Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the e-ARC of this title.

I really enjoyed this one. I liked the history and the mystery. Slocumb did a great job on this one.

This is the story of a Black professor who is given the task of restoring a lost composition of a conposer he idolizes. As it turnes out, however, the composition was written not by the white composer but by a Black woman whose work he had been claiming as his own for many years. The book is fascinating, the story grabs you from the start and I highly recommend it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Anchor for the advanced e-copy of this book.

Dr. Bern Hendricks, a music professor at UVA, gets a call one can only dream of from a relative of his favorite composer, Frederick Delaney. The Delaney Foundation wants him to help authenticate a newly discovered piece. What Dr. Hendricks discovers, however, is not exactly what the Foundation had hoped and threatens to uproot the reputation of Delaney himself as well as the Foundation. What lengths will the Foundation go to in order to protect itself? And what will Dr. Hendricks do to ensure the truth is told?

Symphony of Secrets is well written and engaging with twists and surprises. Told from alternating time periods, readers are able to learn what was happening when Delaney was composing and what is happening now with the new discoveries.

Thank you to both Libro.fm and NetGalley for advanced copies of this novel! I will say my reading experience outweighed my listening experience because while the overall narration was good- I found the voices used for Bern and Ebony to be extremely grating on the ear. I could not help but compare this book to Slocumb's previous novel The Violin Conspiracy. Both novels focused on music through the lens of members of the Black community- however this novel was much more historical and went a little "into the weeds" of music more than what may be necessary for the average lay-person. For me, Slocomb shines in three major areas in both of his novels- captivating storylines, giving insight into the experience of being a Black person in the music industry and building complicated relationships between his characters. I will happily devour anything by this author! As always, do not skip the Author's Note!

My mom and grandma wanted to steal my kindle when I received this arc and all three of us very much enjoyed reading this one! Thank you so much to Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor (Anchor) for the ARC of this one.

Loved this historical mystery with music themes!

Symphony of Secrets has a past/present storyline with a narrative that alternates between Bern Hendricks, a music professor in the present day, and a Jazz Age musical prodigy.

In the present, Bern is summoned by a family foundation focused on the music of Joseph Delaney. A long-lost piece of Delaney's music has been found, and the foundation hopes that Bern can authenticate it.

But as Bern studies the piece, he begins to have questions. And these are questions the foundation that hired him seems not to want him to pursue. Aided by a brilliant computer genius, Bern begins a shadow investigation that uncovers a story that is both tragic and disturbing.

For me, the most compelling part of the book was the narrative in the past. I don't want to say too much, but it was fascinating, dark, and psychologically complex.

LOVED this book and loved the Violin Conspiracy and can't wait to see what Brendan Slocumb writes next!

Thank you Net Galley and Anchor for this advanced reader's copy of Symphony of Secrets.

Brendan Slocumb's 2nd novel does not disappoint! Another home run of a book!

Bern is a professor of music in VA and is contacted by the Delaney Foundation because they have found something amazing and need his help.

Bern takes the 1st flight to NYC because he is so excited to be chosen for this amazing task. He is quickly given an NDA and told he can share the secret with no one or suffer very damning consequences. He is able to get help from his friend Ebony who is a cyber security whiz and great with all things digital. They are working together to uncover all the secrets of the Delaney Foundation secret.

This is a well thought out book that keeps the reader guessing the entire time. There are some slow places in the middle, but the twists pick the pace back up and keep things moving until the surprising ending. Some of the twists are unbelievable, but this is fiction after all and makes for great readability.

I look forward to Slocumb's next novel. The mixture of music and music history with mystery is a great combination.

Thank you to NetGalley and Anchor Books for sending me an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Look for it now in your local and online bookstores and libraries.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I really enjoyed Brendan Slocumb’s first novel, The Violin Conspiracy, so I was thrilled to get an advance copy of his sophomore novel. Slocumb is a music educator and a musician. He is also Black, so he has a unique perception on an industry that is predominantly white. Here he has crafted a story about a famous American composer from the early 20th century who may have stolen the music for which he is so famous from a Black woman named Josephine Reed.

