just like Gus and Siegfried, were my protectors, despite my protests that I was "just one of them."
In a way, Tremolo provided a carthasis for me. Laying on the couch on a snowy evening, in the bathtub late at night or under my down comforter, it brought back wonderful memories of childhood, my childhood, when an adventure was just around the corner.
- Elizabeth Evans, teacher, January 2008
Tremolo: cry of the loon
Anne K. Edwards, author
Open the pages of this great story and you'll find yourself stepping back in time to the childhood of the hero of the LeGarde mysteries by the very talented author Aaron Paul Lazar. The setting has all the earmarks of being real and pulls the reader nostalgically back to their own childhood with its warmth and laughter.
Three children, Gustave, Siegfried, and Elsbeth are set to enjoy another summer on the lake, but a series of events sends them off in a different direction, tingeing the peaceful lakeside atmosphere with fear and mystery. A missing girl, a mysterious visitor the children are forbidden to bother, the attempted murder of Gustave and other events keep this story moving with a sense of tension that will have any reader looking over their shoulder at strange sounds after dark.
Join Gustave and his friends in their attempts to find the missing girl, and find where their conviction they've found her leads. A tightly written tale with loads of action and adventure to keep you reading by a superb storyteller whose characters live and breathe.
A fun read with plenty of mystery and intrigue as seen through the eyes of a boy well on his way to becoming a man. If you are familiar with the adult LeGarde, you will recognize the seeds of his personality as sown here. Enjoy. I certainly did and I highly recommend this and all other books by Aaron Paul Lazar to any reader.
Double Forté: A Gus LeGarde Mystery by Aaron Paul Lazar
A Book Review written by
Frank Weaver, Jr. - columnist, author
In the opening monologue of Neil Simon's, "The Good Doctor," the lead character turns to the audience and says, "So I ask myself the question, 'What force is it that compels me to write so incessantly, day after day, page after page, story after story?' And the answer is quite simple. I have no choice. I am a writer."
Of course, not every author has the special talent that's needed to be a writer. Those few who do, write. They hone their skills seeking to hold the readers' interest, regardless of what they pen. And it's that special mark that makes them a writer. Like talented musicians or award winning actors, these wordsmiths fine-tune their dexterity in order to move the reader from one place and time to another. And all the while they enable the reader to enjoy a memorable trip traveling down that highway of reading called adventure.
Mark Twain was a writer. So was Ernest Hemingway. In today's world, John Grisham, James Reston, Jr. and Danny Lee Ingram are just a few among others. As a matter of fact, Ingram's book of short stories, called, "Pennies On The Tracks" is an excellent example of good writing.
But not every author is a writer. Fortunately, for readers of good fiction, Aaron Paul Lazar is one, first, and then he's an author. That much is evident. And because Lazar is a writer, first, just like the lead character in the Neil Simon play, he has no choice but to write. His "Seedlings" columns alone are proof.
However, if there is ever any doubt, all one needs to do is pick up a copy of his first book, Double Forte, the opening of his LeGarde mystery series. His numerous tales about retired university music professor, Gus LeGarde, proves the above point. For author Lazar, he hones his writing craft with a love and dedication one only finds with award winning writers.
Set in New York State’s Genesee Valley, LeGarde is the main character who solves one mystery after another in the most of unique ways. With the skillful use of words serving as his paintbrush, author Aaron Paul Lazar creates breathtaking scenery as he guides the reader through the adventure surrounding the Genesee Valley.
In telling his story, Lazar allows us to see and hear the wildlife, to smell the flowers, taste and enjoy the home cooking, to soak scene after scene into our indelible memories, to hear the glorious songs of birds and to feel the fiery passion of humanity as we join him in this adventurous journey. It's a skill found mostly with good writers but sadly missing with so many upcoming authors.
Lazar is fond of saying, "Take pleasure in the little things." And he should be. After all, he practices precisely what he preaches. It shows in his writings, whether they be "Seedlings" or his series of LeGarde mysteries. And in doing so, he teaches us all how to enjoy that pleasure.
Author Aaron Paul Lazar has completed eight LeGarde series mysteries. Besides Double Forte, among others are, Upstaged, Tremolo, Mazurka, Firesong: an unholy grave, Virtuoso, Portamento and Counterpoint. In all eight books have been or are presently in the process of completion. The writing of another book series featuring Sam and Rachel Moore has already commenced. According to the author, there are still more books planned for each series. He hopes "to deliver a couple a year 'til the day I drop." If most readers are like me, then we hope so, too.
