A gripping standalone thriller by the New York Times bestselling author of the Rizzoli & Isles series
INTERNATIONAL THRILLER WRITERS AWARD FINALIST • NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY LOS ANGELES TIMES AND SUSPENSE MAGAZINE
In a shadowy antiques shop in Rome, violinist Julia Ansdell happens upon a curious piece of music—the Incendio waltz—and is immediately entranced by its unusual composition. Full of passion, torment, and chilling beauty, and seemingly unknown to the world, the waltz, its mournful minor key, its feverish arpeggios, appear to dance with a strange life of their own. Julia is determined to master the complex work and make its melody heard.
Back home in Boston, from the moment Julia’s bow moves across the strings, drawing the waltz’s fiery notes into the air, something strange is stirred—and Julia’s world comes under threat. The music has a terrifying and inexplicable effect on her young daughter, who seems violently transformed. Convinced that the hypnotic strains of Incendio are weaving a malevolent spell, Julia sets out to discover the man and the meaning behind the score.
Her quest beckons Julia to the ancient city of Venice, where she uncovers a dark, decades-old secret involving a dangerously powerful family that will stop at nothing to keep Julia from bringing the truth to light.
Praise for Playing with Fire
“Compelling . . . I defy you to read the first chapter and not singe your fingers reading the rest.”—David Baldacci
“One of the best and most original thrillers of the year.”—Providence Journal
“[A] novel brimming with emotion, literary description, and psychological suspense.”—The Huffington Post
“Will make readers drop everything to immerse themselves in its propulsive dual narrative.”—Los Angeles Times
hints at paranormal Intellectually I knew that there had been Jewish people in Italy during the Second World War and that the Nazi's had taken over, for all intents and purposes, but it never really occurred to me that Italian Jews were sent to death camps, of course they were, I had just never truly realised it.
I'm not normally a huge fan of audiobooks but this was perfect as an audiobook. There was music intertwined in the story, as there was in the story being told, when there's musicians and mystery pieces of music, audio is a useful medium.
The story starts with a violinist, Julia Ansdell, discovering a piece of music in a book she finds in a small Roman antiquities shop. As she starts to play the piece she realises that it has layers. However strange things seem to be happening around her daughter after she starts to play. She's afraid that the piece is affecting her daughter. Haunted by her mother's insanity she has to try to keep herself together to find the truth behind the piece. At the same time there's a story of a lutier family and a gifted magician and the tragedy of being Jewish in Italy during World War II.
There are some suggestions of paranormal during the story but most of it is simply explained in ways that somewhat left me feeling cheated.
Reading updates
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Started reading
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22 November, 2017:
Finished reading
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22 November, 2017:
Reviewed