The story is told in two timelines. The current timeline is told from the perspective of Dr. Bernard Hendricks. He has been hired by The Delaney Foundation to transcribe a piece of Frederic Delaney’s music that has been found a century after it disappeared. During his research, Bern discovers that the piece may not have been written by Frederic Delaney.

The early timeline is told from the perspectives of Frederic Delaney and Josephine Reed. Frederic Delaney is a young musician looking to make a name for himself. Josephine Reed is a musical genius who is homeless when she meets Freddy. He offers her a place to live and hires her to give him piano lessons.

The characters in this book are wonderfully written, especially Josephine. With perfect pitch and chromesthesia, she is a fascinating example of neurodivergence. The author has a nephew living with autism, and I think he wrote the character of Josephine with sensitivity and grace.

It took me a little while to get into this story, but once I did, I couldn’t put it down. It was difficult to read at times due to the discrimination and racism that some of the characters experience, and the racial slurs made me cringe. Sadly, I believe that it’s an accurate depiction of America in the early 20th century and today. This story of strength, resiliency, and the drive to do the right thing will stick with me for a long time.

Wow! I’m completely blown away by this book. I quite literally couldn’t stop reading this, especially the last half.

The character development was incredible. Bern is a PhD scholar that has dedicated his life and his research to the work of Frederic Delhaney. He’s thrilled to be given the opportunity to transcribe RED, Delanhey’s long-lost work. His work uncovers some information that the Delanhey Foundation would prefer stays hidden. He works with his friend/girlfriend Ebony to learn the truth and fight for what is right.

Simultaneously, we go back in time to see the rise & subsequent fall of Frederic Delhaney. We learn that he is a mediocre musician until he meets a true genius, a black woman named Josephine Reed. He puts out her music as his own, arguing that it is for their own good (he says nobody would buy a colored woman’s music), but his success changes him and makes him selfish and greedy.

Very much worth a read. It’s a true testament both music appefisrejon and to always doing what is right.

Brendon Slocumb is officially an auto read author for me. Enjoyed this even more than Violin. Love how he beautifully captures how people if color are undermined in the world of art. We don’t often get the experience from an arts perspective.

Fantastic read. The sad thing is I am sure what happened in this book happened over and over and over. I do hope that it is NOT happening NOW!

Part mystery, part historical fiction, this was one of my favorite reads of the month. Bern Hendricks was hired to authenticate a piece of music from the famed, Frederick Delaney-a famed classical composer, only to discover a secret that the Delaney foundation hope to keep buried. The story is told in dual timelines: Present day and in 1920's Manhattan where Josephine Reed and Frederick Delaney cross paths and pair up to create unforgettable musical pieces. The first 30% was a little slow to start but it hit it's stride and I struggled to put it down and found myself sneaking bits of reading whenever I could. If you enjoyed Brendan Slocumb's debut, The Violin Conspiracy, this is a must read. A great blend of character development and plot driver narrative.

Thank you to NetGalley and Anchor Books for the advanced reader copy.

This book plays all the right notes! I enjoyed everything about it. The dual timeline is perfect for this type of book. The themes of race, gender and diverse abilities are handled just right. I cheered for Josephine, was angry with the Delaney folks, annoyed by Bern's naïve tendencies at times and just LOVED Eboni! Well done, Mr. Slocumb! You brought many injustices to light.

This book is amazing. Highly recommend. Moves well between the two timelines. Both are riveting and they could be their own books. Love the ties in how white supremacy is cyclical and the ending is so enjoyable and worth it. While the book is long, I don’t think any of it dragged. Well paced book!

I admit that I tried to manage my expectations for Symphony of Secrets solely because it is common for new authors to have a bit of a sophomore slump. I need not have been concerned because Brendan Slocumb knocked it out of the ball park. I love so many things about this book.

The format is a dual timeline that really works. I was equally engaged in the stories of both Fred & Josephine and Bern & Eboni. Bern is a professor at UVA asked by the Delaney foundation to help with a new project related to Delaney’s work. With the help of his friend Eboni they embark on a journey of discovery that no one expected. Was Fred the composer and man he was believed to be? Who is Josephine? Friend? Lover? Muse? It seems this is the mystery that will unfold, but it is about so much more.

