The Brahms Deception
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- $3.99
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- $3.99
Publisher Description
In her highly intriguing new novel, Louise Marley masterfully intertwines the past and present with a mystery surrounding one of the world's greatest composers. . .
The Brahms Deception
Music scholar Frederica Bannister is thrilled when she beats her bitter rival, Kristian North, for the chance to be transferred back to 1861 Tuscany to observe firsthand the brilliant Johannes Brahms. Frederica will not only get to see Brahms in his prime; she'll also try to solve a mystery that has baffled music experts for years.
But once in Tuscany, Frederica's grip on reality quickly unravels. She instantly falls under Brahms' spell-and finds herself envious of his secret paramour, the beautiful, celebrated concert pianist Clara Schumann. In a single move, Frederica makes a bold and shocking decision that changes everything. . .
When Frederica fails to return home, it is Kristian North who is sent back in time to Tuscany to find her. There, Kristian discovers that Frederica indeed holds the key to unraveling Brahms' greatest secret. But now, Frederica has a dark secret of her own-one that puts everyone around her in devastating peril. . .
Praise for Mozart's Blood
"Eerie, beautiful. . .has a poetic, haunting sense of time and place." -Stephanie Cowell, author of Marrying Mozart
"Riveting, original. . .filled with the emotional power and intricate twists and turns of a Mozart opera." -Teresa Grant, author of Vienna Waltz
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Marley's second excursion into musical history (after 2010's Mozart's Blood) plays what-if with the relationship between Clara Schumann and Johannes Brahms, 14 years Schumann's junior. Musicologists from our own near future compete for the opportunity to "transfer" back in time and observe their study subjects firsthand for eight hours. Unattractive, frustrated Frederica Bannister gets her wealthy father to pull a few strings, undergoes the transfer and does not return. Kristian North, enraged at losing the chance to observe Brahms, feels vindicated when the transfer scientists call him in to go after Frederica. The writing is competent and well paced, and Kristian is a sympathetic, heroic figure, though Frederica has no apparent motivation other than self-described ugliness and obsession. Marley is no Connie Willis, but the time-travel conceit is enough to support the romantic suspense.
