Julia Ansdell is in Rome, Italy,
when she spies an old music book. Inside is a sheet of handwritten
music entitled Incendio, composed by L. Todesco. Julia, a
violinist, can hear the notes playing in her mind and fascinated
by the frantic and difficult ending, buys the music. After
returning home to her husband Rob and three-year-old daughter
Lily, Julia starts playing the music. After her cat is stabbed
and killed by Lily, who later stabs Julia in the leg with
broken glass while murmuring “Hurt Mommy,” Julia
suspects her daughter is mentally ill. Or perhaps the music
itself is the cause?
In Venice just before World War II, music Professor Alberto
Mazza’s is stunned by his grandson's talent and gives
young Lorenzo his prized violin. In June 1938, Lorenzo is
almost nineteen when Professor Balboni of the Ca’ Foscari
music school asks Lorenzo to play a duet at the school’s
competition with his daughter, Laura. Lorenzo admires Laura’s
beauty and inner strength, and writes a composition, which
they plan to play as a duet. As they practice, Lorenzo slowly
falls in love.
But war brings with it hatred and prejudice. Lorenzo and his
family, being Jews, are deported. Lorenzo, separated from
his family, ends up in an internment camp, forced to play
his violin for German officers while the fires of crematoriums
blaze nearby.
Playing with Fire is an outstanding thriller that
kept me spellbound to the very end. Through Julia’s
present day search for the author of “Incendio”
and the flashbacks revealing the horrors and fires of war,
we learn that the repercussions of the past never die. Totally
fascinating and highly recommended is Tess Gerritsen’s
“Historical Notes,” an informative commentary
on the persecution of Italian Jews and the many unsung heroes
whom she honors in this novel.
Reviewer's Note: Tess Gerritsen is The New York Times bestselling
author of the "Rizzoli & Isles" series.
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