It's difficult for me to go as far as to say that these are classical works of literary art or even masterful stories. To do so would be to admit this man has reached his pinnacle of success, literary perfection. And whenever that happens the risk of no more books being written soon becomes a reality. After all, don't all artists stop when they reach the top?
I, for one, do not wish to ever see Aaron Paul Lazar stop writing. And for that selfish reason, while he continuously approaches that summit, I guardedly hold my tongue.
Frank Weaver, Jr. - columnist
"Outtakes Around The Lakes"
only in 'The Suburbanite'
Author - "Crab Cake & Pepper"
'A Heartwarming Tale of a Dog and a Boy'
A PA Bestseller - Nov. 2004
ISBN: 1-4137-3140-6
Web site - www.FrankWeaverJr.com
E-mail: Frankweaverjr@aol.com
COMING SOON
"Into The Hollow"
A Spine Tingling, Hair Curling, Ghost Story
August, 2006:
Tremolo: Cry of the Loon
Author Web site: http://www.legardemysteries.com/
Rating: 9 (out of 9)
Reviewer: Joyce Handzo
Beautifully written, with the perfect touch of nostalgia and suspense, the pages of this book tremble with a strong emotional appeal. Set in Maine, during the summer of 1964, there is a vivid sense of traveling back in time, as memorable moments of this era provide the framework for the story. The author has captured both the coziness as well as the craziness of the sixties, thereby making the plot realistic and riveting.
Eleven-year-old Gus LeGarde is enjoying the summer with his best friends, Elsbeth and Siegfried Marggrander. Gus’s grandparents own and operate a lakeside resort, which offers these young people plenty of fun in the sun and in the water. However, after a boating accident leaves Gus stranded in the woods, he encounters a drunken man chasing an injured girl. He later learns that a girl had been reported missing and he’s positive it’s the same one he saw. Yet, what can three determined friends do that the police haven’t already done?
For those readers already familiar with Gus LeGarde from previous novels, this book is a delightful look at his childhood and the beginning of his special relationship with Elsbeth and Siegfried. The writing is poetically beautiful as it conjures up scenes of tranquil wooded places filled with the songs of birds and the whisper of gentle breezes. The author also adds a masterful touch of suspense as the trio stumbles across a sinister plot. This creates a poignant mix of happy childhood activities clouded intermittently with the darkness of evil intentions. As the plot steadily progresses, the climax explodes like a summer thunderstorm, clearing the air with the rush of truth.
Tremolo: cry of the loon sings with the voice of love, laughter and the timeless power of friendship.
12-10-05:
Book Review by Thomas Fortenberry
I have discovered a wonderful new series by Aaron Lazar. I read the first book in the series, Double Forté, and already had three more before I finished it. The Gus LeGarde Mysteries will prove to be long lasting, moving, memorable, and, perhaps most important of all, musical. This last part, though it may sound odd, is the most important feature of all. These books are very musical. Yes, the writing is lyrical, but I mean far beyond that the text, the story itself, is musical in every way. You can feel the swelling music of these stories infusing your soul as you read.
Reading Lazar’s books are like listening to a symphony. There is a gentle harmony that slowly builds, one instrument at a time, as characters and places are introduced and events unfold. Sometimes a lone instrument whispers in your ear some hidden, inner truth. Then others join in and their voices grow until a full accompaniment erupts. The rhythm increases with the pace, until the story soars aloft. This is rather fantastic to experience, like being immersed for the first time in the sea of an opera.
These LeGarde mysteries have a unique inner beauty. It is hard to describe, but reading them is a very soothing experience, even though the nature of the story is a thriller. These books are simply comfortable in their own skin and very comforting to read. They are suffused with a calm, glowing quietude. Even the silences in these stories resonate. They sing of everything good in life, even in the face of adversity. They remind us of the sun’s warmth even in the dead of winter. They teach us to breathe deeply, relax, and remember what is good in life. This is the warm, enduring atmosphere of families and friends sharing an evening meal before a fireplace.
This brings me to the characters. There is a constant but growing web of life threaded throughout the story. Community and connections are the lifeblood of this book. These characters inhabit their world fully. You live with them, breathe, eat, love, and ache alongside them. We experience their emotions, become invested in their lives, and thus part of their community. Gus LeGarde and his entourage truly do become friend and family.
