Book Reviews

A Secret Never to Be Told

by Lynn John

This page-turning novel starts with a fascinating premise. What if Mozart faked his death in 1791 and he lived on? In the opening chapters, the reader finds Mozart doing precisely that, so he can live with the woman he loves, Magdalena, and so he can free himself from his debts and his unhappy marriage. But he can’t live without continuing to compose, so he reinvents himself some years later as the Maestro and begins composing music with the young composer Gioacchino Rossini, who in real life wrote 39 operas in 19 years.

The author is an opera singer, and he was inspired to write this book after a colleague, Eliano Mattiozzi, had studied Gioacchino Rossini’s operas and found too many similarities to Mozart’s work to be ignored. That started Lynn John on a two-year journey of research.

A Secret Never to Be Told brings to life the performers and composers of opera in this era. Be prepared for bawdy humour, intrigue and betrayal that mimics the humour and subversive nature of Mozart’s operas. A definite must-read for any lover of opera.

Filament Publishing, RRP $30.75

Rings on Water

by Madeleine Eskedahl

This thrilling crime novel starts with a man being lost overboard when a narcotics pick-up at sea goes wrong. Then a young woman is found dead on a beach, and Sergeant Bill Granger is called on to investigate, along with Constable Niko Sopoaga. They find themselves investigating a dangerous underworld of drug dealing, with a ruthless killer on the loose.

Meanwhile, Bill’s wife Annika prepares for an art exhibition and she befriends newcomer Crystal, who is in a controlling relationship with her partner Andrei. Annika takes the young woman under her wing but is increasingly worried that the smooth, charming man Crystal is with is not what he appears.

Bill had hoped for a quiet off-season in Matakana. Instead, a complex web of small-town secrets and a desire for revenge will soon place Bill’s family in danger. You will never look at Matakana the same way again after reading this page-turning, exhilarating book.

Matheson Bay Press, RRP $36.99