Secret of the Song edition by Cathie Hartigan Mystery Thriller Suspense eBooks
Download As PDF : Secret of the Song edition by Cathie Hartigan Mystery Thriller Suspense eBooks 
When a song by the mad composer, Carlo Gesualdo, is discovered in Exeter Museum, trouble descends on the group asked to sing it. Lisa is full of enthusiasm at first, but she soon becomes convinced the song is cursed. Can Lisa find out what mystery lies behind the discordant harmonies? Will she solve the song’s secret before her relationship with Jon breaks for good and harm befalls them all?
In Renaissance Naples, young Silvia Albana is seamstress and close confidant of Don Gesualdo’s wife. When Donna Maria begins an affair, Silvia knows that death is the only outcome. But who exactly will die? And where is Silvia’s own lover? Why is he not there to help her?
Secret of the Song edition by Cathie Hartigan Mystery Thriller Suspense eBooks
The cover was the first thing that drew me into this story. Very intriguing. The novel is very well-written and engaging. I'll be exhausted at work today from staying up too late last night to finish it.Product details
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Secret of the Song edition by Cathie Hartigan Mystery Thriller Suspense eBooks Reviews
Lisa has enough to worry about in her busy and musical life as a single parent, but it takes a dark turn with the discovery of a difficult madrigal by Carlo Gesualdo, which her singing group set themselves the challenge of performing. The music, and the hellish images on the frontispiece, begin to infect Lisa’s life. The manuscript is intriguingly used as the link with Silvia, a 16th century Italian seamstress, and her first-hand experience of the murderous and carnal events that were embodied in its creation.
While much of Lisa’s narrative is entertaining and brightened with a certain long-suffering humour that is grounded in her battles with her daughter, her mother, and her would be boyfriend, Sophia’s story contains some genuinely disturbing scenes, meaning that this is by no means a ‘light’ read. It’s clearly very well researched; both Cathie’s musical life and Sophia’s renaissance world are very believable.
It’s often the case in time slip novels that the plots in the respective periods start wide apart and steadily converge towards a climax. Not so in this novel. From the beginning, the story is wonderfully interwoven between modern day Exeter and Renaissance Italy and remains so throughout. Whether recounted from the modern voice of Lisa, whose life seems increasingly out of control, or from Silvia, who is fighting in a male dominated society for any say in her own existence, each chapter advances the overall plot and tension the action and drama of one period highly relevant to the other. The result is a page-turning novel that always has both pace and direction. A terrific read.
I love historicals and music, so I thought this would be right up my alley, and it was. Like all time-slip novels, there are two stories going on, and to my surprise I was just as gripped by the contemporary story as by the historical one. The premise of a 'cursed' manuscript keeps the plot rolling along nicely, and there are two romances to savour along the way. The dialogue is believable, and the historical detail well-researched. My only criticism would be that the cliff-hanger chapter endings felt a little over-done so it read more like a serial than a novel - for my taste the characters and situations were well-drawn enough anyway to make the reader want to follow their journey, with less obvious prompting. But all in all, this is a delightful and entertaining read, and I highly recommend it.
A wonderful time slip novel. One can only marvel at the author's imagination and and admire her passion for music. I was gripped throughout the story with its twists and turns, and became immersed in the two different worlds. This is a book that is not only a page-turner but lingers in the memory. Terrific!
Those of you who know me - just read that description. You know I'm going to love it, don't I? You bet I am! Modern and historical thread, Renaissance Naples, two love stories...Cathie, you could have written it just for me. But what I really wasn't expecting - and given that Cathie Hartigan is part of the CreativeWritingMatters team that might have been rather daft of me - was that it would be so exceptionally well written. The whole book achieves that difficult balance - across both threads - of being an engaging read, shocking, funny and very emotionally affecting, and such a fantastic story. I just loved it.
When I said "a fantastic story", there are - of course - two. In the modern thread, Lisa really was my new best friend from the first few pages. With all her faults, I loved her - a quite wonderful character constantly acting on impulses, taking irrational stances, opening her mouth without thinking about the consequences. The whole story around the uncovering of the Gesualdo manuscript, the preparations of the group to perform it, the difficulties they encounter, and the lovely relationship between Lisa and Jon absolutely entranced me. I loved the introduction of the Italian siren from La Scala and the ripples she causes. And I really don't like children much (did I just say that out loud?) but Lisa's daughter Mollie could come and live with me any time - a very real child amid a lot of other quite perfectly drawn characters (wait till you meet Lisa's mother...) who leap, fully formed, from every page. There's even a lovely touch of the supernatural involving the manuscript that's quite perfectly judged, and perversely gives rise to some of the funniest - and most touching - scenes in the book.
And that's just one of the threads. The other takes us to Renaissance Italy to meet Silvia, who becomes seamstress (and so much more) to Donna Maria, the wife of the composer Don Gesualdo. Dare I say she's my second best friend? This is really quite a dark story of murder and mayhem and dark doings, but Silvia herself so often has you smiling through it.
The author's research shines brightly throughout. You can feel the depth of it, but the book wears it lightly - never too much detail, just enough to bring the period vividly to life. Reading a dual time story, I find I often feel the wrench between the two threads. This book is so cleverly written, beautifully structured so that you slip quite painlessly from modern to Renaissance, with neither story stronger than the other. It's not very often that happens - but in this book it's quite perfectly done. And Cathie's writing style is eminently readable - I really don't know how she does it, but Silvia's voice also feels historically authentic, and quite different from the voice of Lisa.
And did I mention how much I enjoyed the book, and what fun it was? Expect great things from Cathie Hartigan - this lovely book may have slipped out without the loud fanfare it deserves, but I do hope others will try it. It's an absolute triumph, in much the same way as you hope will be both the Gesualdo recital and Lisa and Silvia's futures but to find out whether they are, you're going to have to read the book. On in the UK it has so many five star reviews. You'll so love it... I promise.
A very impressive debut novel. Two entwined stories with Devon interest. The key characters truly standout, rounded and believable with two superb plots working in tandem. An excellent and gripping read. Cathie Hartigan has put so much heart into her first novel.
The cover was the first thing that drew me into this story. Very intriguing. The novel is very well-written and engaging. I'll be exhausted at work today from staying up too late last night to finish it.
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