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Playing with Fire cover art

Playing with Fire

By: Tess Gerritsen
Narrated by: Julia Whelan,Will Damron
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Summary

In a masterful standalone thriller by New York Times bestselling author of the Rizzoli&Isles series, Tess Gerritsen, a mother is haunted by a very old piece of music she finds in a strange antique shop in Rome.

The first time violinist Julia Ansdell picked up the "Incendio Waltz" in a darkened antique shop in Rome, she knew it was a strikingly unusual composition. The minor key and complex feverish arpeggios have a life of their own. But when she plays the piece, Julia blacks out and awakens to find her small daughter implicated in acts of surprising violence. When she travels to Venice to find the previous owner of the music, she uncovers a heart-stoppingly dark secret that not only dates back to the horrors of the Holocaust, but also directly involves a dangerously powerful family who would stop at nothing to keep Julia from bringing the truth to light.

©2015 Tess Gerritsen (P)2015 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

What listeners say about Playing with Fire

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Reaching Some Higher Grace Notes.

I’m not quite sure why I chose this book as my first from Tess Gerritsen but I am genuinely glad that I did. This is a beautiful story split between the present day and the troubled city of Venice during the second world war. It is a haunting story centered around a tragic piece of music written by a young Jewish composer. The dual narration works very well to set the atmosphere and Gerritsen’s efficient prose moves the two stories along at a brisk pace with no padding or tangents.

The two strands are beautifully woven together and drawn to a conclusion that pulls few punches. There is no attempt to sugar coat the horrors that the Jewish people suffered which gives the story a genuine power and gravitas that could easily have been missed. This is a moving book; a tale of modern life and how it can never really escape the past that formed it. Gerritsen has done the research and produced a thoroughly satisfying tale that fits well within the events of history. No simple task with such sensitive subject matter.

Bravo!

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9 people found this helpful

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love Gerritsen

another smashing gerritsen book! havent read one i haven't liked yet! waiting for tge next book already!

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Playing with fire

An absolutely superb story brilliant ending as you would expect from this author. A must read/listen

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Narration better than storyline

Felt the story a bit dull and brief Not enough substance and the ending was so abrupt however lm a huge fan of the narrators The music was a nice touch

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Not the best from Tess

Not keen on the narration. The story line was a little weak too. By no means one of her best.

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Playing with Fire

A very gripping story.
You can't imagine how such awful events took place but they did.

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Extraordinary beautiful

I have listen to the whole Rizzoli and Illse eries and fell in love with the writer. I could imagine a better book
But this book is absolutely my favorite book by Tess Gerritsen. I totally fell in love with the characters and couldn't put the book down . I listen tru it in 2 settings.
Super extraordinary with all the history and point to true facts of the holocaust.
The production was outstanding

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Incredible writing!

After finishing this novel I was left with so many emotions, deeply moved but the amazing writing and heart broken by the reminder of the countless cruel and barbaric acts committed against so many, only a short time ago . Also the bravery and kindness of some who stood up for right, often at the cost of their own lives. The shame of being part of a race that could be responsible for such horror. Though much of the novel I could not stop the tears, the reminder of the past in such a deeply moving novel was so moving. A must for anyone to read or listen to.

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Really enjoyable

I found this really informative, as the female character was searching out the history of a Jewish war time composer. I enjoyed this book, though I am a Tess Gerritson fan.

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Powerful though a little too compleasent..

... On the blue eyed characters. I was immediately disturbed by the depiction of the little blond girl with blue eyes doing bad things like it was utterly unlikely to be it.. Why not red hair, grey eyes or darker? In the end there will always be a Laura, a Capobianco, etc. to light the way... Not true. But I was transported by the musicality of the tale as it transported me in enchanted (sacred or cursed) places with a perfect timing.

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