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y separately published work icon Dead Certain single work   novel   detective   mystery  
Is part of Detective Inspector Carol Ashton Mysteries Claire McNab , 1988 series - author novel (number 5 in series)
Issue Details: First known date: 1992... 1992 Dead Certain
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'Collis Raeburn, young tenor superstar of the Eureka Opera Company, is dead. Suicide? A tragic accident? Detective Inspector Carol Ashton is brought in to deal with the press and the prima donnas, and finds the opera's factions reveal more flamboyant drama than is usually seen on stage.

Meanwhile, the Raeburn family is following its own agenda - not to find the truth about Collis' death, but to scotch the rumour he was HIV positive. As Carol's instincts tell her 'murder', she finds her own carefully guarded private life is threatened. Unless she determines 'accidental death', her sexual preferences will be front page news.

Set in the dramatic world of passion and ambition, Off Key features the delightful Carol Ashton ...'

Source: Back cover (Allen & Unwin)

'In her fifth appearance, Det. Insp. Carol Ashton investigates the death of Collis Raeburn, "Australia's Pavarotti." Found in a Sydney hotel room, Collis appears to have committed suicide, but to Carol his death "looks staged." Suspects are copious: Kenneth Raeburn, Collis's father and manager, denies that his son was HIV-positive, despite evidence to the contrary. Collis's sister, Nicole, was fiercely--perhaps incestuously--devoted to him. The singer's life befitted grand opera: he had contentious relationships (on and off stage) with sopranos Alanna Brooks and Corinne Jawalski; he may have been about to bail out of a new opera composed by Graeme Welton and produced by Edward Livingston; and he doomed rival tenor Lloyd Clancy to second place. It is doubly tough for Carol to sort through Collis's life when her own is on the rocks: her lover, Sybil Quade, has moved out, and an anonymous caller is threatening to expose Carol as a lesbian.'

Source: Back cover (Bella Books)

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Tallahassee, Florida,
      c
      United States of America (USA),
      c
      Americas,
      :
      Naiad Press ,
      1992 .
      Extent: 203p.p.
      Edition info: 1st.ed.
      ISBN: 1562800272 (acid-free paper)
    • St Leonards, North Sydney - Lane Cove area, Sydney Northern Suburbs, Sydney, New South Wales,: Allen and Unwin , 1992 .
      Alternative title: Off Key
      Extent: 203p.
    • London,
      c
      England,
      c
      c
      United Kingdom (UK),
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,
      :
      Silver Moon ,
      1994 .
      Extent: 203p.
      ISBN: 1872642284
    • Ferndale, Michigan,
      c
      United States of America (USA),
      c
      Americas,
      :
      Bella Books ,
      2003 .
      Extent: 242p.
      ISBN: 9781931513449
Alternative title: Das Ende vom Lied
Language: German

Works about this Work

Untitled Robert Hood , 1993 single work review
— Appears in: Scarp , May no. 22 1993; (p. 69)

— Review of Dead Certain Claire McNab , 1992 single work novel
The Carol Ashton Mysteries: a Lesbian Detective Down Under Wendy Larcombe , 1993 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Women's Book Review , September vol. 5 no. 3 1993; (p. 31-33)

— Review of Dead Certain Claire McNab , 1992 single work novel
Untitled Robert Hood , 1993 single work review
— Appears in: Mean Streets : A Quarterly Journal of Crime, Mystery and Detection , March no. 8 1993; (p. 56-57)

— Review of Dead Certain Claire McNab , 1992 single work novel
Local Offerings Pale Against Overseas Writers Jeff Popple , 1993 single work review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 7 February 1993; (p. 24)

— Review of Dead Certain Claire McNab , 1992 single work novel ; The Last Tango of Dolores Delgado Marele Day , 1992 single work novel
Guilt Edge Jane Stephens , 1993 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , February-March no. 148 1993; (p. 51-52)

— Review of The Green Mill Murder Kerry Greenwood , 1993 single work novel ; Dead Certain Claire McNab , 1992 single work novel ; A Hank of Hair Charlotte Jay , 1964 single work novel ; Burn and Other Stories Peter Corris , 1993 selected work short story
Guilt Edge Jane Stephens , 1993 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , February-March no. 148 1993; (p. 51-52)

— Review of The Green Mill Murder Kerry Greenwood , 1993 single work novel ; Dead Certain Claire McNab , 1992 single work novel ; A Hank of Hair Charlotte Jay , 1964 single work novel ; Burn and Other Stories Peter Corris , 1993 selected work short story
Local Offerings Pale Against Overseas Writers Jeff Popple , 1993 single work review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 7 February 1993; (p. 24)

— Review of Dead Certain Claire McNab , 1992 single work novel ; The Last Tango of Dolores Delgado Marele Day , 1992 single work novel
Untitled Robert Hood , 1993 single work review
— Appears in: Mean Streets : A Quarterly Journal of Crime, Mystery and Detection , March no. 8 1993; (p. 56-57)

— Review of Dead Certain Claire McNab , 1992 single work novel
The Carol Ashton Mysteries: a Lesbian Detective Down Under Wendy Larcombe , 1993 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Women's Book Review , September vol. 5 no. 3 1993; (p. 31-33)

— Review of Dead Certain Claire McNab , 1992 single work novel
Untitled Robert Hood , 1993 single work review
— Appears in: Scarp , May no. 22 1993; (p. 69)

— Review of Dead Certain Claire McNab , 1992 single work novel
Killing Women : Rewriting Detective Fiction : Introduction Delys Bird , Brenda Walker , 1993 single work criticism
— Appears in: Killing Women : Rewriting Detective Fiction 1993; (p. 1-60)
Last amended 13 Jan 2014 09:23:07
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