Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.32 AVERAGE
4.32 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
informative
mysterious
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:
No
Dear Symphony of Secrets,
I absolutely love getting book suggestions from unexpected places. You were such a fun ride into the world of classical music. Add to that, I love a dual timeline story. You were such an interesting trip through the 1920's music scene and taught me a lot about how music production has evolved over time. You opened my eyes to the blatant exploitation that happened historically, and continues today. You carried an important message that I think many people are not aware of but managed it in a way that still felt accessible and entertaining. You also did a great service to showing Josephine's neuro-differences and I loved when I got to be inside her head. It was such a complex point of view and was unique to experience.
I absolutely love getting book suggestions from unexpected places. You were such a fun ride into the world of classical music. Add to that, I love a dual timeline story. You were such an interesting trip through the 1920's music scene and taught me a lot about how music production has evolved over time. You opened my eyes to the blatant exploitation that happened historically, and continues today. You carried an important message that I think many people are not aware of but managed it in a way that still felt accessible and entertaining. You also did a great service to showing Josephine's neuro-differences and I loved when I got to be inside her head. It was such a complex point of view and was unique to experience.
adventurous
challenging
informative
mysterious
reflective
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:
Yes
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
๐ Book 54/100 (2025 Reading Goal)
๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐ฎ ๐ค๐ ๐๐๐๐ง๐๐ฉ๐จ by ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฆ๐น๐ผ๐ฐ๐๐บ
๐ป Historical fiction, literary mystery, and social commentary
๐ง Narrated by Chantรฉ McCormick, with an authorโs note read by Brendan Slocumb
๐ช๐ก๐ฒ ๐ ๐๐๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐จ๐ค:
This book stunned me. Itโs been a while since I read something in the mystery/thriller space that hit this hard, both emotionally and intellectually. Symphony of Secrets doesnโt just tell a storyโit raises questions about ownership, legacy, and whose voices are allowed to be remembered.
It follows a present-day musicologist and his tech-savvy partner as they uncover a historical truth buried beneath years of silence. That setup alone is compelling, but the strength of the novel lies in its dual timelines, particularly the story of Josephine Reed, a young Black woman in 1920s New York City. Sheโs neurodivergent, brilliant, and overlooked at every turn. And yet, she keeps creating. The portrayal of her character is layered and humanizingโdeeply felt and painfully believable.
Brendan Slocumb brings his background as a classical musician and educator into every part of this book. His understanding of music, performance, and systemic racism is evident throughout, and itโs written with care and purpose. This is not a story about one bad person stealing from another. Itโs about patterns. Itโs about how easily a life, a legacy, a name, can be erased when power is used to silence rather than uplift.
I couldnโt stop reading. I needed to know where the story would lead, but more than that, I needed to see Josephineโs story unfold. She felt like a real personโsomeone history should have remembered.
๐ง ๐๐๐ฑ๐ถ๐ผ๐ฏ๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ ๐ก๐ผ๐๐ฒ:
The audiobook is fantastic. Chantรฉ McCormick delivers a powerful and emotionally rich performance that fully immerses you in both timelines. Brendan Slocumb reading his authorโs note at the end adds an important, personal touch.
๐๐๐ฏ๐จ๐ซ๐ข๐ญ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐จ๐ญ๐:
โFor her, up until this moment, music had just been music: owned by no one, or owned by itself. How could someone โownโ a sound? How could you hold it in your hand or stuff it in your pocket or lock it in a room? You couldnโt. It would seep out, blend into the world, open to the universe.โ
๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ๐น ๐ง๐ต๐ผ๐๐ด๐ต๐๐:
This was one of the most moving books Iโve read this year. It reminded me how much storytelling mattersโand how easily stories can be taken or rewritten. What happened to Josephine may be fiction, but the conditions that allowed it to happen were very real. I finished this book feeling heartbroken, angry, and grateful.
Iโve read a lot this year, but few stories have stayed with me like this one. Symphony of Secrets will make you think deeply about whose contributions we celebrate, and why so many others are left out of the history books.
๐จ Trigger Warnings:
๐ท๏ธ domestic abuse, racial slurs, racism, bullying, gaslighting, bigotry, prejudice, police brutality, violence, murder
๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐ฎ ๐ค๐ ๐๐๐๐ง๐๐ฉ๐จ by ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฆ๐น๐ผ๐ฐ๐๐บ
๐ป Historical fiction, literary mystery, and social commentary
๐ง Narrated by Chantรฉ McCormick, with an authorโs note read by Brendan Slocumb
๐ช๐ก๐ฒ ๐ ๐๐๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐จ๐ค:
This book stunned me. Itโs been a while since I read something in the mystery/thriller space that hit this hard, both emotionally and intellectually. Symphony of Secrets doesnโt just tell a storyโit raises questions about ownership, legacy, and whose voices are allowed to be remembered.
