Sheet Music

by M.J. Rose

(2003)

Publisher: Ballantine Books

From a seductive storyteller who dares to plumb the dark, passionate depths of the heart and soul comes an absorbing erotic thriller that is also a gripping tale of psychological suspense.

Grief-stricken Justine Pagett fled to Paris after her mother’s death, but scandal forces her back to the States to redeem her tarnished reputation as a journalist. Commissioned to write a piece on the eccentric classical composer Sophie DeLyon, Justine finds herself part of a mysterious deception. At Euphonia, the exclusive institution DeLyon created to nurture America’s most gifted music prodigies, a malevolent presence is composing a deadly work. Threatening cyber messages meant to intimidate convince a determined Justine that fascinating secrets await her. But when Sophie suddenly disappears, Justine’s assignment to mine the story behind the legend becomes an even greater challenge.

The disharmonious DeLyon family seems more interested in Sophie’s estate than in her artistic legacy, and a group of devoted fans is fiercely defending the name of the enigmatic genius. Wrestling with her own demons while searching for the truth, Justine is clear about one thing: Someone is orchestrating a deadly deceit . . . from which no one will emerge unscathed.

An expertly crafted opus of obsessive passions and poisonous shame, of brilliant achievements and brutal deception, Sheet Music confirms M. J. Rose’s place at the forefront of today’s top psychological suspense writers.