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4.32 AVERAGE
4.32 AVERAGE
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This took over half the book to pick up any speed or any interest. When it did, it was good.
Professional musician Bern Hendricks is given the opportunity of a lifetime when he is invited by the distinguished Delaney Foundation to authenticate a newly discovered piece from famed twentieth century composer Frederick Delaney. Bern has dedicated his life to studying Delaney’s work and jumps at the chance to explore what might be Delaney’s famous lost opera, Red. But it isn’t long before Bern and his tech-savvy assistant/friend Eboni discover that there might be more to Delaney and his music than once believed. Could it be that someone else was involved—or even entirely responsible—in writing the masterpieces attributed to the iconic composer?
From here the novel jumps back to 1920s Manhattan, where young Freddy Delaney is a struggling musician whose fortunes shift when he encounters Josephine Reed, a neurodivergent Black woman living on the streets and frequenting jazz clubs. Josephine is a musical genius who becomes Freddy’s unseen partner in a rise to musical fame. The story jumps back and forth between Freddy’s story and the present day, where Bern and Eboni seek to uncover the truth of the Delaney cannon before it becomes forever buried by the unscrupulous Delaney Foundation.
Brendan Slocumb’s first novel (The Violin Conspiracy) was a wildly popular book that I found disappointing, but I had had high hopes for this sophomore novel after hearing Sarah’s interview with the autho.r Sadly, I think my experience with this one confirms that Slocumb just isn’t an author for me (which is a huge bummer because he seems like the nicest person and I WANT to love his books). My biggest hangup with The Violin Conspiracy was the amateur writing style and awkward dialogue. That wasn’t a problem here, as the sentence-level writing in Symphony of Secrets is much stronger. I also found the premise fascinating and was particularly intrigued by the musical elements and the Olympics-themed opera that is at the center of the story (the book cover does an amazing job of tying this all together).
Unfortunately the book (both the present-day plot as well as the historical storyline) goes totally off the rails in the second half, with forced intrigue and bizarre character shifts. I also struggled with the lack of character development: with the exception of Josephine (whose neurodivergence is depicted rather strangely) I didn’t feel like we got to know these characters, despite spending so much time with them. And the themes of power dynamics, racism, and the marginalization of certain individuals are commendable but too front and center; a little subtlety could have gone a long way in making this a more enjoyable and believable story about art, history, and the once-silenced creators who deserve to be heard. The Author’s Note at the end addresses these issues—and his reasons for writing the book—beautifully and bumped my rating up half a star.
My Rating: 3 Stars // Book Format: Kindle
From here the novel jumps back to 1920s Manhattan, where young Freddy Delaney is a struggling musician whose fortunes shift when he encounters Josephine Reed, a neurodivergent Black woman living on the streets and frequenting jazz clubs. Josephine is a musical genius who becomes Freddy’s unseen partner in a rise to musical fame. The story jumps back and forth between Freddy’s story and the present day, where Bern and Eboni seek to uncover the truth of the Delaney cannon before it becomes forever buried by the unscrupulous Delaney Foundation.
Brendan Slocumb’s first novel (The Violin Conspiracy) was a wildly popular book that I found disappointing, but I had had high hopes for this sophomore novel after hearing Sarah’s interview with the autho.r Sadly, I think my experience with this one confirms that Slocumb just isn’t an author for me (which is a huge bummer because he seems like the nicest person and I WANT to love his books). My biggest hangup with The Violin Conspiracy was the amateur writing style and awkward dialogue. That wasn’t a problem here, as the sentence-level writing in Symphony of Secrets is much stronger. I also found the premise fascinating and was particularly intrigued by the musical elements and the Olympics-themed opera that is at the center of the story (the book cover does an amazing job of tying this all together).
Unfortunately the book (both the present-day plot as well as the historical storyline) goes totally off the rails in the second half, with forced intrigue and bizarre character shifts. I also struggled with the lack of character development: with the exception of Josephine (whose neurodivergence is depicted rather strangely) I didn’t feel like we got to know these characters, despite spending so much time with them. And the themes of power dynamics, racism, and the marginalization of certain individuals are commendable but too front and center; a little subtlety could have gone a long way in making this a more enjoyable and believable story about art, history, and the once-silenced creators who deserve to be heard. The Author’s Note at the end addresses these issues—and his reasons for writing the book—beautifully and bumped my rating up half a star.
My Rating: 3 Stars // Book Format: Kindle
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I would give this 4.5 stars if it was an option with Goodreads rating system. As with his first novel, Brendan Slocumb has written an amazing story that you will stay up reading even when your eyes are begging to go to sleep. It's a mystery wrapped in the world of music and shines the light on greed, genius, deception, ambition run amuck, and racism in both the past and present world.
This book really surprised me! It started off slow and the stakes seemed pretty low. How dramatic and interesting could a music professor arranging a newly found piece from a legendary composer be?! Apparently very. The twists were crazy and I did not see them coming. I really could not put the book down! I definitely have to read his debut novel now.
Spoilers below...
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This book explores a lot of varying, very important topics including racism, neurodivergence, greed, power dynamics, police brutality, and many more. I think Slocumb did a fantastic job balancing all these hard hitting topics.
challenging
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-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:
Complicated