Aaron Paul Lazar should be proud. Though he is a first time author -- hence these novels have minor technical flaws here and there which will be smoothed out over time -- he has accomplished something many established authors can only dream of doing. He’s created a dynamic story. This is a very real world inhabited by real people struggling through their real lives. But the poetry and music vibrating between every letter of this text elevates this book to a work of art. Lazar delivers a masterful display of heartfelt emotions, need, and compassion. That he wraps this present in a thrilling, mysterious package for us just makes it all the more enjoyable.
c 2005 Thomas Fortenberry
Thomas Fortenberry is an American author, editor, reviewer, and publisher. Owner of Mind Fire Press and the international literary arts journal Mindfire, he has judged many literary contests, including The Georgia Author of the Year Awards and The Robert Penn Warren Prize for Fiction. Among other awards, such as twice winning Best Novella of the Year, he has also been nominated for the Pushcart Prize. He currently edits for two journals, Mindfire and The Istanbul Literary Review, though he has done editorial work on numerous magazines, anthologies, and journals in the past (such as Maelstrom, Ragnarok, Phic-Shun, Morphesium, and The Global Knowledge Series of Arts and Sciences [GKSAS]).
Book Review by Thomas Fortenberry
2-1-06
Double Forté, the first of the Gus LeGarde series of mysteries written by Aaron Paul Lazar, is a chilling thriller. But this book is such a far cry from the cliché thrillers of today that it is almost the start of a new genre. This book is thriller, mystery, romance, and literature all at once. I could be done by saying it is just plain good writing, but that doesn’t seem fair for a review. I cannot possibly do it justice, but I will attempt to convey some of the unique majesty of this book. However, I will not be able to mention many specifics of the plot for fear of giving it all away.
This book is set neatly in its own world, a beautiful valley in upstate New York. The world is that of Professor LeGarde, a classical musical instruction. Music informs every part of this novel, from his world view to the other characters, the scenes and escalation of action, right down to the prose itself. This is a very musical piece of literature with a varied tempo depending upon the scene, its intensity, such as its romance or fear. A very lyrical read.
But, please do not misunderstand me. This is not a fantasy or whimsical bit of fluff. This is a very serious, very intense novel about real characters. Lazar does a fantastic job getting inside the minds and exploring the emotions that drive all the characters. The world is very solid and presented in such a complete way that you become a part of it. We understand these people and why everything in this book occurs. That is a very nice and rare trick for an author to pull.
Double Forté is a refreshing work of hand-crafted beauty, even given its nail biting nature. Lazar has crafted an original character in LeGarde, one which I am very glad to learn has an entire series dedicated to him. I strongly recommend this book to all fans of James Patterson, Iris Johanson, and Mary Higgins Clark. You will not be disappointed.
c 2005 Thomas Fortenberry
6-2-05:
Double Forte' is a symphony for the senses! This clever mystery involves the entire reader, as vibrant descriptions blend with appropriate dialogue and action-filled scenes.
Gus LeGarde could be anyone's next-door neighbor, and readers will instantly connect with this character. When he finds out about a child who may have been kidnapped, his grandfatherly concern steps in with a plan of action. Although he was able to rescue the child, the kidnapper escaped, which leaves a cloud of uncertainty over Gus and his own family. Will they become targets for the kidnapper's revenge?
This book takes readers from breathless chase scenes to the sighs of quiet romantic moments. First and foremost, Gus is a family man. A widower, he lives with his married daughter and her young son. These pages take an intimate and endearing look into their home, allowing readers to see inside the heart of Gus. He has a deep appreciation and talent for music, which enters into the story and provides a subtle beauty. The author's descriptive details of upstate New York, as well as some special family dinners, will give readers a feast for the mind.
This reviewer also appreciated the gentle love and care the animals received. The opening pages involve a touching rescue of a golden retriever, who had been caught in an iron-jawed trap. These first few moments of the story set the mood for the determined helpfulness of the main characters.
Double Forte' gets a well-deserved "Bravo!" from this reviewer.
Joyce Handzo
February 2, 2006:
Aaron Paul Lazar is an engineer who writes in his spare time in upstate New York. His many interests include dogs and cats; gardening; cooking; photography; cross-country skiing; music; and fine arts. UPSTAGED is part of the LeGarde Mysteries that were introduced in 2005 and include DOUBLE FORTE; MAZURKA; AND NATURE SINGS; DIE FIEDERMAUS; VIRTUOSO; PORTAMENTO; and THE GREEN MARBLE.
