The Lost Melody

By: Joanna Davidson Politano

Narrated by: Amy Scanlon

When concert pianist Vivienne Mourdant’s father dies, he leaves to her the care of a patient at Hurstwell Asylum. Vivienne had no idea the woman existed, and yet her portrait is shockingly familiar. When the asylum claims she was never a patient there, Vivienne is compelled to discover what happened to the figure she remembers from childhood dreams.

The longer she lingers in the deep shadows and forgotten towers at Hurstwell, the fuzzier the line between sanity and madness becomes. She hears music no one else does, receives strange missives with rose petals between the pages, and untangles far more than is safe for her to know.

But can she uncover the truth about the mysterious woman she seeks? And is there anyone at Hurstwell she can trust with her suspicions?

Joanna Davidson Politano casts a delightful spell with this lyrical look into the nature of women’s independence and artistic expression during the Victorian era—and now.

©2022 Joanna Davidson Politano (P)2022 Recorded Books

Wonderful

This story is rich and beautiful. Joanna Davidson Politano is my current favorite author. I love the way that the characters grow and change and are so beautiful even in their brokenness. Because of their brokenness. Though this book is darker than her others, as it takes place in an insane asylum. It shows how light can pierce the darkest darkness. The story ends up being hopeful and redemptive, not depressing. Great ending! Oh, and I think this narrator is the best!!!

Beautiful story

Another wonderful story by Koanna Davidson Politano. Nicely narrated. The main character is lovely and nice weaving in of character from another story.

A Masterpiece

The topic is dark and haunting, but Politano beautifully weaves music in and through each strand of the complex story. At times I had no idea who was sane and who wasn’t, but I was certain light would eventually overcome the heavy darkness. And it did! Lovely narration that flows with the story’s changeable moods. Excellent listen!

Intriguing, but too long

Well, it took me some time to get into the story since there were to many jumps in the narration and all in all far too long. In between the story was somehow inconsistent for me. I lost the line of narration several times.
And yet I think it is a book worthy of listening to. The narrator ist excellent and makes up for the flaws in the narration.
As I have read two books (‚The Love Note‘ and ‚Lady Jane disappears‘) of the author, which were excellent, I was a bit disappointed with this one.

Hard to get through but loved the ending

Struggled as it did not go well for so long, but light glimmers of & on. So grateful it had God & light crescendos in the end.

Loved this

I love that Joanna writes this and all her stories to captivate her readers/listeners and pull them into the story as if they’re part of the story. This book had me hooked for sure! Oh the twist and turns, and the details that made me feel like I was right there in the story. I absolutely love that it’s also read by an English person to really put you in the right perspective of the story. I love listening and hearing the Bible scriptures tied into the story as well.

A beautiful book

Amidst the mystery of trying to find a missing lady in a despairing Victorian England insane asylum, I love that the heroine hears music in everything around here & sees the beauty in the mentally Ill bruised souls around her. But most importantly, she realizes God placed her in that dark place in ord

You have to make it to chapter 22

So I liked this book, but you have to stick with it. It really opens up around chapter 22. Is sorta sad too, but it has a nice ending.

Wonderful crescendo..

I wasn’t sure when the story started if I would enjoy it but I stayed engaged and the story developed beautifully. It’s story of hope

Excellent book

Yes, I also had a bit of a struggle getting through the necessary back story, but the book has a number of passages that are filled with incredible pathos and power. Thoughts that are credited to various famous composers at the start of chapters, some credited to the protagonists, and some also related in conversations between characters in the dialogue.

There are about 100 unread books in my library, but before getting to another one of them, I am going to listen to this book again then get another book by the same author. As I reread I will have a pen to write down some of these thoughts to remember, share, and continue to think about in depth into the future.