Celebrated pianist Maxim finds himself making unheard of errors during his latest tour. He flees to Paris to take time out for a teacher, and is reluctantly accompanied by his twin sister Natasha. For the last 10 years she has put her life on hold, acting as his manager and making sure he eats. Jealousy eats away at her. Max is feted by fans and admiring socialites wherever he goes. In Paris they stay at the luxurious home of patron Henri. Henri is fascinated by Max's talent and Natasha decides to make him hers. During the summer a cauldron of tension and emotions simmers and must eventually explode, with devastating results. Healey does a great job in prolonging the resentment and tension between the siblings, and Henri's role in it. I gained further enjoyment by accompanying my reading with some of the celebrated piano concertos mentioned.

This is a strange book about a triangular relationship between a famous musician, Max, his twin sister, Natasha, and a fabulously rich French Count. Natasha is accustomed to accompanying Max on tour and organising his life for him but, at some point, he starts to make mistakes and moves to Paris to practice and take lessons. The Count, Henri, invites him and Natasha to stay at his mansion and the story rises to a crescendo from there. The relationship between the twins is an unhealthy one spawned by an early childhood incident and, as they have grown, it is doomed to change. Henri is the agent of this change and his relationships with both brother and sister drive the story, like a piece of music, to a climax. It’s well written but requires some suspension of belief as the talented but insecure Max vies with the sexually awakening Natasha to attract the attentions of the ambivalent Count and, yes, it does rise to a crescendo at the end. (Crescendo is published by Random House UK. Thanks to the publishers and to NetGalley for an advance copy.)