Score! (novel)

The plot revolves around the life and death of Roberto Rannaldini, a famous conductor with a reputation for being evil and manipulative. One of his ambitions is to conduct a film of the Verdi opera Don Carlos, which is filmed at his mansion, Valhalla. The director of the film is his godson, Tristan de Montigny, who (unlike everyone else) believes Rannaldini to be good. The film is financed by Venturer - the television production company established by Rupert Campbell-Black and Declan O'Hara in a preceding novel, Rivals. As filming becomes more acrimonious, Campbell-Black is forced to become more involved. In parallel, Rannaldini intends to seduce Campbell-Black's daughter, Tabitha, who is also his step-daughter since Rannaldini married Rupert's ex-wife, Helen. Meanwhile, Tristan and Tabitha have an affair, and Rannaldini in revenge tells Tristan that he is the child of an incestuous relationship. Despite many people wishing Rannaldini dead, people are shocked when he is murdered, and there are several potential suspects. The murders continue after Rannaldini's death and the investigation, led by the police, ultimately leads to the discovery that the murderer was cast member Rozzy Pringle. To find the culprit, Tristan collaborates with make-up artist Lucy Latimer, and the two become romantically involved by the end of the novel. == Background ==

Published in 1999, the novel is a bonkbuster It is the sixth book in the Rutshire Chronicles series; its character list is eight pages long. The plot revolves not just around the filming of the opera, but also around the murder of Roberto Rannaldini – its conductor. It was Cooper's first attempt at crime fiction, and was initially intended to be a much shorter novel, around 150 to 200 pages. As part of her research she visited two film sets and spoke to police in Stroud, England. == Characters ==

• Roberto Rannaldini • Tabitha Campbell-Black • Rupert Campbell-Black • Tristan de Montigny • Lucy Latimer == Reception ==

The novel was a Number 1 bestseller upon its release. It received mixed reviews: Olivia Laing, writing in The Guardian described the novel as a turning point in Cooper's work. Cooper herself described how, after her editor insisted on the removal of 75,000 words, she was "unsure of the balance of the book". Bob Williams, writing in the Beverley Guardian described it as "emotional potpourri". This complaint that the rape and sexual violence is not taken seriously enough is echoed by Christine Barker writing in the Birmingham Daily Post, who also said that at some moments the book seemed to suggest "that the death of a dog is rather more grief-worthy than the death of a human". == References ==