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A review by dovesfalling
Playing with Fire by Tess Gerritsen
5.0
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
4.5 stars
Honestly? You had me at Tess Gerritsen.
I love Gerritsen's writing. Her talent for crafting strong, relatable, complex female characters is outstanding for the genre, and she writes a lovely, layered mystery too.
Playing with Fire is a departure for Gerritsen, and I could really feel that she took so much pleasure in writing the tale. In the book, we meet Julia Ansdell, a professional violinist, who stumbles upon a dusty piece of music in a lonely shop in Rome. Back home, Ansdell plays the piece - the Incendio waltz, and it is shatteringly beautiful. It also appears to trigger her three-year-old daughter Lily into brutal violence.
Frightened for her life and disassembled by the escalating madness encroaching on her life, Julia travels to Venice, Italy, in an attempt to discover the truth about the waltz and its origins.
The novel flips back and forth between Julia's story and that of Lorenzo Todesco, a young man growing up in the horrors of the Second World War. At the beginning, I thought these transitions would annoy me, but they were extremely well done, and the differences in tone / perspective / voice were so vivid and well captured. Bravo to Gerritsen for pulling that off so well.
Another note that I feel I should mention is how well Gerritsen portrays Julia. In the beginning, I was annoyed on her behalf. Like, her daughter and no one seems to bat an eyelid? But as the novel progressed, I realized that Julia herself was Really wonderfully done.
In the crescendo of the novel, all is revealed, and I just couldn't put it down. It's at times so sad that it feels heartbreaking, but there is a sweet element of hope that rivers through the piece - and that is heartbreaking too.
Loved it. Would recommend to anyone who loves a good thriller (the bits with Lily and Julia are genuinely horrifying) and anyone who enjoys their mystery with a side of history. You'll be enthralled.
4.5 stars
Honestly? You had me at Tess Gerritsen.
I love Gerritsen's writing. Her talent for crafting strong, relatable, complex female characters is outstanding for the genre, and she writes a lovely, layered mystery too.
Playing with Fire is a departure for Gerritsen, and I could really feel that she took so much pleasure in writing the tale. In the book, we meet Julia Ansdell, a professional violinist, who stumbles upon a dusty piece of music in a lonely shop in Rome. Back home, Ansdell plays the piece - the Incendio waltz, and it is shatteringly beautiful. It also appears to trigger her three-year-old daughter Lily into brutal violence.
Frightened for her life and disassembled by the escalating madness encroaching on her life, Julia travels to Venice, Italy, in an attempt to discover the truth about the waltz and its origins.
The novel flips back and forth between Julia's story and that of Lorenzo Todesco, a young man growing up in the horrors of the Second World War. At the beginning, I thought these transitions would annoy me, but they were extremely well done, and the differences in tone / perspective / voice were so vivid and well captured. Bravo to Gerritsen for pulling that off so well.
Another note that I feel I should mention is how well Gerritsen portrays Julia. In the beginning, I was annoyed on her behalf. Like, her daughter
Spoiler
kills their cat and stabs her in the legSpoiler
unreliable, due to her illness.In the crescendo of the novel, all is revealed, and I just couldn't put it down. It's at times so sad that it feels heartbreaking, but there is a sweet element of hope that rivers through the piece - and that is heartbreaking too.
Loved it. Would recommend to anyone who loves a good thriller (the bits with Lily and Julia are genuinely horrifying) and anyone who enjoys their mystery with a side of history. You'll be enthralled.