In this second Gus and Camille mystery, set in Upstate New York's Genesee Valley, Gus is a college professor who lost his first wife to cancer. He meets his soul mate in Camille, the daughter of his secretary. Camille has her own issues, but Gus wins her heart. In UPSTAGED Camille is staging a school play that Gus wrote, loosely based on the Woodstock experience. Petty jealousies, teen angst, and vibrant talent all combine to create an atmosphere rife with danger:
"My heart skipped a beat as I dashed over and knelt by her side. She had fallen three-and-a-half feet from the edge of the stage and had landed on a music stand on the floor below. A rivulet of red flowed from her temple. Marshall quickly joined me at her side, panting from his downhill sprint. He leaned down to Camille. His face worked with emotion. In the recesses of my mind, I idly wondered if his feelings for her went beyond that of a business relationship. After a few seconds of shock, he roared into action."
Aaron Paul Lazar wastes no time in pulling the reader into this mystery of music and the theater. He deftly weaves his interests into the tale, and the reader is transported into the world of high school action. Lazar knows his music and theater, which provide a wonderful backdrop in and of themselves. But his obvious love of family adds another layer to this sweet and wonderful mystery. In Lazar's world, family, food, music, and love are all important. He provides plenty of action and some very good recipes to break up the tale. UPSTAGED is a first-rate mystery that makes the reader want to immediately grab all the other books in the series. Lazar is a talented writer with a heart and an eye for mystery.
Shelley Glodowski
MidWest Book Reviewer, Senior Reviewer
July 15, 2005
Upstaged is outstanding! Gus LeGarde is back to solve a drama-filled mystery with an intriguing cast of characters. When Gus agrees to help his fiancée, Camille, with the production of a high school play, someone on the set seeks to bring the curtain down with a crash. A series of accidents escalates to murderous proportions and leaves everyone with more than a bad case of stage fright.
Readers will be thrilled to return to the world of Gus LeGarde in this second book of the series! The mystery was well thought out and the spotlight of suspicion hovered over several of the characters, which kept the interest level high. The author masterfully describes the settings, which allowed the story to unfold with many realistic details. All of the characters were drawn with a purpose and each had a vital role in the novel.
Most interesting was the story within the story. The script and the music in the play provided an appropriate backdrop for the continuing action of the mystery. The scenes in the school auditorium offered readers a chance to observe the characters and look for clues.
There is a gentleness and charm within these pages. The author has a true talent for creating characters that touch the reader’s heart. The descriptions of everything from flowers to a family dinner are filled with a genuine appreciation of life. This makes a remarkable contrast to the murderous desires of the saboteur, but also makes for an ending that leaves readers perfectly satisfied.
Upstaged left this reviewer applauding!
Joyce Handzo
8-5-05:
Mazurka is a vibrant dance with words that keeps in step with a contemporary issue!
Gus and Camille travel to Europe for their honeymoon, but will their joyful beginning end in calamity? A mysterious summons from Elsbeth’s great aunt in Germany causes Gus to include Siegfried on their trip.
Yet, trouble and terror stalk all of them and leave both the characters and the readers breathless with excitement.
The pages of Mazurka will turn with a steady tempo! Readers will be treated to a delightful tour of Europe through rich, sensory descriptions, based on the author’s own memories. Yet, this romp through Europe becomes even more memorable with the exciting story line. The threesome accidentally becomes entangled with a group of Neo-Nazis, after Siegfried fights to defend his half-Jewish heritage. The level of violence and hatred escalates until more deaths seem imminent. Gus, Camille and Siegfried must battle for their lives as they cling to their love.
The author has outdone himself with this book! Each page propels the story forward with a series of clever surprises. There is a sense of history and destiny within these pages, as the characters seek to reconcile the past with their futures. Gus and Camille start their lives together, but need to understand the mental abuse she suffered with her former husband. Frieda Hirsch has a story to tell that is filled with the melody of love. And the Neo-Nazis live with an historic hatred for a group of people. There is an amazing blend of the past, present and the future, as these situations tie together.
Sorrow-filled scenes, delicate details and exciting escapes will satisfy all readers. Well-turned phrases and excellent writing causes the plot to come alive with a sense of reality and purpose.
Mazurka marches forward with a solid story that beats with passion!
