Mazurka

(4 customer reviews)

Description

Music professor Gus LeGarde is about to embark on a European honeymoon with his new wife, Camille, when his socially challenged brother-in-law receives a mysterious invitation to visit an ailing relative in Germany. Siegfried can’t travel alone, but the newlyweds have no qualms over bringing him along.

Unfortunately, their idyllic vacation takes a dark turn at the first stop in Paris, when Gus and Siegfried are caught in a bloody street brawl with a group of neo-Nazis – and a flawed news report frames Siegfried for the murder of one of their leaders, thrusting him into the deadly group’s crosshairs.

After a narrow escape, Gus manages to bring his brother-in-law safely to Germany, where he hopes to both salvage the rest of the honeymoon and explore the shocking family secret that awaits there. But the events they’ve set in motion have far-reaching consequences, and the ruthless leader of the terrorist faction has lethal plans in store for Gus, Camille, and Siegfried – and ultimately, the world.

4 reviews for Mazurka

  1. Uvi Poznansky

    Mazurka is a thrilling story that weaves family, suspense and romance threads together, only to bring forth the essence hiding underneath. As the title suggests, that essence, to me, is music. Gus, a music professor, states at the beginning, “Most days I played Chopin’s mazurkas, nocturnes, waltzes… My soul was being cleansed as my fingers danced over the ivories.” His late wife, Elsworth: had a passion for his music, too, instilled in her since childhood, so their love used to resonate on that note, as well.

    On a honeymoon trip with his new wife, Camille, who has a history of abuse at the hands of her ex-husband, Gus is so gentle, so patient with her. Right from the start, this trip does not go as planned. “Hope glinted momentarily behind her long lashes util the plane quaked again.” The love scene is delicately described. Later, they visit places near and dear to his heart. “This is where he composed his last Mazurka, Camille.” And on second thought, he realizes, “I realized that when I sat at home in front of my old Mason and Hamlin piano and lost myself in one of Chopin’s melancholy nocturnes, I was closer to his genius than when I stood in front of this old building in Paris.”

    But even in this romantic location, which is so vividly captured in this book, trouble is brewing, when they are faced, time and again, with members of a neo-nazi group. “There is a great deal of fear out there now, fear of those fanatics organizing and gaining some political momentum.” There are chase and escape scenes that will leave you hanging by your nails… Until, in the end, a revelation that harkens back to the musical theme, when they discover a precious, never before published manuscript by Chopin, for the woman in his life. Thus, love and music are woven together once more, even in the face of fear and mishaps. “My hand trembled as I held the precious manuscript under the light.”

    The audiobook narrator, Lou Hecker, did justice to the writing, giving voice to Gus, giving a hesitant, soft voice to Camille, and endowing the other characters with different accents and intonations. I enjoyed his performance.

    Highly recommended. Five stars.

  2. Suzanne Nelson

    I loved this audiobook! It is filled with adventure, danger, romance, mystery, hatred, and bigotry, I cheered for the main characters as they endured life-threatening situations and escaped peril. The characters are so likeable and soon seem like familiar friends. They are unique and so real. The narrator is different from the first two books in the series, and his voice suits this book. He did a wonderful job! Although this audiobook is a standalone, listeners may have a better appreciation for the depth of the characters if they listen to the first two books in the series, Double Forte and Upstaged, prior to listening to this book. Aaron Paul Lazar is an amazing writer and this audiobook is one of my favorites! If you want to listen to a really good audiobook, try this one!

  3. Faith

    As I listened to this book I was reminded that there will always be people in the world that want only their own views and goals to be accepted by others. They are willing to do anything and go to any lengths to eliminate those who are different or disagree with them. Philosophies such as those have started wars, killed millions and are slow to fade away. This story was a good example of that and though it was fiction it was a good illustration of what happens even today. I was reminded of what is going on in our country even now in 2020. May God protect us from repeating history!

    I requested this audiobook from Audiobooks Unleashed and have voluntarily left this review.

  4. Faith

    I haven’t found a way to edit reviews so I am just adding this to the review above.

    This book in the Gus LeGarde Series was a lot more intense than the previous books I’ve read. Having said that, it was a thought provoking book. I don’t know how I would have reacted had any Germans crossed my path; I was not born during WWII nor did I know any Germans during my childhood. I do remember my mother being very negative about the “Japs” when I was small, years after the war, though I think it was a general dislike because one of her best friends was a Japanese lady. I can understand the feelings of people who lost family members in the war. This story really brought to light that we need to be aware that this kind of thing is still going on with groups in our country at present, with many of them still promoting such plans and ideas the same as the Nazis. The story also offers a lot of positive thoughts about the people who work to stop the actions of these groups.

    The story of family history is very interesting. Knowing that the personal family side is fiction, the historical information is fascinating. I am a true music lover and Chopin is one of my favorite composers. I’ve spent many hours at the piano playing his music. Also from the family perspective, the story is wonderful. It illustrates the true meaning and importance of family and family heritage.

    I am definitely ready for more of this series! I should mention that the narrators that work with Mr. Lazar have been top notch!

    I requested this audiobook from Audiobooks Unleashed and have voluntarily left this review.

Add a review