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Your next favorite book
is waiting.
A novel
by Brendan Slocumb
A gripping page-turner from the celebrated author of book club favorite The Violin Conspiracy: Music professor Bern Hendricks discovers a shocking secret about the most famous American composer of all time—his music may have been stolen from a Black Jazz Age prodigy named Josephine Reed. Determined to uncover the truth that a powerful organization wants to keep hidden, Bern will stop at nothing to right history's wrongs and give Josephine the recognition she deserves.
Bern Hendricks has just received the call of a lifetime. As one of the world's preeminent experts on the famed twentieth-century composer Frederick Delaney, Bern knows everything there is to know about the man behind the music. When Mallory Roberts, a board member of the distinguished Delaney Foundation and direct descendant of the man himself, asks for Bern's help authenticating a newly discovered piece, which may be his famous lost opera, RED, he jumps at the chance. With the help of his tech-savvy acquaintance Eboni, Bern soon discovers that the truth is far more complicated than history would have them believe.
In 1920s Manhattan, Josephine Reed is living on the streets and frequenting jazz clubs when she meets the struggling musician Fred Delaney. But where young Delaney struggles, Josephine soars. She's a natural prodigy who hears beautiful music in the sounds of the world around her. With Josephine as his silent partner, Delaney's career takes off—but who is the real genius here?
In the present day, Bern and Eboni begin to uncover more clues that indicate Delaney may have had help in composing his most successful work. Armed with more questions than answers and caught in the crosshairs of a powerful organization who will stop at nothing to keep their secret hidden, Bern and Eboni will move heaven and earth in their dogged quest to right history's wrongs.
Overall, what did you think of The Violin Maker’s Secret? (No spoilers in this thread, please!)
...aining to the violin was a stretch. I actually didn't get it. Having said this, I still really did enjoy the book, though it reminded me very much of Symphony of Secrets by Brendan Slocumb which should be listed a read-alike. There was a touch of A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman with Walter's character, and a bit of A Love Song for R...
-Joyce_Montague
What are you reading this week? And what did you think of last week’s books? (2/12/2026)
I'm reading The Violin Maker's Secret in preparation for our discussion. Exactly two years ago I read a top candidate for this book's read-alike: Symphony of Secrets by Brendan Slocumb. There's also a hint of A Man Called Ove and A Love Song for Ricki Wilde😁
-Joyce_Montague
What are some books you loved reading in 2024?
...l last year. The other book I liked that a put in the same educational category was Madness by Antonia Hylton. Two of my "fun mystery" books read are Symphony of Secrets by Brendan Slocumb and A Calamity of Souls by David Baldacci Finally, I enjoyed all three of Sunny Hostin's fictional books about a family at the historical Black beach...
-Joyce_Montague
"This is a superb novel that will appeal to any thriller fan, not just readers with an ear for classical music. Sophomore novels don't get much better than this." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Thought-provoking... . Gripping chapters set in the 1920s and 1930s vividly evoke Reed, Delaney, and the racial inequities that fueled their relationship... . This exploration of the ways race, power, and modern music intersect lands as a timely page-turner." —Publishers Weekly
"Slocumb's second novel (following The Violin Conspiracy) is an improbable but fun mystery that will attract fans of Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code (a lot of readers, in other words)." —Library Journal
"Music lovers will revel in Symphony of Secrets, a novel that is at once a celebration of music and also a cautionary tale about legacy, privilege, and creative genius." —Nita Prose, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Maid
"Absolutely brilliant! Once again, Slocumb's consummate skills are on vivid display as he gives us a fascinating page-turner that slips back and forth in time and seamlessly blends a heart-pounding thriller, a heartfelt look at family and quiet heroism, and a searing exposé of issues stretching from deep in our country's past to the very present. The 'secret' of his title is apt indeed. And as for the cast: nobody creates rich, fully formed characters like Brendan Slocumb. Some books we finish and move on. This one will stay with you long after you turn the final page." —Jeffery Deaver, New York Times bestselling author of The Bone Collector and Hunting Time
"A twisty, mesmerizing mystery—Brendan Slocumb's writing is like music itself, dancing elegantly from the page." —Danya Kukafka, bestselling author of Notes On An Execution
"With Symphony of Secrets, Slocumb has woven an incredible thriller about music, genius, history, and greed—and how easily innocent passion can turn to dangerous, deadly obsession. You won't be able to put it down until the last note!" —Peng Shepherd, author of The Cartographers
This information about Symphony of Secrets was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Brendan Nicholaus Slocumb was raised in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and holds a degree in music education (with concentrations in violin and viola) from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. For more than twenty years he has been a public and private school music educator and has performed with orchestras throughout Northern Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, DC.
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