It is about important things. Issues that still occur today. Slocumb shows us how racism occurred in the past and how it can still occur today. He shows how easy it can be to take advantage of someone with a neurodivergent disorder. He does it all with cleverness, beautiful writing, and grace.

I received an advanced readers copy of this book from NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor. I both read the book and listened to the audiobook version. I found the audiobook version a delight and believe that it adds to the reader’s experience.

#symphonyofsecrets
#brendanslocumb
#netgalley
#knopf
#anchor

Having made a hit with The Violin Conspiracy (Feb. 2022), musician and music teacher Brendan Slocumb has come back with Symphony of Secrets, a surefire success. The biography on Slocumb’s website describes music’s effect on his life from the time he received his first violin in a public school music program: “Friends he grew up with are today sitting in jail; when they were out running the streets, he was in rehearsals. When they were breaking into people’s houses, he was practicing Dvorak and Mozart. His violin opened the door to opportunity, and he ran through it.” Slocumb writes a similar passage to describe his protagonist Kevin Bernard “Bern” Hendricks, a young black musicologist and first-year University of Virginia professor, who had received his first French horn and educational support from the Delaney Foundation.

Now with a Ph.D. in musicology, Bern Hendricks has become the leading expert on Frederic Delaney, reputedly the greatest American composer. Yet Frederic Delaney’s eventual failure had led to his 1936 suicide. Due to the mysterious loss of Delaney’s opera RED, the final part of his Five Rings of Olympia quintet, Delaney had struggled for years to recreate his missing masterpiece. Slocumb dramatically opens Symphony of Secrets with “Overture,” a short prologue set in the moments before RED’s long-delayed debut. Delaney opens a champagne bottle, pulls a photo from his pocket, props it up in front of him, and pours two glasses. While looking at the photo and drinking his glass, he imagines the well-earned accolades from music critics, who for the past few years have unjustly called him a “has been.”

The first chapter opens with Professor Bern Hendricks listening to Delaney’s Quicksilver through earbuds. As Hendricks rushes to class, he receives an urgent email from the Delaney Foundation’s executive director. Mallory Delaney Roberts informs him only that a time-sensitive matter concerning Frederic Delaney necessitates his speedy reply from a secure location.

The Delaney Foundation has located the missing original opera RED and wants Hendricks to compare it to the rewritten version that led to Delaney’s suicide. Hendricks has also been charged with preparing the newly found original for performance. Already believing he owes his success to the Delaney Foundation, he recognizes that this top-secret project could make his career following the opera’s debut and his role’s acknowledgment.

As Hendricks begins work in the Delaney Foundation Archive and brings in Eboni Washington, a computer expert with whom he’d collaborated on another Delaney project, they come across mysterious markings, “Delaney Doodles,” they determine to decipher. Research on one recurrent Doodle leads them to the name Josephine Reed. What was her relationship to the great Frederic Delaney? The mystery intensifies and mystery turns into thriller.

Slocomb’s dual timeline plays a large role in the novel’s success. Following “Overture,” focused on Frederic Delaney, Act 1, consisting of chapters 1-10, centers on Bern Hendricks in the present as he learns about and begins the RED project in preparation for the debut concert less than a year away. Act 2 [11-18] transports readers back to 1918, devoting chapters 11 and 13 to Josephine Reed and the remaining six to “Freddy” Delaney, a young song plugger for Ditmars & Ross, a New York City music publisher. Act 3 [19-28] brings past and present together, alternating chapters between the two timelines. The first chapter centers on Josephine, the second on Bern, and the rest alternate between Delaney and Bern. As Bern and Eboni’s research advances, Act 4 (29-37) shines the spotlight increasingly on Josephine by alternating between Josephine and Bern. In Act 5 (38-49), named “Ensemble,” Slocomb shifts between Bern, Josephine, and Delaney. “Curtain Call” [50-52] moves from Frederic Delaney to Bern Hendricks.

Multi-focused and genre-bending, Symphony of Secrets is the story of creativity and research, speculation and rethinking, trust and betrayal, greed and rationalization, perceived debt and moral obligations, neurodiversity and racism. It’s part historical fiction, part mystery, part thriller, and part attempt to create a better world.

At a young age, Brendan Slocumb started on his path to become a musician and music educator. With The Violin Conspiracy and The Symphony of Secrets, he has become an accomplished novelist.

Thanks to NetGalley and Anchor/Penguin Random House for an advance reader copy of this suspenseful look at musicology turned sociological thriller.

Shared on GoodReads and Barnes & Noble.

Dr. Bern Hendricks is a an expert on the composer Frederick Delaney, so when he's asked by the Delaney Foundation to authenticate a recently surfaced composition, he jumps at the chance. The composition is the famed missing RED opera, from a series of five representing the Olympic rings that went missing a century prior. This version is covered in doodles, which appear to be some kind of code, so Bern enlists his computer expert friend Eboni to help uncover the meaning. However, as they work on the opera, they realize Delaney may not have written the music he claimed and that it was in fact written by Josephine Reed. The book is told in dual timelines. One timeline is in the present with Bern and Eboni deciphering the opera while trying to stay out of the Delaney Foundation's crosshairs, and the other timeline is told in the past showing the progression of Josephine and Fred's association as Fred increasingly takes advantage of Josephine's genius. Josephine in particular is the stand out character of the book as she experiences synesthesia with the way she views sound and music. Bern is a bit naïve and optimistic at first, but Eboni's talents and ability to analyze situations helps balance it out. Overall, a great story about the importance of music and the search for the truth and recognition of one's talents.

Bern is a professor and music scholar. His specialty is composer Fred Delaney, who's foundation helped Bern get into music in the first place. When a missing Delaney piece is found almost 100 years later, Bern is hired by the Delaney Foundation to help translate the missing piece, Red, and release it to the world. As Bern and his IT friend Ebony dig more into translating the document, they find that a mysterious black woman, Josephine Reed, was somehow involved with Fred and possibly with the composing of his famous music. Bern and Eboni continue to dig, but the powerful Delaney Foundation is not too excited about the possibility of Fred Delaney's legacy being threatened.

This book has everything- historical fiction, action, Black restitution, music lover, legacy, artist, and disability. I really liked it and enjoyed the fast-paced story. I actually liked this second book by Slocumb as much as his first book The Violin Conspiracy, which was a really high bar. It did seem like he was trying to take on a lot of topics and injustices, but it worked, and I would highly recommend this.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advance copy for review.

Bern is a professor and music scholar. His specialty is composer Fred Delaney, who's foundation helped Bern get into music in the first place. When a missing Delaney piece is found almost 100 years later, Bern is hired by the Delaney Foundation to help translate the missing piece, Red, and release it to the world. As Bern and his IT friend Ebony dig more into translating the document, they find that a mysterious black woman, Josephine Reed, was somehow involved with Fred and possibly with the composing of his famous music. Bern and Eboni continue to dig, but the powerful Delaney Foundation is not too excited about the possibility of Fred Delaney's legacy being threatened.

This book has everything- historical fiction, action, Black restitution, music lover, legacy, artist, and disability. I really liked it and enjoyed the fast-paced story. I actually liked this second book by Slocumb as much as his first book The Violin Conspiracy, which was a really high bar. It did seem like he was trying to take on a lot of topics and injustices, but it worked, and I would highly recommend this.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advance copy for review.

This story resounded in so many ways. A mystery set to a musical background, it may be written only but I can hear the music as the story builds.....The cover art, discord and harmony at battle as the truth we know is pitted against the truth as we want it to be. In so many ways.....
As experts investigate a musical piece with the goal of authenticating it, they find some troubling clues that could damage the reputation of a reknown composer. The story is told in two timelines, the present investigation and the past composition. We meet so many musically oriented characters yet find that one, a young woman named Josephine, seems to be the key to the success of so many songs, yet has received no credit or acknowledgement for her contributions. When the present day experts suggest her name be acknowledged, the resistance turns quickly to violence.

A different type ofmystery than I have read lately, SYMPHONY OF SECRETS was a joy to read.