Monday, June 17, 2024

Book: Symphony of Secrets

From Symphony of Secrets, by Brendan Slocumb:

Symphony of Secrets

Amazon


"It was actually happening. A piece of RED—the elusive, mysterious, impossible RED—had been found. And out of everyone on the planet, Bern himself—a poor bologna-sandwich-eating kid with a beat-up French horn—was going to actually see it. Be one of the very first people to touch it, to decipher Frederic Delaney's distinctive handwriting."


Book Review: Symphony of Secrets: "RED" is a long lost opera by a musical genius that has recently been recovered. How and why it was lost is the mystery. A mystery that starts as a dry academic research study but ends up being a thriller with lives at risk, not only in the 1920s when "RED" was written (and lost), but in the 2020s, when it was found. The reader can guess the solution to the mystery a quarter of the way through the book, and the subsequent details all fall into place like clockwork, a little too conveniently. The elements that allow the publisher to call it a thriller or action novel are implausible for what is essentially an academic conflict. And the resolution is a little too pat. Still, the characters are fleshed out enough to make the reader care to follow them to their ultimate, satisfying destination.

Grade: B+


"Symphony of Secrets" is the 2024 selection for "Richardson Reads One Book". It is available from the Richardson Public Library. :-)

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