The Twisted Curtain
by Martha Jean Johnson (in progress)
A world-famous conductor freezes to death in front of his Beacon Hill home. The temperature is twelve below. Carlotta Purcell has engineered her husband’s death after years of tolerating his infidelity. She watches from an upstairs window and twists a silk curtain as Jack collapses in the snow.
On one level, The Twisted Curtain is a mystery in the style of the TV series Columbo: A wife kills her husband. The victim’s sister is suspicious. But the novel also explores the perspectives of three women—Jack’s wife, sister, and mistress—who love a brilliant, but ultimately unknowable man.
How Jack died is obvious—to the police and everyone else. The charismatic musician succumbed to hypothermia during a historic winter storm. But his keys and phone are missing, and the police can’t find them. His four-year-old son heard the doorbell ringing in the night. His wife says she heard nothing. Jack’s sister, Susannah, has watched his fourteen-year marriage disintegrate due to his routine cheating and lying. When Jack’s wife flinches at the sight of a twisted window curtain, Susannah becomes suspicious and confronts a painful choice as she works to uncover the truth.
Music lovers may remember the genesis for The Twisted Curtain—the death of the 17th century English composer, Henry Purcell. Late one snowy night, he died on his doorstep at age thirty-six. Although historians are skeptical, a tale persists that Purcell’s furious wife locked him out.
Despite its centuries-old inspiration, the novel delves into modern dilemmas such as the allowances we make for charismatic men, racism in the arts, and the limits of the justice system.
I hope The Twisted Curtain will intrigue anyone who relishes mysteries and enjoys classical music. I’ve indulged my own love of music (and cats) in this book.
Explore a new novel now in progress—The Twisted Curtain
Meet the characters
Three women, a charismatic musician, and a detective who doesn’t like loose ends
Listen to the music
In this novel filled with musicians and music teachers, I’ve described them playing some of my favorite music.
Read a sample
Nella Duval is a gifted cellist and Jack’s lover, the last of dozens over the years.