cover image The Sound of Red Returning

The Sound of Red Returning

Sue Duffy. Kregel, $14.99 trade paper (304p) ISBN 978-0-8254-2574-5

Duffy (Fatal Loyalty) opens a new series with pianist Liesl Bower, who is thrust into danger after a concert at the White House brings back a face from her past. Fifteen years earlier, her music teacher was murdered and she learned that he had been a spy for Russia His system for transmitting information involved sheet music, a piece of which is in Liesl’s possession, making her a target for rogue Russians seeking to restore a Soviet regime. That plot extends to Israel and depends on a mole in that country’s defense establishment. Liesl has family trauma in her past as well, and everything comes to a crescendo once the CIA steps in to protect her. Duffy has concocted an intricate plot, and not every thread is equally well developed. A villain in a key position doesn’t convince, and the Israel connection is underplumbed. The characterizations, though, mostly work: old Ian O’Brien steals the show. A very pious president will warm Christian hearts but leave others unpersuaded. The pop-pop-pop of surprise resolutions at the end makes a fine coda. (Jan.)