Playing with Fire - Book Review

Our family seems to always be traveling somewhere, so on a short trip to southern Illinois to spend some time with my husband, I found this audio book at our local Cracker Barrel. I have never rented from them, but in case you are wondering how it works, it is fairly easy. You pay for the actual audio book, and are charged $3.57 for a week rental. Once you are finished, you return the audio book and are reimbursed for the whole charge except the $3.57. It's not really convenient for non-A types like me, because I frankly don't like returning things to begin with. Things get really complicated for me so very quickly.

About the book: Tess Gerritsen is just a superb storyteller and you are left wondering what is going on until the very end. If you are a music lover, you will just be enraptured by this book. The book begins with a violinist who finds an old piece of gypsy music in an old book store in Rome - specifically it is a waltz. From there, the history of the waltz unfolds and the bizarre behavior of the violinist's daughter just mystifies the story even more. Like the mysterious waltz, the book is haunting with an overtone of sadness. In this book, there are two stories which Mrs. Gerritsen unravels perfectly. One story takes place in 1930's Italy and details the history of the musical piece and the other story takes place in modern times discovering the violinist and her family's past. The book ends too quickly and not how I thought it would (which makes me love it even more!). I waited an extra day to finish listening to the book because I didn't want to part with it, but alas, all things do have to come to an end.

I strongly recommend the audio book because Mrs. Gerritsen actually plays the violin in it and was the one who actually composed the somber waltz! She is just so talented! The lone violin playing in the background just adds to the depth of the book.

To the Christian: (I will leave this part vague as to not spoil the book.)The atrocities in this book remind us of the sin of man and the hope we have in the return of Christ. The physiology of the mind is just a small picture of how magnificent God is in the creation of the brain. God lavished beauty for our eyes, for our taste, for our ears and for all of our senses. In music we get a foretaste of the majesty of our Creator.

After reading this book, I did indulge in listening to some classical violin music and all I could do was just listen in awe at how fallen man can create such beautiful things - an imprint of our Creator.

There is nothing in this book that is coarse or tasteless. I would allow my tween or teen to read it.

You can buy the book or audio book here