Perfect for fans of Sandra Brown and Iris Johannsen.In 1945, an Austrian girl discovers a priceless Nazi treasure near a remote alpine lake and sets in motion a decades-old secret that will change lives for generations to come.Many years later, classical pianist Maggie O’Shea is preparing her return to the world of music. Instead, a nightmare of a haunting rhapsody and hundreds of roses from a … hundreds of roses from a deranged stalker propel her into a world of terror. Forces drive her to revisit the mystery of her mother’s death, her father’s startling disappearance, and a terrible secret from World War II. Maggie finds herself on a collision course with a brutal, disfigured killer who threatens those she holds dear—an aging pianist with a long-buried secret, a haunted cellist, a charismatic Maestro, and the crusty retired colonel she has come to love.
Chord by chord, Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody becomes the heart of this story of profound loss, courage and love. Music tells our stories …
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The harrowing story of Maggie O’Shea, classical pianist, will continue to resonate with you just as a beautiful piece of music does. Compelling, haunting, and atmospheric with beautiful prose, yet full of danger and mayhem.
Fun mystery set in the world of classical music and art. The story is interesting.
From Manhattan and Washington to Vienna and Salzburg, Dark Rhapsody by Helaine Mario takes the reader on a suspense-rich journey into a violent collision of the worlds of lost art, famous musicians, and international politics. Mario writes with the soul of poet, painting her characters and scenes with deft touches of insight and wit. Her heroine, Maggie O’Shea, will burrow into your heart. Dark Rhapsody is that rare novel ― a story that’s a page-turner and a deeply felt character study.
Although the blurb says these books can be read as standalones, and in any order, I think I would have found this book lacking something had I not first read THE LOST CONCERTO. While the first book evokes a sense of music, DARK RHAPSODY defines the emotions felt when looking at a great painting. Which painting that is may be different for you than it is for me, but it is possible to get as lost in an image as it is to lose oneself in beautiful music.
Maggie O’Shea is finding her way back to her music when she encounters people who knew both of her parents… her mother, the concert pianist, Lily Steward and her father, the maestro Finn Stewart. There is a connection to Nazi Germany and Yale University’s secret society Skull and Bones. How do all these mesh? That is the magic of Helaine Mario’s writing. She takes what seems a disparate set of characters and events and composes a symphony, or perhaps a finished canvas, that will take you, the reader, through a complex series of notes and chords, brush strokes and colors, to reach an end that will choke you with emotion. Few books have left me as verklempt as the first two Maggie O’Shea mysteries.
Start your adventure with Maggie by reading the first book in the series and make your way to DARK RHAPSODY. In fact, plan on having DARK RHAPSODY at your fingertips as you finish THE LOST CONCERTO as to not miss a beat from the end of one to the other.
Such a fantastic suspense that kept me hooked! The touches of classical music and art brought class and beauty to an already wonderful novel. I look forward to reading more from this author!