Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Second Fiddle (2011)

Second Fiddle. Roseanne Parry. 2011. Random House. 240 pages. [Source: Review Copy]

I enjoyed reading Second Fiddle by Rosanne Parry. Jody Field is finding life bittersweet. She's spent a few years now in Berlin, and she's got two fantastic friends: Giselle and Vivian. All three take music lessons from Herr Muller. They are a string trio preparing to play Canon in D for an international music competition in Paris. It will be--most likely--the last time they ever play music together again.

Early in the novel, the girls are disappointed to learn that the trip is off. Their teacher who was to chaperon them on the trip is very ill--he'll be in the hospital. Before they can deliver the bad news to their parents, however, they witness something extraordinary: the near-murder of a man, a soldier, a Soviet soldier. His own army has turned against him. They witness the beating. They witness his being thrown over the bridge and into the river. So what do they do? What can they do? And will this change everything?

Second Fiddle is a very thoughtful novel. The three girls are very independent, resourceful, even courageous. Are they mature enough to handle the real world? Especially when that real world involves espionage?! Probably not. But determined they are!

Second Fiddle was a fascinating novel set in Berlin and Paris in 1990.

© 2013 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

1 comment:

Sherry said...

Yes, I want to read this one. I liked her Heart of a Shepherd a lot.