AUTHOR: Joanna Davidson Politano
DATE: 2022
PUBLISHER: Revell
STARS: ****
From the back cover:
When concert pianist Vivienne Mourdant's father dies, he leaves to her the care of an adult ward she knew nothing about. The woman is supposedly a patient at Hurstwell Asylum. The woman's portrait is shockingly familiar to Vivienne, so when the asylum claims she was never a patient there, Vivienne is compelled to discover what happened to the figure she remembers from childhood dreams.
The longer she lingers in the deep shadows and forgotten towers at Hurstwell, the fuzzier the line between sanity and madness becomes. She hears music no one else does, receives strange missives with rose petals between the pages, and untangles far more than is safe for her to know. But can she uncover the truth about the mysterious woman she seeks? And is there anyone at Hurstwell she can trust with her suspicions?
My review:
How can I describe this story? Dark, with a pinprick of light, flickering and nearly extinguished. Much of the book holds so much darkness, it was difficult for me to read. I had to take breaks often. The Lost Melody is so well-written, the dark abyss that is Hurstwell threatened to drown me. The mystery of the lost woman and her song, however, kept me reading.
As sanity and madness war around and within the main character, Vivienne, she clings feebly to her God. Who was responsible for her imprisonment at the asylum? How could she survive? Who is the mystery woman of her dreams, and what happened to her?
Skillfully told, with deep mysteries in several layers and a satisfying ending, The Lost Melody earns four stars. I was given a copy of this book by the publisher; all opinions are my own.