Shadow Music

by Helaine Mario

Overview

Winner of the IPPY Gold Award, the National Indie Excellence Award, and the Foreword INDIES Gold Award

Overcoming loss—finding the courage to move on—trying to stay alive

Late in the Cold War, a young woman escapes from Communist Hungary, vanishing into the night with a priceless painting and a baby girl—setting events in motion from a decades-old secret that will change lives for generations to come.

Many years later, classical pianist Maggie O’Shea is drawn to Cornwall in search of a long-lost Van Gogh and the truth behind her husband’s death. A journal from World War II Paris holds many of the answers, but only two people know where the Van Gogh is hidden now—a courageous nun and a man presumed dead.

Set against the backdrop of the international music and art world, Maggie finds herself on a collision course with three dangerous Russians who threaten all she holds dear—including her life and the life of the man she has come to love.

Past and present converge in this haunting tale of loss, courage, love, and revenge.

Perfect for fans of Sandra Brown and Iris Johansen

While the novels in the Maggie O’Shea Mystery Series stand on their own and can be read in any order, the publication sequence is:

The Lost Concerto
Dark Rhapsody
Shadow Music

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781608095162
Publisher:	Oceanview Publishing
Publication date:	09/13/2022
Series:	A Maggie O'Shea Mystery , #3
Pages:	384
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Best-selling author Helaine Mario grew up in New York City and is a graduate of Boston University. A passionate advocate for women's and children's issues, she has served on many nonprofit boards while residing in Washington, D.C. Her first Maggie O'Shea mystery, The Lost Concerto, won the Benjamin Franklin Award Silver Medal. Shadow Music is her fourth novel and the third in the Maggie O’Shea Mystery Series. Helaine and her husband, Ron, live in Arlington, VA. Net royalties from Helaine’s books go to local reading and family programs.

Editorial Reviews

07/19/2021

Mario’s complicated, overstuffed third mystery featuring classical pianist Maggie O’Shea (after 2018’s Dark Rhapsody) opens in 1985 on the Hungarian border, where two young women and a baby are hiding in the woods, waiting for their chance to escape to freedom in Austria. Three soldiers arrive. One of the women is shot; the other flees with the baby. The scene shifts to present-day Boston, where Maggie, whose investigative journalist husband was lost at sea when his boat exploded 18 months earlier, is slowly building a relationship with Michael Beckett, “a man as stony and rugged as the mountains he loved.” An invitation to perform at London’s Festival Hall with a Russian orchestra catapults Maggie into a search for a missing Van Gogh, the investigation of a Russian accountant’s murder, a trip to Cornwall to discover the fate of a lost love, and a hunt for a lost concerto. In the action-packed denouement, Mario ably ties up the various plot strands—including the incident at the Hungarian border—of what amounts to a romantic suspense thriller. Newcomers are advised to start with the first in the series. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

"Mario has once again hit all the right notes with Shadow Music, drawing the reader into a landscape of art and music . . . using a tuning fork of spine-tingling suspense.” —Sandra Brown, New York Times best-selling author

“Gripping, intense, and lyrical, [Shadow Music] is a heartbreaking journey wrapped in a page-turning mystery. Ruthless greed, devastating courage, long-lost secrets—and a riveting ending that's a crescendo of emotional realization, deep understanding, and haunting inspiration.” —Hank Phillippi Ryan, USA Today best-selling author

“In the action-packed denouement of [Shadow Music,] Mario ably ties up the various plot strands.” —Publishers Weekly

“[A] deftly crafted, impressively original, and memorably entertaining blend of loss, courage, love, and revenge.” —Midwest Book Review

“Mario writes with the soul of a 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.” —Gayle Lynds, New York Times best-selling author

“Skeletons bang on closet doors, longing to be set free—and free they are in this terrific mix of mystery and mayhem. Every page is fraught with danger and surprise. [The Lost Concerto is] a true banquet for thriller readers.” —Steve Berry, New York Times best-selling author

“Richly atmospheric, excellent can't-put-it-down pacing, enticing, and compelling characters. [The Lost Concerto is] really terrific storytelling.” —M. J. Rose, New York Times best-selling author

“If you love classical music, a challenging thriller, a twisting mystery, and complex characters, The Lost Concerto is for you. Lushly layered, full of evocative prose and surprises, and wonderfully told, this one’s a must-read. I couldn’t put it down.” —J. T. Ellison, New York Times best-selling author

* “Music is not just backdrop here but also a character that permeates Maggie’s life . . . bolstered by the transformative power of classical music, Maggie finds what has been lost, including herself. Brava!” —Library Journal (Starred Review)

From the Publisher