Symphony of Secrets by Brendan Slocumb

Amy  

fiction, historical fiction

Bern is the foremost expert on composer Frederic Delaney. When a lost opera composition from the 1920s is discovered, the Frederic Delaney Foundation hires Bern to transcribe the music and get it performance-ready. During his research, Bern discovers a deeper mystery hidden within the documentation that prompts him and his friend, Ebony, to look further into what might be another huge historical find.

I found myself disgruntled in the first quarter of the novel.  It felt an awful lot like it was being set up to copy Brendan Slocumb’s first novel’s relationship of the villain to the musician. Also, there was SO much emphasis on the Non Disclosure Agreement that it felt like Slocumb was projecting the plot too much. Thankfully, at around the 25% mark, the true story of Symphony of Secrets emerged and my fears were not realized. (However, I will mention one other grievance which was an instance of poor editing relating to cell phone usage in the Foundation offices.)

After my initial concerns were alleviated, the story compelled me forward and I really enjoyed it.  Told from different viewpoints in both Bern’s current time period and Delaney’s 1920s time period, the characters were intriguing and the difficulties they faced were gripping. I loved journeying back in time to Delaney’s heyday and I was thrilled with Bern’s discoveries.

I applaud Slocumb for writing a novel spotlighting the fact that many artists who don’t “fit the mold” or lack resources/advantages remain hidden. The novel also touches on other music-related topics I don’t want to mention for fear of giving too much away. But I really appreciated his efforts with this story.

Though the method by which Bern’s troubles were resolved seemed highly unlikely, the resolution was very satisfying. Symphony of Secrets was a fun ride and another terrific, musical, mysterious, illustrative story by Slocumb. 

The narrator of the audiobook, Chante McCormick, did a good job with juggling a bunch of different character voices and was a wonderful voice actor.  I give her an A-.