Joyce Handzo
August 23, 2005:
Mazurka by Aaron Paul Lazar
The highly prolific Aaron Paul Lazar has given us another treat, the third in his series concerning Gus LeGarde, a man to whom things happen. Back in Mazurka are the extended family and the loving descriptions of food and gardens.
But there is nothing bucolic in Mazurka. Gus and Camille – lovers in Double Forté and engaged in Upstaged – are now on their honeymoon in Europe. It’s an unusual honeymoon since Gus and Camille have taken with them Siegfried, the brother of Elsbeth who was Gus’s first wife and who died tragically about four years before the events of this story.
In Paris Gus and Siegfried encounter a leader of a neo-Nazi party. The occasion is a demonstration and the leader mistakes Siegfried, because of his Nordic good looks, for a likely recruit to the party. Siegfried angrily rejects the man’s overtures – he is, after all, part Jewish – there is a scuffle and a neo-Nazi thug, meaning to kill Siegfried, kills the leader instead. CNN presentation makes this unclear and the conviction is that Gus and Siegfried are guilty of the leader’s death. The U.S. government officials know the truth but also are apprehensive that the neo-Nazis will attempt a reprisal. Siegfried, injured in the scuffle, is in the hospital. As soon as he can be moved, they will leave Paris as it is no longer safe.
Relying on a probability of security that proves mistaken, Gus and Camille visit the catacombs of Paris. Neo-Nazi thugs recognize them and pursue them. Gus and Camille make their escape. Even though it is premature to move Siegfried, they leave Paris and make their way to the home of Elsbeth’s great-aunt.
It is there that Gus – a Chopin scholar – receives a revelation concerning Chopin. The great-aunt is his descendent as a result of an unknown love affair between Chopin and an innkeeper from whom she, Elsbeth and Elsbeth’s daughter Freddie are descended.
But their safety here as in Paris is an illusion. Disaster confronts them and they follow a downward path to danger and imminent death. These are colorful, if bloody, pages and it would be an act of cruelty for me to detail the crisis and its resolution. I give nothing away when I write that our hero triumphs but the way of that triumph is a pleasure best left to the reader.
Lazar is an excellent writer who has a good grasp of all that is necessary to tell an exciting story well. Each book adds to the reality of Gus’s world without more than token repetition of facts essential to the reader’s comprehension. There is none of the clumsy importations that mar so many series. It is appropriate that Gus is a musician for there is much in the Lazar series that suggest the musical theme and variations. Like the best examples of these, differences challenge identity and the resulting tension makes the work exciting. For the reader in want of entertainment there can be no better choice than the works of Aaron Paul Lazar.
Bob Williams
4-27-05:
Professor Gus LeGarde is a widower with a profound sense of justice and an insatiable curiosity. He loves music, gardening, cooking and his family. Mourning the loss of his wife, Elsbeth, five years earlier, he fills his days by spending time with brother-in-law Siegfried, daughter Freddie and grandson Johnny.
Gus and Sig find a stray dog injured in the woods while skiing and stop at a cabin to call for help. Gus is sure he heard a whimper, but the unfriendly occupant slams the door in his face. Curiosity gets the better of the professor and he returns to find a child shackled to the bed. A chase ensues, with the child and her captive careening over a cliff.
The professor manages to rescue the child but the horror has just begun. Baxter, the child’s kidnapper and biological father, begins a campaign of terror to reclaim his child. Gus and his family are placed in danger first by Baxter and then by the unknown murderer of Gus’ son-in-law’s business partner. The killer threatens the professor’s new romantic interest, Camille, when the police arrive to arrest him. Intrigue and suspense surround the family as page after page; the reader is embroiled in the exciting, mysterious circumstances.
Set in wintry upstate New York, the author uses vivid imagery to capture the reader’s imagination. Characters are realistic and the interplay between them is well presented. The family relationships are solid. Aaron Lazar has a talent for instilling twists and turns to keep the plot moving and the answers to the reader’s questions, just beyond reach. A great book for a quiet afternoon of reading.
Double Forté is the first book in the Gus LeGarde series. Watch for more of this intriguing character from author, Aaron Lazar.
Reviewer: Shirley Roe, Allbooks Reviews.
