Excellent story about learning the story of a piece of music written by an Italian Jew at the time of the Holocaust. It tells how that piece of music found its way into the hands of a present day violinist and how it effected her life. Kirkus: Asuspenseful thriller about mysterious music and a violinist's fear of her child.Julia Ansdell is a violinist with a 3-year-old daughter, Lily. While in Italy, Julia buys an old piece of sheet music titled Incendio by an L. Todesco, whom she?s never heard of. When she plays the composition at home in the U.S., Lily appears to go crazy, killing their cat, stabbing Julia in the leg with a shard of glass, and causing her to fall down a flight of stairs. Does the music possess an evil quality? Or does the problem lie within Julia herself, as her husband, Rob, thinks? ?I know how absurd I sound,? she says, ?claiming that a 3-year-old plotted to kill me.? Afraid Rob wants her committed, she flies to Italy to try to learn more about the music?s origin. In a parallel story, Lorenzo Todesco is a young violinist in 1940s Italy. He practices for a duet competition with 17-year-old cellist Laura Balboni. They play beautifully together and know they will win�perhaps they?ll even marry one day. But this is Mussolini?s Italy, and a brutal war is on. As the plotlines converge, people die, and Julia places herself and others in mortal danger. In fact, the stakes are even higher than she knows. A friend tells Julia, ?The seasons don?t care how many corpses lie rotting in the fields; the flowers will still bloom.? This stand-alone novel has no bearing on the author?s Rizzoli & Isles series, but the crafting is equally masterful. For example, the musical descriptions are perfect: ?The melody twists and turns, jarred by accidentals.I feel as if my bow takes off on its own, that it?s moving as if bewitched and I?m just struggling to hang on to it.?Clear your schedule for this one¥you won?t want to put it down until you?re finished.

Meeslepend verhaal.

Julia Ansdell raakt in de greep van de Incendio-wals, een merkwaardig muziekstuk dat ze bij toeval ontdekt in een antiekwinkeltje in Rome. Als Julia de wals thuis in Boston voor de eerste keer speelt, heeft de muziek een onverklaarbaar angstaanjagend effect op haar dochtertje; ze lijkt wel behekst.
Na verscheidene onderzoeken blijkt er echter niets mis te zijn met haar dochter.
Ondertussen maken we kennis met Lorenzo een Joods jongen die prachtig viool kan spelen.
Omwille van het feit dat hij Joods is worden echter al zijn kansen afgeblokt om een groot muzikant te worden. Dit doordat de nazi's ook in Venetië de overhand krijgen.
Julie is helemaal bezeten door de wals en is vastbesloten om de oorsprong en het geheim van het muziekstuk te ontrafelen. Hierdoor vergeet ze haar familie en dreigt deze volledig uit elkaar te vallen.
Als Julia naar Venetië reist om het geheim van het muziekstuk te ontrafelen raakt ze daar verstrikt in het web van een oppermachtige familie, die ver zal gaan om Julia in haar zoektocht tegen te werken.
Haar zoektocht kost Julia's vriendin bijna het leven.
De wals blijkt geschreven door Lorenzo de Joodse jongen terwijl hij in een Nazi kamp zat in Italië. Daar moest hij als muzikant samen met enkele anderen de wrede geluiden overstemmen van de executies en de Joden die levend werden verbrand in het crematorium.
Julie ontdekt dat niet haar dochter maar zijzelf door een hersentumor vreemde dingen doet.
Gelukkig loopt voor Julia alles goed af wat helaas niet kan gezegd worden van Lorenzo die uiteindelijk zelf werd geëxecuteerd in het kamp. ( )

Ok, I really nearly loved this book. Maybe my expectations were too low and that made it better for me. There were twists and turns and a tragic love story and WWII and a possibly murderous little kid. I couldn't stop reading and I very much enjoyed the resolution.

It's not out until the end of October but if you like mysteries and thrillers, you may want to put it on your list.

I'd give it 4.5 if I could. ( )

Tess Gerritsen is one author that I always make a point to read as her stories always make an enjoyable journey. This one is very different. After finishing it I have a whole spectrum of feelings regarding what I have read. It comes down to, this is one of her best efforts and a notch above her usually writings. It is different. There are parallel stores that are tenuously held together by a complex piece of music. The ending is not anything I would have ever guessed. But there was a reality in the connection that is hard to explain. Some people are going to be crazy about this and others are going to say so so. The story requires an emotional attachment to really appreciate the writing and I believe Tess has created it. I read for the love of the journeys, the intellectual stimulation and for the emotions that a good writer can create for the reader. This book achieves all of these for me. Thank you Tess Gerritsen. ( )

While in Italy, Julia buys an old piece of sheet music titled Incendio by an L. Todesco, whom she’s never heard of. When she plays the composition at home in the U.S., Lily ...her 3 year old daughter...appears to go crazy...killing their cat...stabbing Julia in the leg with a shard of glass and causing her to fall down a flight of stairs. Does the music possess an evil quality? Or does the problem lie within Julia herself, as her husband, Rob, thinks? As Julia flies off to Italy to try and find out more about the piece of music...we switch time periods to 1940 to learn more about the composer. This is war-torn Italy and many dreams are not coming true for the people of this era...and such is the case for young Todescoa and the love of his life...Laura. As the two plot lines converge...people die...and Julia places herself and others in mortal danger. In fact the stakes are even higher than she ever imagined. My advise...clear your schedule and bring plenty of food with you when you start reading. You will not want to put it down. ( )