"A rich, intriguing and nuanced novel -- intense, insightful and authentic." A body floating in the Harlem River. A phone call asking for help. A call that leads government lawyer Devlin Wolfe into the murky world of dark money and Wall Street, and behind the scenes of the glittering Metropolitan Opera where everything is seemingly linked together -- the murder of a top financial figure, the laundering of illegal funds into a political campaign and two otherworldly divas battling it out for supremacy in a new production the press has taken to calling the "Haunted Aida."
The victim, identified as Guillaume Marchand, is a financial analyst for a high tech Wall Street firm. Things immediately get more complicated when Marchand's $7 million estate in Westchester County is burned to the ground and his artist wife goes missing on the eve of an important gallery exhibition. An unexpected subplot provides an intriguing twist; the mounting of the opera Aida with a sensational young French diva who's giving her debut performance in the United States.
Against the setting of the coldest Manhattan winter anyone could remember, so cold that snowflakes scattered like dust and didn't even melt in the full light of day, he must find answers...
"The rarified worlds of high finance and grand opera collide in this complex murder mystery...Michael Jeffery Blair, the author of Sudden Rivers (2014), writes a novel that exudes a palpable rage against dark money and ruthless puppet masters in pursuit of power. A worthwhile investment for those interested in whodunits, social justice, and the work of Giuseppe Verdi." - Kirkus Review
"Blair's novel features twin plotlines that are exciting and feel wholly original. His prose is vivid and lyrical while characters are expertly drawn and multidimensional. Readers will tear through 'The Labyrinth in Winter' to learn more about their relationships and origins. The author is particularly adept at describing the beauty and importance of art." - Book Life/Publishers Weekly