3-08-05:
Double Forte' by Aaron Paul Lazar is a beautifully crafted novel vaguely reminiscent of the style of Rex Stout, yet refreshingly original. I found this book appealing on several levels; the characters are well developed and diverse, representative of people we know in real life. From the pristine innocence of young Johnny and Sadie to the unprincipled son-in-law, Harold, and the corrupt and venomous Ed Baxter, we see those uniquely human traits that make life immensely pleasurable and, at times, horrific. Contrasting personalities and events create the conflict that is so important to all good works of fiction, and Mr. Lazar's novel illustrates this point very effectively indeed.
As a protagonist, Professor Gus LeGarde, in many ways, show great courage and emotional strength, but he also displays a certain vulnerability that renders him totally believable. He is a real man, but not a superman; his great passions and haunting past are cleverly revealed to the reader without hindering the pace of the novel. Also, the vivid description of New York's Genesee Valley is so engaging that the reader will feel as though he is actually there. I have absolutely no reservations in giving Double Forte' five stars, and look forward to the next installment in the series. I would strongly recommend this book to all lovers of great mysteries.
Carlton Duncan, author of Echoes In The Darkness
3-08-05:
Double Forte' A Gus LeGarde Mystery is one "Cool" novel.
Aaron Paul Lazar is a mystery reader who has written a mystery novel titled Double Forte' - For me, being in the hands of a mystery reader and mystery lover telling a mystery is the first star for a five star review. As I started reading Double Forte' A Gus LeGarde Mystery, I reached for my DVR remote to mute a recorded segment of THE LATE SHOW with David Letterman whose big guest for the evening was John Travolta who was there to promote his new movie, "Be Cool" which was based on an Elmore Leonard novel.
Double Forte' begins "We'd been skiing over the frozen alfalfa field for twenty minutes when I heard the howl…" Now as I read that first line I was thinking how cool it is to be reading a scene taking place in the winter while John Travolta was selling his new "Chili Palmer" movie "Be Cool." Because of the Elmer Leonard/Travolta/ Double Forte' connection I give this book another star on a five star rating.
Mr. Lazar has studied classics and contemporaries like the Hardy Boys, Rex Stout, Agatha Christie and James Patterson to name a few on his way to produce his own version of the magnifying glass for the Mystery universe Gus LeGarde. As another reviewer (Jamie Shoemaker) writes, "Gus has thus far shown me that cooking a pot of stew, reading a stack of books and watching Bambi with the 'little ones' in our lives certainly seems more important and time best spent than studying P&L statements, pro-formus and packing for the next business trip. I feel as if Gus, through your words, is actually slowing me down a little bit. Wednesday night is my alone night with the girls. Tonight, because of your book, I spent a little extra time with them while tucking them in. Kennedy and I shared an extra bedtime story and Liberty and I rocked in her bedroom for 10 minutes or so…" A Good believable character adds star number three.
As the author says Gus is a "hopeless romantic" and I feel after one reads Double Forte' you will "hopelessly" fall in love and care about the characters and the solid story line that carries the book from beginning to middle to end. This book as you would want in any mystery is a page-turner, hence star number four - It will be hard to put down and you will want to reread the book again.
And so this reviewer hopes Mr. Lazar is working diligently on the next Gus LeGarde story and will continue the life of this character which I feel will have a solid fan base for years to come. Mr. Lazar has a created a character that many are buzzing "Hollywood adaptation" which easily and sincerely gives Double Forte' A Gus LeGarde Mystery a final star for a five star review. Keep up the good work Aaron and most of all keep writing.
John Weaver
2-06-05:
Listen to Bob Koch's review from "Bob on Books."(WXXI 91.5 FM radio program)
We’d been skiing over the frozen alfalfa field for twenty minutes when I heard the howl. I stopped dead in my tracks, pulled back my hood, and listened. Siegfried swished up behind me and plunked his long poles into the snow pack. I stood motionless, straining to hear the sound again.
"Professor?" he said.
I frowned, listened again, and looked up at my behemoth brother-in-law.