It follows a present-day musicologist and his tech-savvy partner as they uncover a historical truth buried beneath years of silence. That setup alone is compelling, but the strength of the novel lies in its dual timelines, particularly the story of Josephine Reed, a young Black woman in 1920s New York City. Sheโs neurodivergent, brilliant, and overlooked at every turn. And yet, she keeps creating. The portrayal of her character is layered and humanizingโdeeply felt and painfully believable.
Brendan Slocumb brings his background as a classical musician and educator into every part of this book. His understanding of music, performance, and systemic racism is evident throughout, and itโs written with care and purpose. This is not a story about one bad person stealing from another. Itโs about patterns. Itโs about how easily a life, a legacy, a name, can be erased when power is used to silence rather than uplift.
I couldnโt stop reading. I needed to know where the story would lead, but more than that, I needed to see Josephineโs story unfold. She felt like a real personโsomeone history should have remembered.
๐ง ๐๐๐ฑ๐ถ๐ผ๐ฏ๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ ๐ก๐ผ๐๐ฒ:
The audiobook is fantastic. Chantรฉ McCormick delivers a powerful and emotionally rich performance that fully immerses you in both timelines. Brendan Slocumb reading his authorโs note at the end adds an important, personal touch.
๐๐๐ฏ๐จ๐ซ๐ข๐ญ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐จ๐ญ๐:
โFor her, up until this moment, music had just been music: owned by no one, or owned by itself. How could someone โownโ a sound? How could you hold it in your hand or stuff it in your pocket or lock it in a room? You couldnโt. It would seep out, blend into the world, open to the universe.โ
๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ๐น ๐ง๐ต๐ผ๐๐ด๐ต๐๐:
This was one of the most moving books Iโve read this year. It reminded me how much storytelling mattersโand how easily stories can be taken or rewritten. What happened to Josephine may be fiction, but the conditions that allowed it to happen were very real. I finished this book feeling heartbroken, angry, and grateful.
Iโve read a lot this year, but few stories have stayed with me like this one. Symphony of Secrets will make you think deeply about whose contributions we celebrate, and why so many others are left out of the history books.
๐จ Trigger Warnings:
๐ท๏ธ domestic abuse, racial slurs, racism, bullying, gaslighting, bigotry, prejudice, police brutality, violence, murder
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
While I didn't love it as much as Violin Conspiracy, still an enjoyable and compelling read. The story was told in a split timeline and I was completely sucked into the 1920's narrative. I loved Josephine's character and even though to some degree we know what happens to her, it was hard to stop reading. I think in the end I could have done with a bit less of the thriller/evil corporation plot lines and wanted more about them piecing together Josephine's contributions and the murder etc., but maybe I'm the only one who thinks the research process would be more compelling! Overall would recommend if you enjoy a historical musical mystery.
Brendan Slocumb comes back with his sophomore novel with another gripping musical mystery about professor Bern Hendricks who discovers that his musical idol may not be the person he thought. And the music he loves might have been stolen from a black composer Josephine Reed.
Presented in a dual timeline, dual POV, Brendan Slocumb is able to immerse the reader in the world of musical composition without requiring any musical ability at all from the reader. He is able translate the sounds of everyday life, the rises and falls of the city, the footsteps on the stairs, the irregularity of boiling potatoes, and the beautiful music into the written word. Once again he has successfully intertwined multiple themes and highlighted the racism then and now in the music world. The story started out a little slow but picked up and I was unable to put it down in the end. A great second book.
Presented in a dual timeline, dual POV, Brendan Slocumb is able to immerse the reader in the world of musical composition without requiring any musical ability at all from the reader. He is able translate the sounds of everyday life, the rises and falls of the city, the footsteps on the stairs, the irregularity of boiling potatoes, and the beautiful music into the written word. Once again he has successfully intertwined multiple themes and highlighted the racism then and now in the music world. The story started out a little slow but picked up and I was unable to put it down in the end. A great second book.
dark
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
A timely thriller that smartly addresses issues of intellectual property, race, and diverse intellectual capabilities.
Overall, I give this book 3.5 stars. It was slow in the beginning and I was never able to get attached to the main character. I thoroughly enjoyed all of the story line, dialogue, and character development between Fred and Josephine from the past, however, I rarely felt that way about Bern or Delaney employees. I did enjoy Eboniโs character in the present tense which was a redeeming quality. The dialogue just did not feel natural to me or flow very well during present tense scenes. I was intrigued by the plot and thoroughly enjoyed the several plot twist along the way. Perhaps I would have enjoyed it more if I understood music.
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-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