The Sound of Red Returning by Sue Duffy

After losing everyone she loves, concert pianist Liesl Bower has nowhere to go but to escape into her music. Searching for the peace she usually finds in her concertos and sonatas, Liesl can't shake the feeling that she is being haunted by her past . . . and by someone following her. When she spots a familiar and eerie face in the audience of a concert she's giving for the president in Washington, DC, the scariest day of her life comes back to her with a flash. It has been fifteen years since Liesl watched her beloved Harvard music mentor assaulted on a dark night in Moscow and just as long since the CIA disclosed to her that he'd been spying for Russia. She had seen that man--that eerie face--the night Professor Devoe was attacked. And now he's back--and coming for her.

On the run and struggling to rely on the protection of CIA agent Ava Mullins and handsome newspaper reporter Cade O'Brien, Liesl learns she is the prey of an underground cell of Russian KGB agents determined to restore their country to its former Soviet might. But what she doesn't know is that she is in possession of something--a piece of sheet music--that Russian intelligence is now frantic to find. Inside that music is a secret code, the hidden transcriptions of her deceased mentor, that clearly identify a Russian mole operating inside Israel's Department of Defense, a mole with enough power and access to execute a daring assassination that no one would see coming.

Caught in a deadly conflict between American and Russian undercover agents, this innocent young pianist is just trying to survive her own personal trauma. Through it all, Liesl must learn that no matter how dark her world grows or how fiercely her enemies pursue her, God is still in control--if only she can yield herself to His grace.

Goodreads Summary

Liesl is a concert pianist and the main character in this book. Liesl has lost so much in her short life, from family to friends. Liesl's life is already complicated, the reader may believe that it cannot get much worse...but the reader would be wrong. It is believed by Russian and American intelligence that Liesl contains a coded message that could invigorate Soviet power and bring that power back.

Liesl runs from the danger as any sane person would. She isn't only running from the Soviets, but also a potential love that she does not know how to handle. She is running towards a decision under the guidance of God. She grapples with her past and her potential futures, she looks to the divine God for help throughout the novel. As a character, Liesl is impressive. It is amazing that she hasn't given in to the pressure or cracked with all that has happened to her and may happen to her. She is brave, intelligent, and creative. The secondary characters, particularly the love interest, will affect the reader in varying ways.

This novel is exciting and fast-paced, the reader will be hard-pressed to find a slow excerpt in the entire novel. The different environments and settings will serve to make the novel more exciting and innovative. The reader has many more books to look forward to from this author! This book is recommended to adult readers.

4 Stars

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This product or book may have been distributed for review, this in no way affects my opinions or reviews.

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Sue Duffy and her publisher, Kregel Publications, are celebrating the release of The Sound of Red Returning by giving away a Kindle Fire prize package worth over $200 to one lucky winner!!!! (1/23-2/11)

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