I enjoyed the plot of this novel. I didn't like either of the lead male characters and that caused me to start the novel a few times before completing it. I thought the main character was too naive to be an academic, especially about racism. Even as the reasons for the mystery at the core of the novel became apparent, he resisted it. I enjoy classical music, have an academic background and am a historical fiction fan. I will continue to read the Slocumb's novels and experience the music and history interwoven into his novels. I'm looking forward to seeing more complex and realistic characters in the future from this author.

When I gave Brendan Slocum’s debut work, The Violin Conspiracy, a 5 star review, I wrote I was eagerly looking forward to his next book. I am happy to say Symphony of Secrets did not disappoint. This story of righting a long-ago wrong combines music, detective work, New York City social history and deep character studies in a gripping story that had me galloping to finish. By alternating two story lines a hundred years apart, the pace never flagged and the story kept me fully engaged.
Each story focuses on a man and woman, but beyond that there are few similarities. In the early twentieth century a young Black woman, a musical genius who we might characterize as being “on the spectrum” is first rescued then manipulated by Freddy Delaney, a cunning and desperate song promoter with aspirations toward a great musical career. In the years that follow, his career takes off due to the compositions of Josephine that he published under his own name.
A hundred years later Bern Hendricks, a university professor and musical scholar, is hired to transcribe a long lost opera by Delaney and, in researching the music, he uncovers the long hidden connection between Josephine Reed and Delaney. Assisting him with computer skills and strategies is Eboni, a young woman whose courage and determination are the opposite of poor confused Josephine.
How these two threads play out is an exciting narrative with a totally satisfying ending. The story, as I expected was filled with music, much beyond my knowledge and experience, but if you accept it as the rich tapestry on which the story is woven, it will add another dimension to your enjoyment.

See full review on The Atlanta Journal-Constitution website:

“Symphony of Secrets” is North Carolina author Brendan Slocumb’s second novel that blends an inventive combination of historical fiction, suspense and a neurodiverse perspective to spotlight a marginalized demographic in America’s musical past. Seeking to represent the underrepresented, Slocumb uses tenderness and humanity to navigate the twisty topics of appropriation, the toppling of heroes in the Information Age and the complex reality of correcting suppressed history.

Slocumb centers his narrative around the legacy of Frederick Delaney, a fictional 20th century American composer who is considered the greatest to have lived. Unfurling intricate details worthy of a Google search to verify if Delaney did indeed exist, Slocumb constructs a world where Delaney is famous for creating a five-part opera, the “Rings Quintet of Olympia,” inspired by the design on the Olympic flag. Each production focuses on a different continent as a runner sprints across five land masses searching for the lost torch. The success of the first four operas...

https://www.ajc.com/things-to-do/inventive-literary-thriller-explores-suppressed-history-in-the-world-of-opera/NBLKLXN53FATXJDLWWKWFJPBYM/

Symphony of Secrets is Brendan Slocumb’s sophomore novel - I read his Violin Conspiracy with #zibbysvirtualbookclub last summer. The book is a slow burn and ä it took me a little bit longer to get into the story but it is just as good, captivating and engrossing as Violin Conspiracy.
This story unfolds on two timelines - there is Bern (Kevin) who is a music professor at UVA with a background in Frederic Delaney, a fictional but supposedly gifted American composer of the first half of the 20th Century, there’s a second timeline that shows said composer and Josephine Reed in the 1920s and early 1930s. It’s been a puzzle for more than a Generation why Delaney’s last and final opera flopped and wasn’t even good music after delivering hit after hit before. The original score had been lost before it was ever performed and despite Delaney’s best efforts to re-write it, it just wasn’t good.

It is fascinating to observe Slocumb create a composer out of thin air, giving the reader a sense of his work. There were passages I read to my son (player of the tuba pictured) to ask for his take on what the music would sound like - it was so imaginative and well done.
At the start of the book the final opera’s actual sheet music has surprisingly reappeared after around 90 years -Bern is hired to transcribe and get it ready for the stage but he started discovering that the opera wasn’t a solo work only to discover that Delaney didn’t write it at all, a black woman, Josephine Reed, did. She’s black but also also neurodivergent, uncomfortable in social situations which makes her easy(er) to be taken advantage of. All the while us readers get to follow Josephine around from her work to her living situation and jazz clubs of the 20s. She is a fantastic character and I couldn’t help rooting for her. I loved the alternating bits of the current search for the truth and the 20s/30s retelling of the music’s creation.
The book focuses on the themes of racism, mysoginy and power, greed and the ownership of ideas but it does so while keeping the story light and thrillerlike. The story ramps up faster and faster as it goes on. It is a story of a man who seems to start with good intentions but is ultimately destroyed by greed while still believing himself to be led by the best intentions ... fascinating !
My thanks to netgalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage for an advance copy of this book.

An amazing, encapsulating book. Very well written and very well researched. The pace of the story and the mini cliffhangers made this book unputdownable!

