A Fugue in Hell’s Kitchen
A Katy Green Mystery
By Hal Glatzer

      Violinist Katy Green is tired of out-of-town gigs. She returns to New York to try to crash the classical scene. The time is 1939. She pounds the pavement looking for work, which is difficult to find in the long-hair scene. Her cellist friend, Amalia Chen, asks Katy's help in finding a priceless Paganini quartet manuscript. It was stolen from Amalia's cello case after a performance at the prestigious Meyer Conservatory where she serves on the faculty. When the Conservatory's dean, Iris Meyers, meets an untimely death, Katy determines to find the cause of her death. The police aren't sure if it is natural or if it is murder. Iris is succeeded as dean by her egghead brother Joseph, who lacks administrative ability, thus leaving the future of the school in doubt.

     When the manuscript is returned, it is found to be a forgery. Amalia is arrested for allegedly stealing the manuscript. To prove Amalia's innocence and to find the real culprit Katy searches from Chinatown to Hell's Kitchen to the New York music scene.

      This is a story of New York in the 30's with nostalgic glimpses of Hell's Kitchen and its gangs, Chinatown, the Ninth Avenue El, and nickel phone calls. There is a view of racial tensions in the U.S which is on the brink of war, with some characters being threatened with deportation because of their race. The array of suspects is colorful, ranging from residents of Chinatown to the gangs in Hell's Kitchen. There is plenty of action, lots of breezy dialogue, and an enterprising protagonist in the person of Katy. The reader is taken on a trip into the past before subways and sky scrapers. An enjoyable easy read.