Reviews

Playing with Fire by Tess Gerritsen

timna_wyckoff's review against another edition

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3.0

Read at the airport. Perfect :) Took about as long as watching a movie, and felt the same. Good ending!

rose_ann_leest's review against another edition

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dark sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No

3.0

songwind's review against another edition

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5.0

This is one of those books I picked up kind of at random because it was $3 on Audible's daily deal. I'm very glad I did.

The book interweaves two narratives. First is that of Julia, a violinist who happens upon a handwritten copy of a waltz called "Incendio" by L. Todesco while in Rome. After she returns home and begins to work on learning the piece (never recorded as far as she can tell), bizarre things start to happen with her three year old daughter.

The other is the story of Lorenzo Todesco, an Italian Jew living in Venice before the beginning of WWII. Also a violinist. The story of his family, and that of his cellist partner Laura, forms the backdrop of "Incendio."

The book manages to weave aspects of supernatural horror, historical romance, mystery and thriller together in a very satisfying package.

hayleyb96's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring sad 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

3.25

cymshady's review against another edition

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4.0

Book 21/100 for the 2023 Goodreads Reading Challenge.

Upon reflection, this was the third book in a row I read that had dual timelines going on in the book. Totally on accident but what a fun coincidence. It's kind of fun to compare them.

esshgee's review against another edition

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3.0

Aspects of this tale of historical fiction reminded me of The Pianist and Wladyslaw Szpilman. Interesting to hear the music Incendio on YouTube with Tess Gerritsen playing piano

misses_lee's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

jd_bookishbrunette24's review against another edition

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4.0

As always, Gerritsen knows how to weave a gripping and thrilling mystery, with great twists. While the ending does kind of seem anticlimactic, it is a rather logical ending so don't come at it with any ideas of fictional explanations. Everything she writes is based in reality. Otherwise, really good book. A page turner for sure. Finished it in a day😂😂

tinynavajo's review against another edition

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3.0

A mystery/thriller that went through at nearly breakneck speed. A very interesting twist and a look at a side of history I don’t think to contemplate because I was taught only one side.

See my full review at: https://tinynavajoreads.wordpress.com/

aotora's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional 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? Yes

5.0

This book was very much out of my comfort zone and not something I would usually pick up. I decided to read it because I saw that it was a mix of the past and present and it didn't disappoint. 

We meet Julia, a violinist who buys an old book in Rome and finds an old music sheet. When she plays the music her daughter goes crazy and first kills their family cat and then injures her. She in turn becomes very much terrified of her own daughter and decies to find out more about the song. It eventually turns out that the song was played during the burning of the many jews in the concentration camps and that's why negative energy seems to be following everyone that touches the music sheet. She is nearly killed because of the history that comes out because she discovers the sheet  and in the end we get the very much unexpected plot twist that it wasn't her daughter that was dangerous, it was her all along because she had a tumor and once she played that song the tumor reacted and made her do crazy things and forget about them - it's a pretty intense, chilling and dark read but it's a book that shocks you and stays with you. I am pretty sure that this one will stay with me for a while.