[4.25 stars]

Brendan Slocumb is a Black classically trained violinist and, like his debut The Violin Conspiracy, Symphony of Secrets is a suspenseful novel set in the classical music world (note: you don't need to be into classical music to love his books). Bern Hendricks, one of the most prominent experts on the music of Frederic Delaney, one of the most celebrated American musicians in history (who is white), is called to New York City to help authenticate a piece of Delaney’s music that’s just been discovered. When he gets there, his research leads him to discover that Delaney’s music may have been stolen from a Black woman named Josephine Reed. This sets up a battle between Bern and his partner (Eboni) and a powerful organization. For those that read The Violin Conspiracy, you should know this book is less of a page turner and it’s a bit heavier on the music detail…especially in the first half. It took me a bit to get into it…and it kept pump-faking me. Right when I would start to get bored with all the music detail, it would pull me back in. But, I tore through the second half. I loved the 2 women at the center of this book. Josephine, who is neurodivergent, and Eboni (Bern’s partner - heavily on the tech side - kind of like his Chloe from 24) are both fighters in their own ways. I enjoyed seeing them make themselves known. And, Eboni is a brash, kickass woman. I also loved learning the history of this disappointing phenomenon that went on in the music world back in the 1920’s. This book is ultimately hopeful and I think you’ll like it if you liked Violin…going in with the right expectations.

Like Slocumb’s first novel “The Violin Conspiracy”, “Symphony of Secrets” is a brilliant novel;
exquisitely crafted, enthralling, and musically precise.
Absolutely gripping, with a stunning ending.
Bravo, Brendan!

Thank you SO MUCH to NetGalley and Anchor publishing for this advance copy review of Symphony of Secrets, one of my most anticipated for 2023. This work is available to pick up today!

Brendan Slocumb's debut The Violin Conspiracy absolutely blew me away, and I put it on my list of Top 12 of 2022 because I became totally immersed in the story. I've been anxiously awaiting his follow-up, and I was lucky enough to hear him speak at an event a few weeks ago, which made the story that much special. There's neurodivergent representation in this book, which as an autism mom, I absolutely love to see. It's heartbreaking, and so powerful - his characters are absolutely written with so much depth, and I really love his style of writing. I can't wait for my mom to dive into this one as well, and it's once again, one of my favorite reads of 2023 thus far.

Thank you again NetGalley and Anchor for this opportunity to check this one out, it was a big win for my reading.

A Captivating and Thought-Provoking Thriller

SUMMARY
Professor and scholar Bern Hendricks is an expert on the world-renown composer Frederick Delaney and is asked to authenticate one of Delano’s long lost pieces of music. The recently found music may be the famous opera titled RED, celebrating the Olympics. Bern is honored and overjoyed to be asked to perform the authentication by the Delaney Foundation. Bern owes his entire career to the Delaney Foundation. But as Bern and his friend, Eboni discover, things are not quite what they seem. Doodles on the pages of the music seems to tell a different story. There’s a women that was somehow connected to Delaney, her name was Josephine Reed and her name keeps coming up.

Delaney, who had died in 1936, had been one of the greatest and most prolific composer since Beethoven. Bern thought he knew everything there was to know about the man and his music, but from the doodles on the pages of music he discovers a different truth behind Delaney’s success. It’s a truth that could ruin the Delaney Foundation and they are not pleased with the discovery.

REVIEW
Symphony of Secrets is captivating and thought-provoking thriller. It will be a hit with all readers, classical music-lover or not. It’s far to beautifully written and brilliantly plotted to only be Brendan Slocumbs second novel.

Slocumb’s writing alternates effortlessly between the present day and the early decades of the twentieth century. The writing builds suspense and delivers a fitting ending, with a meaningful message. The characters are unique and well-defined. Both Josephine and Eboni’s character are delightfully one-of-a kind and Bern is a new courageous superhero!

Author Brendan Slocum was raised in Fayetteville North Carolina, and has a degree in music education with a concentration in violin and viola from the University of North Carolina Greensboro. He has been both a public and private school educator for the past twenty years. He serves as a educational consultant for the Kennedy Center in Washington DC. In 2022, he publish his first novel The Violin Conspiracy, which was one of the years best books.

Thanks to Netgalley and Knopf Pantheon Vintage and Anchor for an advance reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.


Publisher Knopf Pantheon Vintage and Anchor
Published April 18, 2023
Review www.bluestockingreviews.com

I don’t often read music mysteries and this one is quite interesting. Bern Hendricks, a music professor is hired by the Frederic Delaney Foundation to transcribe a recently discovered opera from almost 100 years ago. Delaney was one of the most prolific and popular composers of the early 20th century. Through his research, Bern and his colleague discover that Delaney is not what he seemed. Who was Josephine Reed and how does she for in this story?

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy.

I lived this book. It was twisty and compelling, with a great mystery, wonderful characters who were interesting and complex, and some great social and historical commentary. I don’t want to be too detailed to avoid spoilers, but this book is even better than The Violin Conspiracy, a richer and even more rewarding reading experience.

