Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Symphony of Secrets by Brendan Slocumb

31 reviews

shirarweiss's review

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This book was suspenseful and compelling, and I wanted to know what happened next. However, I didn’t necessarily like it? It was really hard to read - it made me so upset. I just wanted to get through it. It did make me think a lot about music, artistry, history, power, and narrative control. I found Bern kind of annoying, and I was so angry about Josephine’s treatment that I could hardly read it. I want an entire book that’s just Josephine’s POV. I loved the dual timeline and multiple POVs. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, and Mental illness

awebofstories's review

adventurous tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Racism, Police brutality, and Gaslighting

kerrygetsliterary's review

emotional informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

WOWWW. Slocumb's sophomore novel is just as phenomenal as his first. I absolutely loved Symphony of Secrets just as much as The Violin Conspiracy and Brendan Slocumb is quickly becoming one of my favorite and auto-buy/read authors.

I was intrigued following Bern's plot in the present day, analyzing and authenticating the newly discovered work of Frederic Delaney. Though heavy on the musical composition, it was a fascinating aspect of the story and learning about the particulars of his examination while finding new tidbits of information to discover the truth about Delaney's past hooked me right in.

I thought I was hooked reading Bern's POV, but then we are dropped into the 1920s and get to witness what happened with Fred Delaney and Josephine Reed, and wow! Being thrown into their world and observing Josephine’s talents was so compelling. I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough, but I also wanted to savor it! I loved Josephine’s character (and the representation of neurodivergence) and not only her brilliant mind, but her strength and resilience.

I also loved Eboni, a tech genius who Bern hired to help analyze and decode Delaney’s work. She was such an intelligent anchor in his life, resolute and steadfast and courageous through all their challenges. Without her, Bern would have faced a slew of even worse consequences and dilemmas.

The pace was perfect, and the story didn’t drag at all. Slocumb expertly blends historical fiction with mystery with a touch of thriller. I was so stressed and anxious for Bern and Eboni at certain points!

Through the mystery of Delaney’s composition and investigation of the past, Symphony of Secrets also explores themes of racism and power that parallel both the past and present timelines. Slocumb displays how racism, power, and privilege are still incredibly prevalent today, and how white supremacy has permeated our society, even in places we think are diverse or progressive.

Absolutely a well-deserved five stars. Highly recommend. And I can definitely see this being optioned for a movie!

CWs: racism, racial slurs, violence, blood, suicide, police brutality, gaslighting, murder, sexism, domestic abuse, emotional abuse

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Sexism, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Death, Gaslighting, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicide, Violence, Cursing, Gun violence, Blood, and Murder

spuriousdiphthongs's review

challenging mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Violence, Murder, Toxic friendship, Racism, Racial slurs, Gaslighting, Death, Cursing, and Cultural appropriation

scmiller's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Police brutality, Cultural appropriation, Ableism, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Alcohol, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Murder, Sexism, Death, and Violence

Minor: Drug abuse, Addiction, Drug use, Classism, and Suicide

meganpbennett's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I read the Violin Conspiracy last year and loved it. When I saw Symphony of Secrets, I knew I had to read it. And it was fascinating. I loved the twists and turns, though I would have loved for one of them to have been fully revealed to the 'now' audience. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Emotional abuse, Racism, Alcohol, Gaslighting, Murder, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, and Mental illness

jennamalena's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Racism, Racial slurs, Ableism, and Murder

Moderate: Sexism

rachelkreadsbookz's review against another edition

mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, and Racism

znvisser's review against another edition

mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Sometimes I read a premise that I am so intrigued by, I am fairly certain I am going to love the book - so once the writing doesn’t disappoint my tastes in early chapters, I know I’m in for a great ride. Symphony of Secrets definitely delivered for me, but eesh this book stressed me out and raised my heart rate at times. Fred Delaney is a completely terrible character and despite my annoyance I couldn’t stop reading. Every time he says “swell” I was reminded of Mad Men’s Pete Campbell so well, that’s the vibe, but then more successfully evil. In this story Delaney is introduced to this brilliant woman, Josephine, and exploits her labour in any way he can while claiming it is actually she who benefits from their arrangement. This goes from very bad to even worse. Delaney himself is however so utterly unworthy of any praise or fame for his musicality, that he is not even able to hear the differences between his composed and stolen work, remaining completely stunned every time he disappoints just any mediocre critic or musician around him. And unfortunately as time goes on he grows unsurprisingly more obnoxious. 

For all the things I loved about this book - the premise and plot, the two timelines and of course Josephine and her mind and experiencing music with her - there were two smaller things I didn’t love: the pacing (Bern and Eboni take so much time to unravel small bits of history, then they are on the run and there is no one they can EVER ask for help, and then suddenly

they got all details right and are lawyered up?!

) and the romantic angle (the tension was understandable but the writing once it happens  was cringe and it didn’t really add much to it all). However, luckily neither really affected my love for this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Racism, Racial slurs, Toxic friendship, Ableism, Cultural appropriation, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Confinement, Blood, Police brutality, Murder, Sexism, Alcohol, and Death

melanie_reads's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

A page-turner if you need one, but a bit off the rails and I felt some of the descriptions were repetitive. While I preferred Slocumb's first book The Violin Conspiracy, there's a lot going on here. Also, the pizza challenge is one of my favorite character details of all time. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder