An excellent addition to Slocumb's Compendium. Bravo!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5


In this historical suspense novel, Slocumb once again showcases his passion and vast knowledge of his first love: Music. Traveling between the early 1900s and present-day New York City, Slocumb introduces us to a world-renown twentieth-century composer, Frederick Delaney, and his journey to stardom. The book begins in present day, meeting Bern, a professor of music and the leading expert of Fred Delaney's works. Bern is called upon by the Frederick Delaney Foundation to transcribe the notes, along with his friend, Eboni, of a long-lost prized composition of Delaney's that recently surfaced. Bern and Eboni soon realize the significance goes beyond the music.
It continues by traveling back to 1918 to meet Delaney a young struggling musician who stumbles upon a musical prodigy, Josephine Reed. This chance meeting forms an unlikely partnership that becomes the launchpad to Delaney's success.
Told from the perspectives of Bern, Fred, and Josephine, the mystery unfolds as to the backstory of the long-lost original composition. What they find out, begins to put all of Delaney's works into question.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Symphony of Secrets- even more than Violin Conspiracy! His style of writing is straightforward and his love of music is infectious. You will be thinking of Fred and Josephine, Bern and Eboni long after the book ends.

Wow. Symphony of Secrets is a glorious piece of writing. This is a dual time novel, written by Brendon Slocumb, with a mystery that builds slowly and that becomes so compelling that I could not put this book down. Symphony of Secrets will be one of the most read novels this year. It is that good.

On its surface, Symphony of Secrets is about the power of music and the business of music publishing. But underneath, this is a novel about synesthesia and musical hallucination. When readers dig deeply enough, Symphony of Secrets is also a book about a buried mystery and a deception perpetrated by a song plugger, who is desperate to create beauty, where no talent lies. In 1918 Freddy and Josephine begin to create music. In the contemporary world, Bern and Eboni try to unwrap layers of history, music, and mystery, to discover what really happened 100 years earlier. I m not providing spoilers, but I am telling all my friends to read this novel. It is terrific. And I am posting my review to my FB page so that at least some of my 830 "friends" can be inspired to read Symphony of Secrets.

Thank you to the author and publisher, Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor, for providing this ARC for me to read and review. The comments in this review are my honest opinion. I loved this novel. Thank you also to NetGalley for turning me on to so many terrific books.

Wowza, Brendan Slocumb has a stunner on his hands. I urge you to start your reading experience by reading the Author's Note. The music of it all, the main character, the themes, it was all so interesting and well-written. I also felt the moving back and forth timeline so riveting that you really didn't want to put it down. I feel like I'm being kind of vague and that's definitely intentional. I don't want to say too much and give anything away. I haven't read The Violin Conspiracy but now I'm RUNNING to pick it up.

Happy Pub Day!
Symphony of Secrets by Brendan Slocumb is out today!

This is an exciting mystery told in dual timelines. One takes place in modern day: Bernie Hendricks is a music professor who began his love of music through his favorite twentieth-century American composer, Fredrick Delaney. Bernie has been tapped by the Delaney Foundation to help authenticate a newly discovered piece written by Delaney. Bernie gets help from his tech-savvy friend Eboni to help his project, but soon finds clues that what is known to the world about the famed Delaney may not be correct.

The second timeline takes places in the 1920s where a young Fredrick Delaney is struggling to make as a musician and befriends Josephine Reed who is a music prodigy but is living on the streets.

Often, when a story has two timelines, usually one storyline is more compelling than the other. But this novel intricately intertwines both timelines that they were both compelling and played off one another beautifully. I loved the glimpse of what the music industry was like in the 1920s, both the good and the bad. Both Eboni and Josephine were highlights too, each an exemplar of a strong and talented woman despite the restraints society has imposed on them.

If you loved The Violin Conspiracy, you’ll want to jump on this one too!

Thanks to @netgalley and @vintageanchorbooks for the eARC. All opinions are my own.

Bravo! Bravo! Brendan Slocumb writes another novel deserving of a standing ovation. I loved his first novel, The Violin Conspiracy, but Symphony of Secrets is even better.

For the first 100 pages or so, I wasn't sure what to make of this novel. It's mostly a mystery, but there isn't a big who-done-it reveal. It's more of a puzzle that slowly gets pieced together and rachets up its pace to a fantastic climax. I thoroughly loved Josephine Reed. She's one of the best characters I've encountered recently. Her neurodivergent genius was remarkable.

I am not musical, and a reader knowledgeable about classical music, particularly operas, may see many more nuances in the story's structural elements. But even though I have never been to an opera, I thoroughly enjoyed this story.

It's refreshing to read a novel based on musicology, especially one that tells such a compelling story. I don't want to give spoilers - so I'll encourage you to read the book. It deserves all the praise it is receiving.

Many thanks to NetGalley for giving me an electronic ARC in return for a review.

The Violin Conspiracy was my favorite book I read in January so when I saw Symphony of Secrets was available to request on Netgalley, I instantly did. I think it just became my favorite book by Brendan Slocumb. I loved it from the beginning to the end.

We follow two timelines. One in the present and the other in the 1920's. During the present timeline we meet Dr. Bern Hendricks is a Delaney expert who has been given the job of decoding the highly sought music piece Red by Fred Delaney. It is a dream come true for him. The more Dr. Bern and his friend Eboni start to unravel the mysteries surrounding Red, they start to discover a wonderful mysterious woman musician by the name of Josephine Reed that helped Delaney with his music.

The second POV is Josephine Reed, a black woman who is a musical genius. I loved her chapters so much!!! I just could not stop reading this book because of her! It was fantastic and highly recommend specially if you loved The Violin Conspiracy. Amazing book!!!

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for gifting a DRC in exchange for an honest review. I bought myself a physical copy of the book because I loved it that much.

Check for CW if needed for this book.

Applause and Bravo to Brendan Slocumb for Symphony Of Secrets! A huge Thank you to the publisher, the author and NetGalley for the advanced digital copy of the book.

Symphony Of Secrets is the author’s sophomore effort, which is just as phenomenal as his previous work, The Violin Conspiracy. I absolutely loved this book! Honestly I cannot say enough great things about Brendan Slocumb’s novels. I did not want to put Symphony Of Secrets down until I reached the very end, and continued to think about the storyline days after I had read it. A brilliantly written, enthralling mystery/thriller from start to finish.

Brendan Slocumb once again takes his readers back into the intriguing world of music and mystery with Symphony Of Secrets. The dual storyline centers on professor and master musician Bern Hendricks—who is a leading authoritarian on all things Frederick Delaney. A highly accomplished famous composer during the early 20th century, who many considered a virtuoso. When Bern is contacted by the prestigious Frederick Delaney Foundation about a classified document that has been discovered, Bern is definitely excited, so he travels to New York to learn more about it. While examining the confidential document he notices some very distinctive markings.

Bern decides to implore the help of his smart, savvy, computer whiz friend Eboni. Together they set out to decipher the markings, which ultimately leads them to discover a major secret and puts them on the run for their lives. They find out the truth is not what it seems when it comes to famous composer Frederick Delaney. And the Delaney Foundation will take extreme measures to keep that secret buried, forever.

Symphony Of Secrets is definitely at the top of my best of 2023 book lists! I highly recommend this book. It is an outstanding, compelling page-turner that explores legacy, privilege, cultural inappropriateness and autism. It is a must read book that you do not want to miss out on. Run buy a copy of this book, and if you haven’t read the author’s previous book The Violin Conspiracy buy that one too!

With SYMPHONY OF SECRETS, Brendan Slocumb takes his immense storytelling talents further into the world of music, privilege, and the artist. When a long-sought masterpiece is discovered, music professor Bern Hendricks comes to realize that the truth behind the masterwork of a genius is more complicated than originally was believed. His discoveries put him and tech-savvy Eboni into mortal danger from an organization that wants history to remain what it was originally thought to be. With each of his books, Slocumb succeeds in creating believable characters that draw me into a world that I know nothing about and come to appreciate deeply. I received a copy of this book and these opinions are my own, unbiased thoughts.

Wow! I loved The Violin Conspiracy, so I was excited when I was approved to read an e-galley of Brendan Slocumb’s second book. It was different from his debut, but it was just as good!

Dr. Bern Hendricks has been hired to transcribe an original version of an opera by Frederick Delaney that was thought to be lost. While researching with his best friend, they discover that Delaney’s work may not be his; it was actually written by a black woman named Josephine Reed.

Well-researched and well-written! Loved it!!!

So glad I gave this book about a Black music professor who discovers a huge secret about one of the world's most well-known composers a chance. This was such an excellent blend of historical fiction, contemporary fiction, and suspense. I have very little background or knowledge in the music world but Slocumb made it accessible and intriguing. I will definitely be reading his first book soon.

Symphony of Secrets by Brendan Slocumb was the kind of novel that I could not put down! I gave this brilliantly written, masterpiece of a book, five very strong stars and in my opinion, it deserved every single one of them and more! Symphony of Secrets was the second book that Brendan Slocumb has written. I wasn’t sure how he was going to top his first novel, The Violin Conspiracy, but he surely did.

Brendan Slocumb chose the time period of the early 1900’s in New York City for one of the settings in Symphony of Secrets. It was a time when songwriters were taken advantage of by their music publishers. It was a time in our history when music flourished. Jazz and the Blues were being introduced and played. It was common for bands to perform at clubs and bars for the entertainment of the public. Blacks or the “Colored” as they were known during that time, were limited to the kinds of jobs they were allowed to hold, the places that they were allowed to frequent so they could listen to music and the kind of shops they were allowed to shop in to purchase clothes to wear or other items they wanted to buy. The chapters of Symphony of Secrets alternated between the early twentieth century and present day. Symphony of Secrets told the story of a music professor commissioned by a large Foundation to restore a famous symphony that had been lost and then recovered in present day time and the story of one of the most accomplished composers of the early 1900’s and his acquaintance with a homeless, neurodivergent, music prodigy, black woman.

Dr. Bern Hendricks was presently a black professor of music at the University of Virginia. He had grown up in the Midwest. Bern had been a recipient of the work and generosity of the Delaney Foundation as a kid. They had provided Bern with his very own musical instrument and opened doors for him that had not presented themselves to him before their intervention. Bern became a DF kid. Ever since then, Bern became obsessed with the music of composer Fredrick Delaney. Bern knew everything about Fredrick Delaney and his music, or at least he thought he had. One day out of the clear blue sky, Bern Hendricks received an urgent message from Mallory Delaney Roberts, the director of The Delaney Foundation in New York City. Mallory wanted Bern to come to New York City immediately to work on Delaney’s “Rings of Olympia”. The last symphony, entitled RED, had been lost and never recovered until now. It was recently discovered during a renovation. What an incredible honor and privilege for Bern to be asked to work on restoring this masterpiece! Bern was in awe of Fredrick Delaney and all he had accomplished over a very short period of time.

When Bern began to work on transposing the symphony, he was only allowed to have a copy of it. He was told that the original was being preserved and that he would have access to it as soon as the preservation was completed. As Bern began to examine the pages of the symphony, he noticed strange doodles and the letters JoR on each page. Bern had never seen these symbols on any of Delaney’s other work. He was baffled but curious. Bern called his friend Eboni to help him. Eboni was a computer genius. If anyone could help him decipher these doodles and initials Eboni could. It wasn’t long before Bern suspected that perhaps Delaney had had help writing and composing his music. Bern and Eboni soon discovered that the initials JoR stood for Josephine Reed. Both Bern and Eboni were determined to discover who Josephine Reed was and what her connection was to Fredrick Delaney. They pledged to not stop digging until they figured out who she was and what she had to do with Fredrick Delaney.

Josephine Reed grew up in Oxford, North Carolina. She was one of several black siblings that grew up playing the piano. Josephine Reed traveled to New York City as a young woman in the early 1900’s with one of her brothers. Upon reaching New York City, Josephine was left to fend for herself. She found herself homeless and living wherever she could hunker down outside. Freddy Delaney was a mediocre musician at best living in New York City also during the early 1900’s. Freddy was in a band but the members of the band were getting more and more exasperated with his timing and ability to play music. One night he was introduced to “Crazy Jo”. Crazy Jo had been at the Alibi Club when Freddy and the band were practicing. She was a pretty black woman but something was off with her. The members of Freddy’s band encouraged her to show Freddy, the only white musician in their band, how his part on the piano was supposed to be played. Freddy could not believe how great she played his part on the piano. He noticed that she didn’t even use the sheets of music to play it. Later that night, when it was just the two of them left in the club, Freddy asked Josephine if she would teach him how to play the piano like she did. That was how Freddy, who later became Fredrick, and Josephine Reed began their relationship.

I really enjoyed the Jazz Age time period that Brendan Slocumb chose for the setting of Symphony of Secrets. I’ve read other books about this time period but none focusing so much on the musicians and the music of that time. As an educator, I have taught many children over the years who were on the spectrum. I even did my practicum for my masters with adolescent autistic children where I developed an after school respite program. The talents and unique qualities that the children I taught with autism possessed ran the gamut. I developed such personal and gratifying relationships with so many of these children. I guess that was part of the reason why I connected so deeply with Josephine’s character. During the time period that Josephine’s character lived in, neurodivergent behavior was not understood as it is today. It was evident that she was brilliant and so talented even though those around her thought she was crazy. She was so misunderstood and was taken advantage of by so many. Brendan Slocumb explored racism, controlling behavior, greed, secrets, women’s roles in a man’s dominated society and deception in his book, Symphony of Secrets. He is a master storyteller and has impressed me with both books he has written so far. I can’t wait to see what he writes next. I highly recommend this book. Publication is set for April 18, 2023.

Thank you to Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage and Anchor Books for allowing me to read this ARC of Symphony of Secrets by Brendan Slocumb through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Symphony of Secrets is Brendan Slocumb's second book. If you enjoyed his first, The Violin Conspiracy, you will enjoy Symphony of Secrets. Frederick Delaney is a celebrated composer of the 1920s. One of his most famous operas, previously thought to have been misplaced, has recently been found. Bern is hired to authenticate that it is the missing opera. What Bern uncovers will change the music world. The story alternates between current day and Bern's work and the 1920s when the music was composed. Between the two timelines there are topics of music, racism, mental health and some thriller elements thrown in. Both timelines are equally interesting and will make you want to keep reading.

I received an ARC of Symphony of Secrets in exchange for an honest review.

Sophomore books from authors who had a strong debut scare me. I worry that the second book will fall short of the first. Not to worry here; A Symphony of Secrets was as great as The Violin Conspiracy.

Bern is one of the foremost scholars of the famous American composer Frederick Delaney. Delaney rose to fame in the late 1920s/early 1930s. His most famous works are the Rings opera; a series of operas written to commemorate each Olympic ring. The last of these operas, Red, was lost and Delaney spent 10 years rewriting the piece. On release, it was shockingly bad, and far below Delaney’s usual genius. Now, decades later, the original manuscript of Red has been found and Bern has been hired by the philanthropic and powerful Delaney Foundation to restore it. Bern discovers that Delaney had a companion – a Black woman named Josephine Reed who seems to have had at least some part in helping Delaney with his work. The question Bern and his kick-ass friend, Ebony, need to discover is exactly what role Josephine played in Delaney’s life.

The story is told in a dual timeline – my favorite! In the present-day Bern and Eboni attempt to solve the mysteries of both Josephine Reed, and also the cryptic “Delaney Doodles” that appear throughout Delaney’s compositions, while dodging the attempts of a nefarious organization to stop them. In the 1920s timeline, we follow the relationship between Josephine and Delaney, his rise to fame, and his ultimate decline.

Josephine was an intriguing character and beautifully portrayed. She is a brilliant and musically gifted Black neurodivergent woman. This could have been problematic, but in Slocumb’s hands she was a fully formed complex character written with sensitivity, and she was easily my favorite character.

This book has a lot of elements – music, race, and intrigue. I do not have any musical education, and I did not find that element off-putting in the least. On the contrary, I found it enlightening and I have great appreciation for people who are musically inclined in any way. As in The Violin Conspiracy, the experiences of racism, and everyday life as a Black person, was eye opening (and shame inducing) to me as a white reader. Like The Violin Conspiracy, this book also spotlighted black musicians in a predominantly white playground.

I enjoyed this as much as the Violin Conspiracy, and am grateful that the author created a storyline and characters that were completely different, rather than capitalizing on the formula of his prior success. My only small quibble is that the last 15% or so might have been a bit rushed.

Thanks to Net Galley and FILL IN for the chance to read an advanced copy of this book.

Bern is a music historian and the lead expert on America’s most famous composer, Frederic Delaney. When a descendant of Delaney brings Bern sheet music that might be part of a famously lost opera, he thinks it will change history. But there’s a lot more history to uncover when Bern finds a clue to some of Delaney's dark secrets.

This isn't quite a mystery — especially if you read all of the marketing copy, which gives away any intrigue in the first third of the book. But whether it's mystery or historical fiction or a thriller or something in between, I loved it! Brendan Slocumb has such a gift for this slow creep of danger and distrust. And I absolutely love the setting in the world of classical music. This is a fantastic follow-up to The Violin Conspiracy.

There is no sophomore slump here... in fact, I think this one is even BETTER than Slocumb's debut, THE VIOLIN CONSPIRACY.

Bern, a music professor and expert on the (fictional) American composer, Frederic Delaney, is called in by the influential Delaney Foundation when a lost manuscript is uncovered. Bern's job is to review and edit the manuscript for printing and stage production, but the more he digs into Delaney's artifacts and the mystery around this uncovered manuscript, the more questions he has... like, did Delaney even write everything he is supposed to have written?

SYMPHONY OF SECRETS is told in two timelines as we follow Bern's story of uncovering the mystery surrounding Delaney and his music and Delaney's story in the 1920s as he rises to stardom and esteem. In the book, Slocumb tackles themes of racism in the classical music world, appropriation, and how sometimes "help" isn't very helpful at all.

My only beef, honestly, is that I think the flap summary gives away too much. So, if you haven't yet, don't read it and just jump right in.

Thank you to NetGalley and Anchor Books for the free review copy of this book.

(Instagram post will be up on release day)

If I were to classify Symphony of Secrets, this would be a musical mystery/thriller. If you like Brendan Slocumb's first novel, The Violin Conspiracy, this one is one to also a literary masterpiece. Slocumb writes a clever, talented, smart novel filled with musical references. You don't have to be Mozart to enjoy this one though. Anyone can pick up on his references. The dual timelines will have you turning pages quickly.

Symphony of Secrets starts out with Dr. Bern Hendricks who has lived his life for his favorite composer, Frederick Delaney. The Delany foundation offers Bern a chance to work on a top-secret project involving his hero, Fred Delaney. Bern starts out thinking he is the expert in Frederick Delany, only to find out that there are many secrets he has to uncover.

Then we are transported back in time to see how Frederick Delany came to be such a successful musician. We meet Josephine Reed in the 1918 story. Josephine likes to frequent jazz clubs and compose music in her interesting way. When Fred is introduced to Josephine, both their lives are changed forever.

I don't know which storyline I enjoyed more. When Bern and his friend Eboni were frantically trying to uncover the facts of Delaney's life from the past, or hearing how talented Josephine was and how she assisted Fred and their story were both highly interesting. It did take me a little while to get into the story, but then when things started to fall into place, I was hooked. Race was an important part of the story as Josephine was black and Fred was white. Also, in the present story, Bern was black and had to deal with racism as well. Greed and power are also central themes to the story and how they impacted multiple characters.

This was The DaVinci Code meets Gone Girl. I think anyone who enjoys a smart literary thriller will enjoy this.

Thank you to NetGalley, Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor, and the Author for and advanced reader copy.

Symphony of Secrets is the amazing follow-up to Brendan Slocumb's debut novel from 2022, The Violin Conspiracy. This book continues what Slocumb did so well in his prior novel. He tells a page turning story with a villain everyone will want to cheer against. It also has a powerful secondary story of how society views people that are different whether the differences are race, gender or neurodivergence. The reader will care about the main characters and what happens to them during the course of the book.

Through dual timelines, the book tells the story of Frederic Delaney a famous composer in 1930s and his long-lost RED Opera, the last in a series of Olympics based opera that was lost for decades until recently. In the current day, Bern Hendricks is a college music professor and Delaney scholar who is charged with revising the newly found RED Opera in preparation for an upcoming performance. This book takes the reader to unexpected places when you learn Delaney was hiding a huge secret involving his music and mystery companion, Josephine Reed. Bern is joined in the search for answers with his friend Eboni, a fiesty computer expert and pizza lover.

This review will be posted on Goodreads, BookBub and Amazon. Thank you Anchor and Netgalley for the advanced review copy! I rate this book 5 stars and cannot wait to see what Slocumb writes next.

Brendan Slocumb's "The Violin Conspiracy" made my top 10 list for 2022. Big thank you to Netgalley and Anchor for the early review copy of this book.

I absolutely loved that this book was told in two time periods! In the present day Bern Hendricks is hired by the Delaney Foundation when they find the long lost piece "RED" written by Frederick Delaney himself. But as he uncovers the shocking truth the old music score holds, everything he holds dear is threatened. Can he make the truth right or will he and the past be silenced forever?

The 1920's timeline follows Frederick Delaney and his relationship with Josephine Reed. Delaney is a young musician struggling to make a name for himself as a musician. When he meets Josephine Reed she transforms his music. At first his new found success is beneficial for both of them, but just how much will he take advantage of her musical genius?

I found the beginning of this book to be a bit slow. From both the book description and the author's note, the reader is clued in as to where the plot line is going. Reading the set up in both the past and the present timeline got a bit tedious. Some of the information was repetitive especially knowing Delaney is stealing Reed's music.

The second half off of this book moves much faster. Our dual time periods are no longer separate but interspersed with each other and the action picks up in both storylines. I enjoyed the historic time period a bit more than the present. Slocumb does a good job of showing and not just telling how things unfolded with Josephine Reed and Frederick Delaney, but unfortunately in the present day timeline I felt the opposite. It made the present day timeline feel like things got over the top and a bit unbelievable.

The message of this book is an important one. History holds so many secrets and has silenced too many voices. I found the story unique and look forward to reading more from Brendan Slocumb!

Bernard Slocumb has found his niche in the mystery thriller genre. Symphony of Secrets is his second book that uses his deep knowledge and personal experience to create a believable plot with music at its center including Black characters who experience twentieth and twenty-first century racism despite their education and talents. His dual timeline with alternating points of view works very well as the characters in the present day seek the unvarnished truth in the past. In the twentieth century timeline, a neurodivergent Black character and her white savior adds to this fresh feeling, suspense filled novel. Slocumb is a talent to watch. I will be recommending this book far and wide.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this arc in exchange for an honest review.

I was able to read Symphony of Secrets thanks to NetGalley. I've always been a deep lover of music, all types, and in fact I feel like music saved my life. This book was about the composer Frederick Delaney and Josephine Reed while also telling us a story of Dr Bern Hendricks and Eboni Washington. I loved how the book went back and forth through time, As Bern and Eboni learned something about Freddy and Josephine, it was being played out for us in chapters. The writing was excellent in this book, the characters were wonderfully built and presented.