Cloister

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'The ambition of Cloister is never in doubt... page-turning noir-ish suspense unites the quotidian scheming of Trollope's Barchester with the tortured passions of William Golding's The Spire' BBC Music Magazine

'I found lots to relish in this imaginary vision of cathedral life in a city that I haven't often seen portrayed in fiction' Cathedral Music Magazine

'Challenging, thought-provoking, entertaining; the novel should be labelled ‘Organ Loft Noir’' Organists’ Review

'Will Fraser wraps a nerve-wracking thriller around a profound meditation on the vocation of making music. Readers still mourning the passing of Colin Dexter and John Le Carré will have reason to rejoice' Cathi Unsworth

Matthew Marcan returns to Bristol, his childhood home, to attend the funeral of his mentor, Richard, the director of music at the cathedral. Matthew sees himself as Richard’s natural successor but is passed over in favour of Geraint, and reluctantly agrees to take on the role of assistant organist. Filling the atmospheric cathedral with music for its daily choral services is his obsession, but his lazy new boss proves a determined hindrance to his work.

Matthew meets blues musician Chloë, and finds himself drawn into a love triangle with her former lover, a man who brings death with him from the gothic South of the USA.

As work and conflict at the cathedral thwart his expectations, Matthew comes to see his life and his career as a musician very differently. Does love offer refuge? Can he and Chloë establish a relationship without falling foul of her ex, who will seemingly stop at nothing, even murder, to get Chloë, and then Matthew, to agree to his sinister ultimatum?