by Lorie Lewis Ham

Details at the end of the post on how to enter to win an ebook copy of the first book in the series and a link to purchase the new one from Amazon.

The Player’s Encore is the second book in Joe Cosentino’s Player Piano Mystery series. In the first book, The Player, grade school music teacher Andre Beaufort discovers an old player piano in the basement of his building and has it brought up to his apartment. Much to his surprise, the piano is haunted by Roaring Twenties playboy Freddy Birstwistle, who was the original owner of the house that has been converted into apartments. The pair end up solving two mysteries in the first book and falling in love (both books actually have two stories in them.)

In the first story in this new book, The Beach House, the pair visit Freddy’s family’s old Florida beach house, which is now a bed and breakfast. They discovered in the first book that Freddy can appear in any of his family’s old homes. This was to be a fun vacation for the pair, but instead they end up involved in the mysterious murder of a houseboy, who is the second houseboy to meet the same fate.

The second story, The Villa, takes them to Tuscany where they stay at an inn that once belonged to Freddy’s family. Andre goes on this trip with his uncle Darryl, an ex-priest who has come out as gay and is looking forward to starting a new chapter in his life. Of course, Freddie and Andre couldn’t possibly go on a vacation without stumbling upon a murder—this time the victim is a handsome wealthy young guest and the inn is filled with suspects.

This is a charming and fun cozy mystery series! The mysteries are filled with twists and turns, and the characters are delightful. Despite the light, cozy feel of the stories, there are also some important issues addressed in each one and I really appreciated how they were handled. My favorite part of these stories is the romance between Andre and Freddy. Freddy is full of interesting stories from his years as a playboy and can be quite egotistical at times, but when it comes to Andre, he can also be very sweet. Andre is just plain adorable. The pair have a great chemistry and I can’t wait for more stories about this unusual duo.

Giveaway: Post a comment on what you love about player pianos, gay romance, Key West, Tuscany, or whodunits. The one that tickles our ivories the most will win a complimentary e-book of The Player, Player Piano Mysteries Book 1, by Joe Cosentino. You can read our privacy statement here if you like.

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Lorie Lewis Ham is our Editor-in-Chief and a contributor to various sections, coupling her journalism experience with her connection to the literary and entertainment worlds. Explore Lorie’s mystery writing at Mysteryrat’s Closet.

Disclosure: This post contains links to an affiliate program, for which we receive a few cents if you make purchases. KRL also receives free copies of most of the books that it reviews, that are provided in exchange for an honest review of the book.