Roz Southey: 7 books

The north-east of England in the eighteenth century was a region where many different kinds of musical activity thrived and where a wide range of documentation survives. Such activities included concert-giving, teaching, tuning and composition, as well as music in the theatre and in church. Dr Roz...

Music may be the food of love… But it doesn’t fill an empty belly. Winter is not a good time for jobbing musicians in early 18th century Newcastle. An organ builder thinks his life is in danger. The offer of a large fee persuades harpsichordist Charles Patterson to investigate. Can the dead help?

A sword, a book of music, and a murdered girl… Musician-sleuth Charles Patterson is called to a murder late one night and is horrified to find he is acquainted with the victim, a young street-girl. There is little Patterson can do; his patron has arranged an engagement for him at a fashionable house...

Italian actors… French spies… At least the thugs are English… Charles Patterson is not happy. Its the hottest June for years, hes stuck in musical rehearsals with a family of Italians, some local ruffians are after his blood, and someone is trying to break into the house of Esther Jerdoun, the...

The eighteenth-century musician and amateur sleuth witnesses a murder in the streets of Newcastle in this “clever mystery full of interesting characters” (Kirkus Reviews). Newcastle upon Tyne, 1736. Newly married to a lady of means, musician Charles Patterson is learning to juggle his devotion...

Musician and sleuth Charles Patterson watches a young woman flee a crime scene in this historical novel with “a chilling mix of murder and the paranormal” (Publishers Weekly). January, 1737. Snow blankets Newcastle upon Tyne, and musician Charles Patterson is engaged in a snowball fight...

In Newcastle upon Tyne in the 1730s, life is not easy for an impoverished musician. For Charles Patterson, violinist, harpsichord player, composer and would-be church organist, it’s about to get a whole lot harder. First he is accused of stealing a valuable book. Then a cherished violin belonging to...