What a fabulous and twisted mystery about music and secrets. I loved the characters - they all came alive for me. This book had me thinking of how many other things in our world are stolen with future generations never knowing. Well written and excellent story!
Formal review and links to come soon.

This is a mystery/ thriller with dual timelines set around a famous composer and his final works in one timeline and the discovery of his first draft of his masterwork and the man annotating it in the current time.

Slocumb's first novel was a favorite for me, so I was extremely excited to receive an eARC from @netgalley and the publisher for his second novel. The elements of music and musicianship, as well as racism, classism, and the difficulties of being neuro-divergent all played masterfully in this book to both draw the reader through the story and point out injustice in both the past and current times. I found myself angry at the injustice as well as cringing at some events. I rooted for Bern and Eboni, cried over Josephine, and internally screamed at some of the other characters' actions. The ultimate denouement was extremely satisfying. I loved this novel and once again am reminded how much music means to me.

This book is amazing! I loved the author's debut novel The Violin Conspiracy, so I was putting this one off thinking it would be a disappointment. Somehow it managed to be even better. It had all the same themes that I loved from VC - musicians, racism, a mystery spanning generations - and yet was an original story that kept me captivated from beginning to end. Bern, a music professor, becomes the unlikely protagonist of the story, kind of like when Indiana Jones switches from being the mild mannered professor to an action hero. I never stopped rooting for Bern and don't want to give anything away about the story but there are some great characters! It's the sign of a well written dual timeline when I liked both timelines equally. I can't wait for more of Brendan Slocumb's books to come out!

🎼Review: Symphony of Secrets by @brendanslocumb 🎼

My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Format: Digital
Length: 425pgs
Pub date: April 18, 2023
Publisher: @vintageanchorbooks
Genre: Musical Thriller

Unlike Brendan Slocumb’s debut, The Violin Conspiracy, (reviewed 2/12/23) I’m not going to give away too much detail here. The basics are: Bern is a music professor and an expert on the composer Frederick Delaney. He is called in to investigate a 100 year old mystery regarding Delaney’s compositions. His friend and technology expert Eboni joins him on this endeavor In a dual timeline, Fred Delaney meets Josephine Reed and they work on compositions together. This is one I think you need to go into blindly. I’m just going to ask you to 𝚃𝚁𝚄𝚂𝚃 𝙼𝙴 and read it!

Brendan has created this genre of music education/mystery/study of the human condition/history of race relations. You know when you read one of his books you’re going to learn something, feel something (like DEEP in the feels), and hope for something. In the meantime you’re also going to get an education in music (and a pretty great playlist). You’re also going to meet characters that will stay with you long past closing the book. His stories have meaning.

Read if you like-
🎼Dual timelines
🎼Multiple POV
🎼Morally grey characters
🎼Social justice
🎼Race relations through history
🎼Slow burn mystery
🎼Neurodivergent rep
🎼Music/history of music
🎼Amazing author’s notes

I don’t really think there are any comparable titles other than his own debut novel. He has created a genre unto itself. Brendan has become a must read author for me.

Thank you to Anchor Books, Brendan Slocumb, and NetGalley for the early review copy.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced copy!

Another great work by Brendan Slocumb. The band geek in me is overjoyed that a space exists for musical thrillers.

I didn’t love this as much as The Violin Conspiracy but I enjoyed the ride. Very much of the literary thriller genre, touching on themes of racism, classism and ableism. It may look like a brick of a book, but I read it in one day. Definitely recommend!

Mr. Slocumb delivers a winner with his sophomore novel. Fascinating characters and a truly intricate historical mystery unravel themselves in this well paced story of intrigue. This novel realistically covers a swath of tropes with balance that are still quite relevant for our times: appropriation, racism, misogynoir, mental illness, and classism.

4 Stolen Stars
I had the pleasure of reading The Violin Conspiracy, and this was also a strong tale. You have a period of time with no computers or any devices to record bad deeds... A man who is a musician meets a woman who also is a one and her talent surpasses his. In one move he steals her music and claims it as his own.

Generations later it is discovered by a young man that the famous piece was not written by the man at all and the tale takes off.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.
The premise is timely, but predictable. This book had more character development in its writing than plot development. For fans of books with relationships at their core, this is great. Similar to a superhero movie, you can guess from the premise that “everything turns out alright in the end.”

Slocumb follows his blockbuster The Violin Conspiracy with a tale weaving classical music and prejudice against Black scholars in the field. Frederic Delaney is Bern Hendrick’s favorite composer. Bern has devoted most of his academic career in musicology to studying Delaney’s masterpieces. The last of Delaney’s operas has been lost for decades so when the Delaney Foundation, the organization that funded Hendrick’s schooling, offers Bern the chance to work on the newly discovered lost opera manuscript, he's ecstatic. He brings in his friend Eboni, a computer analyst who’s worked on other operas, and together they find evidence of a Black woman who lived with Delaney who might have written some of his work. A clever mystery that readers will relish.