Thus, we enter a Gus LeGarde mystery, by Genesee Valley Writer, Aaron Paul Lazar. In Double Forté, LeGarde, a local college music professor turned detective, is about to encounter, and eventually solve, a dangerous nest of mysteries, but not before finding himself fortunate to survive to tell the tale! Area readers of Double Forté will recognize local geography, some thinly disguised, Conaroga village, for example; some tagged outright, the Letchworth Gorge. LeGarde is a widower with daughter, grandson, and somewhat estranged son-in-law. His brother-in-law, Siegfried, is gentle giant, damaged by a childhood accident. Enter Baxter, a menacing ex-cop, and whoever it is that is in his clutches. Their story unfolds with dollops of well-observed local color, culinary magic, appropriate music, romance, and palpable danger that heightens periodically. In Double Forté, Lazar tells a good tale and promises more, in a series described on his website at legardemysteries.com
Bob Koch, WXXI 91.5 FM, host of"Bob on Books"
Listen to Bob Koch's review from "Bob on Books."(WXXI 91.5 FM radio program)
Geneseo mystery writer Aaron Paul Lazar is on a tear. In Upstaged, the second book in a projected nine book series of Gus LeGarde mysteries, his cast of characters from the opener, Double Forté, is augmented by lead characters and some who did not make the cut from a high school musical composed years before by music prof and detective Gus LeGarde. His romance with lovely Camille quickens as she prepares the musical offering. Immediately, it is threatened by violence that becomes more and more threatening. Enough shadows fall across the stage and its setting in a town with a Genesee Valley flavor, that a robust list of suspects soon develops. Along the way, as before, LeGarde continues in his role as widower, grandfather, and father with newly wakened possibilities of further domestic bless, even as his musical life and sleuthing continue. Again, in Upstaged, LeGarde appreciates gourmet cooking, gardening, good music, the college town and Genesee Valley ambiance, which Lazar catches with much of its subtlety. The third mystery, Mazurka, takes place in Europe and Gus LeGarde will probably observe some tough bumps before settling the issues at hand.
WXXI FM 91.5 Radio by Bob Koch, from Bob on Books
Listen to audio clip
12-01-04:
In the Gus LeGarde Mystery, Double Forté, writer Aaron Paul Lazar weaves an absorbing tale of love, intrigue, and murder. Set in the snow-covered hills of Upstate New York, the story moves rapidly right from page one to the final word on the final page. Its multilayered plot pulls the reader along without unnecessary complications.
As Double Forté unfolds, we experience a range of powerful emotions—humor, passion, hatred, and fear. Lazar’s erudite grasp of human nature shines through the rolling dialog and interplay of the characters. The credible personalities develop quickly and each is essential to the imaginative depth of the story.
Lazar is a master at capturing detail. Whatever the scene, from the chit chat while washing dishes at a church social, to sinking toward certain death at the bottom of an icy lake in Maine, Lazar artfully crafts imagery that vividly grows in the reader’s imagination. And Lazar’s use of dreams to segue is a novel and welcomed device that provides further insight into the psyche of the hero, Gus LeGarde.
Double Forté is a compelling thriller and a splendid addition to the mystery genre. We eagerly look forward to the next installment in Aaron Paul Lazar’s “Gus LeGarde Mysteries.”
—Ray Edinger, author of Fury Beach
12-03-04: The first novel in the Gus LeGarde Series of mysteries, Double Forté grabs the reader’s attention from the outset, accelerates to a climax, and then leaves one wanting more, as every great novel does. With the beautiful background of New York State’s Genesee Valley, Double Forté teems with vivid imagery. Whether he is describing the play of the wind on a field of snow or relaying the layout of a room, Lazar’s eye for detail transports the reader into the scene of the movie which obviously plays in his mind as he writes. His meticulous descriptions do not end with the inanimate. Lazar has breathed life into his entire cast of characters, from the gentle German giant Siegfried to the rapscallion Harold to the innocent Johnny. Each character provides a nuance to the story, lending it credibility and drawing the reader further into the action-packed mystery that lies within. And through it all, Lazar has even managed to weave in romance. The budding relationship between Gus, who is tormented by his loyalty to his deceased wife, and Camille, who is tortured by her palpable memories of abuse, is beautifully choreographed and is achingly real. Double Forté has something for all readers. Mystery and romance combine with a colorful array of characters to produce a story that begs to be continued. - Jeanne M. Fielding, MLS
3-10-05 I read several detective novels per year and what strikes me about Double Forte' is the feeling of place. This is a comfortable and readable novel. By readable it is a page turner in which the story propels us forward. The reader wants to know where the characters will lead them next and how the mystery will be solved. The sense of place is reminiscent of a Conan-Doyle London pub or a Hillerman Southwest landscape. When LeGarde travels a byway or goes thru a village there is something tangible that transports the reader to that locale. You can feel comfortable and, when the action turns, you are readily caught up in the moment and the location. A great read that is very well done! (Erehwon, N.Y.)
R. S. Russell "Stargazer"