A riveting page-turner about a determined professor who uncovers a shocking secret about the most famous American composer of all time—that his music was stolen from someone else, a young Black woman. Bern Hendricks has just received the call of a lifetime. One of the world’s preeminent experts on the famed twentieth-century composer Frederick Delaney, Bern knows everything there is to know about the man behind the music. So, when Mallory, a board member from the Delaney Foundation, asks for Bern’s help authenticating a newly discovered piece, which may actually be his famous lost opera, RED , he jumps at the chance. With the help of his tech-savvy acquaintance Eboni, Bern soon discovers that the truth is far more complicated than history would have them believe. In 1920s Manhattan, a young Black woman, Josephine Reed, is living on the streets and frequenting jazz clubs when she meets the struggling musician Fred Delaney. But where young Delaney struggles, Josephine soars. She’s a natural prodigy who hears beautiful music in the sounds of the world around her. With Josephine as his silent partner, Delaney’s career takes off—but who is the real genius here? In the present day, Bern and Eboni begin to uncover information that indicates Delaney may not have composed his own most successful work. Armed with more questions than answers, and in the crosshairs of a powerful organization who will stop at nothing to keep their secret hidden, Bern is determined to uncover the truth and right history’s wrongs—finally giving the forgotten Josephine the recognition she deserves. One of the Washington Post's Best Mysteries of the Year • An NPR Best Book of the Year “Brendan Slocumb’s first novel, The Violin Conspiracy , displayed his deftness at crafting character-driven stories featuring amateur sleuths with a deep reverence for music history — and everything to lose. With his pitch-perfect follow-up, Symphony of Secrets , he firmly establishes himself as a maestro of musical mystery . . . . What makes the book sing is how it makes audible the chords that echo between present and past, coming together to create a consonant harmony. Slocumb dexterously interlaces the two plotlines, using them to echo and refract issues that haven’t disappeared over the years, only changed resonance. . . . Slocumb’s writing is invigorating , and the detail in his character work makes the main characters in both time periods easy to root for. The arc of the story mirrors the sensation of listening to an unfamiliar piece of classical music and thinking ‘This is nice’ as it starts, then suddenly finding yourself rapt , then thrilled , then, by the end of the journey, entirely astonished . Slocumb is a composer and conductor, and those skills translate well to his mystery writing — his mastery of pacing and tempo and his natural sense of when to soothe the audience and when to jolt them out of their seats are on full display. The novel’s examination of white supremacy as an extractive force is clear and present without tripping up the fast-paced and thrilling plotline.” — The New York Times “As rich and suspenseful as The Violin Conspiracy . . . . Absorbing. . . . A fast-paced detective adventure. . . . As [Slocumb] alternates artfully between the 1920s historical narrative and the present-day quest to unravel its mystery, he also parallels the two, which symbolically serves to repair the past. . . . Amid the heart-racing plot, Symphony of Secrets is ultimately an affirmation. Music has historically been the country’s ethnically richest art form, particularly embodied in the multicultural story of jazz and in today’s cross-fertilization between popular genres. That process has been marred when the powerful extract from the powerless. Josephine Reed’s restoration speaks back to such exploitation. Shaping her vast array of colors, ciphers and traditions, she’s a seamstress of the torn national fabric.” — The Washington Post “Stirring. . . . A provocative follow to his much-lauded 2022 novel, The Violin Conspiracy , praised for its pitch-perfect dive into the world of classical music and the struggles faced by Black musicians who want to be included and respected for their talents. . . . Compelling. . . . Slocumb writes an intriguing and vivid story about social injustice, cultural appropriation and ‘whitewashing.’ . . . [The] thoughtful pacing carries an important message about race and privilege and the lengths to which people in power will go to manipulate history.” — The Star Tribune "Music lovers will revel in Symphony of Secrets , a novel that is at once a celebration of music and also a cautionary tale about legacy, privilege, and creative genius." —Nita Prose, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Maid "Absolutely brilliant! Once again, Slocumb’s consummate skills are on vivid display as he gives us a fascinating page-turner that slips back and forth in time and seamlessly blends a hear