A beautifully written evocative literary page-turner about a brilliant nineteenth-century
female pianist from Poland lost to history and another woman’s quest to ensure she is not
forgotten—with a shocking twist of a finale. Clara Bishop hasn’t touched a piano since a
concert hall fire nearly took her life a decade ago ending her career as a rising star in the
world of classical music. Significantly scarred and unable to play she has turned away from
everything and everyone associated with music especially her ruthless mentor Madame whom
Clara blames for her injuries. Her life is upended when Madame dies leaving Clara an
unexpected inheritance: an ornate nineteenth-century metronome with a cryptic message hidden
inside. Convinced this is not a gift but a puzzle Madame wants her to solve Clara comes to
suspect that the unusual bequest is the long-lost metronome of the composer Aleksander Starza—a
priceless object missing since 1885 when Starza was murdered by the brilliant female pianist
Constantia Pleyel. As Clara works to uncover the metronome’s haunted past and protect
it—and herself—from those who wish to obtain it she discovers that nothing about Starza and
his murder are what they seem. History has remembered Constantia Pleyel as an unstable artist
who killed Starza in a fit of madness. The truth could rewrite the history of music—and give
Clara the second chance she has been longing for. This moving tale is perfect for fans of
Brendan Slocumb' s The Violin Conspiracy .
