Five Deaths for Seven Songbirds

When Eve Springer arrives to join the Songbirds it’s the fulfillment of her lifelong dream. But that dream is soon to become a nightmare. Somebody is murdering the Songbirds, using their own instruments as weapons. Will Eve be next?

“Passionate, overwhelming, a classic thriller with a rock rhythm.” — Ernesto Gastaldi, screenwriter of So Sweet… So Perverse

"I read this story with ever-increasing interest. The dynamics and tension felt reminiscent of my thriller films from the 70s and 80s, which have been appreciated by many American directors such as Quentin Tarantino. It would make a great film for lovers of the genre. Ottimo intrigo!" — Sergio Martino, director of All the Colors of the Dark and Torso

"Intricately plotted in the classic giallo style, with plot twists and murders galore. John Everson has written a thriller that is sure to appeal to devotees of lurid Italian mystery thrillers." — Troy Howarth, author of So Deadly, So Perverse: 50 Years of Italian Giallo Films

Somebody is murdering the Songbirds…

A modern Giallo, Everson's homage to the stylish Italian mystery thrillers. When Eve Springer arrives in Belgium to study with the world-famous Prof. Ernest Von Klein at The Eyrie, an exclusive music conservatory, it’s the fulfillment of a lifelong dream. But that dream is soon to become a nightmare.

When the star of the school’s piano program is strangled with a piano wire, the only clue to the killer is a grainy picture of the victim during her final moments, mouth wide and screaming, posted on the girl’s own Facebook account, alongside a classic music video. What does it mean? Eve soon finds herself taking the girl’s place as the enclave’s star pupil, in line for a coveted scholarship and a new member of the famed jazz combo, the Songbirds.

When Eve is drugged and another Songbird murdered at a campus party, she suddenly finds herself on the list of suspects. Another picture is posted online of the victim in her final moments, and this time, Eve is sure the hands around the girl’s throat… are hers! Could she have killed the girl while under the influence of whatever someone had slipped in her drink? The police and others at the Eyrie are suspicious; the murders began when she arrived. Her new boyfriend Richard insists that she could not be the killer. But who would want the Songbirds dead? One of the other Songbirds, like Gianna, the snarky sax player who seems to hate everyone? Or Philip, the creepy building caretaker and occasional night watchman? Or could it be Prof. Von Klein himself, who seems very handy with a camera and has a secret locked room behind his office where the light always seems to be on after dark?

Whoever it is, Eve knows she needs to figure it out. Because when a dead canary is left as a bloody message on the keys of her piano, she knows her own life may be in deadly danger.

FLAME TREE PRESS is the imprint of long-standing Independent Flame Tree Publishing, dedicated to full-length original fiction in the horror and suspense, science fiction & fantasy, and crime / mystery / thriller categories. The list brings together fantastic new authors and the more established; the award winners, and exciting, original voices.

John Everson is a former newspaper reporter, a staunch advocate for the culinary joys of the jalapeno and an unabashed fan of 1970s European horror, giallo and poliziotteschi cinema. He is also the Bram Stoker Award-winning author of twelve novels, including his latest New Orleans occult thriller, Voodoo Heart and The House by The Cemetery, a novel that takes place at a real haunted cemetery – Bachelor's Grove – near where he grew up in the south suburbs of Chicago. His first novel, Covenant, was a winner of the prestigious Bram Stoker Award, and his sixth, NightWhere, was a finalist for the award. Both dealt with demonic and erotic horror themes.

His novels have been translated into Polish, German, Czech, Turkish and French. Praised by Booklist, Cemetery Dance and Hellnotes; Kirkus Reviews called his work ‘hard to put down’, while author Edward Lee said, ‘Everson is a MASTER of the hardcore; he's the rare kind of writer who's so good you can't proceed with your day until the book is finished.’

Over the past 25 years, Everson has also published four collections of horror fiction; his short stories have appeared in more than seventy-five magazines and anthologies. He has written licensed tie-in stories for The Green Hornet and Kolchak The Night Stalker and novelettes for The Vampire Diaries and Jonathan Maberry's V-Wars universe. V-Wars was turned into a 10-episode NetFlix series in 2019 that included two of Everson's characters, Danika and Mila Dubov. For more on his obsession with jalapenos and cult cinema, as well as on his fiction, art and music, visit www.johneverson.com.

ISBN: 9781787586260
Format: Paperback
Pages: 304
Publisher: Flame Tree Publishing
Published: March 22, 2022

“Passionate, overwhelming, a classic thriller with a rock rhythm.”"I read this story with ever-increasing interest. The dynamics and tension felt reminiscent of my thriller films from the 70s and 80s, which have been appreciated by many American directors such as Quentin Tarantino. It would make a great film for lovers of the genre. Ottimo intrigo! Enjoy the read everyone!""Intricately plotted in the classic giallo style, with plot twists and murders galore. John Everson has written a thriller that is sure to appeal to devotees of lurid Italian mystery thrillers.""Excellent novel, excellent nod to a genre that needs to be remembered and love the kills as it brings me back to the novels I used to read as a teenager such as Richard Laymon."“A rousingly good murder mystery that had me guessing all the way to the climactic ending, John Everson has nailed this one to the wall.”"It's complex and well written thriller set in In Belgium. The plot is well developed and kept me on the edge and guessing.
The characters are well developed and the setting is interesting."