A search for the ghost of a chorus girl chorine haunting a costume designer’s Manhattan apartment leads to an encounter with an eccentric, mischievous witch with the ability to send folks back through time…in this case, the 1919 Ziegfeld Follies.
An antique musical doll, cranberry-stained sheet music and the machinations of an eccentric, stupidly-short witch with a fondness for Elvis throw Melody Flynn through time to the 1919 Ziegfeld Follies. Mel soons finds herself dealing with jealous chorus girls while trying to learn songs and dances created nearly 100 years before she was born.
That’s the easy part. When she begins a race to track down missing chorines, she’s suddenly battling fanatic Egyptian cultists, murderous bordello madams - and her growing feelings for stagehand Briley McShan.
Excerpt
How could I tell him I'd just dropped through some sort of time portal courtesy of an antique doll that played Irving Berlin, some sheet music, and a crazy Elvis-obsessed diminutive witch? How could say that it was now the 21st Century but even in an "advanced" age, time travel was not exactly a daily occurrence and returning was dodgy and dicey?
I wondered what would happen if I rewound the music box right there in the dressing room. Would I disappear? Would I end up back in my apartment? Would I end up in Irving Berlin's apartment? Or someplace with people far less kind than the folks backstage at the 1919 Ziegfeld Follies?
Professional Reviews Haunting Melody
Author Flo Fitzpatrick combines a fascinating look at New York and the world of the theater almost a century ago with some fun mystery and a charming romance. The theater scenes ring true, as do Fitzpatrick's look into the occult of the time. The romance itself is charming, with the injured Briley gradually learning to trust again, while Melody deals with the certainty that eventually she will leave Briley--probably just when he'd come to believe she wouldn't. After all, time travel is a sneaky thing. Fitzpatrick fills her story with fascinating secondary characters and a look at white slavery in the early 1900s. I'm happy to recommend this well-written and compelling novel. Rob Preece Booksforabuck.com
What fun!
Wonderful characters, interesting plot, lots of humor and fun. Those are all trademarks of Ms. Fitzpatrick's books, and this one is no exception. I laughed out loud in several places at Melody's predicaments. I loved this book and would recommend it to anyone.
Never a dull moment
Flo Fitzpatrick takes the reader along with costume designer Melody Flynn on a quick trip to Broadway theater in the early 1900s thanks to her eccentric neighbor. A diverse group of characters who quickly befriend Melody follow her back to modern times without a break in harrowing moments. Fun read with a very appealing hero past and present, stagehand Briley McShan. Keeps the reader guessing and breathless.
