The Lost Concerto

The Lost Concerto
Helaine Mario
Oceanview Publishing
Longboat Key, Florida
ISBN: 978-1-60809-151-5
2015
$ 27.95
435 pages

"Where words leave off. music begins."
Why would Sofia Orsini grab her young son and hide at a convent on a remote island off the coast to France?  Unfortunately, Sofia was died in a tragic accident there and her son, Tommy disappears.
The boy's godmother, Maggie O'Shea is haunted by the woman's death.  She had been her best friend.  Isn't is her responsibility now to find the boy?
Magdalena O'Shea who goes by the nickname Maggie owns Stewart's Music Shop, which she renamed The Piano Cat.   She doesn't make much money selling sheet music, her main source of income is being a concert pianist playing classical music. 
Raising a son alone for twenty years, the shop and professional music performance fees allowed her the much-needed extra income to raise a family.  Sometimes her joy revolved around her t-shirt collection with musical inspirations such as, "You are the music while the music lasts. T.S. Eliot."
At a Red Sox game, their lives changed when the two met John Patrick O'Shea.  His work as an award-winning investigative reporter was fascinating as well as his gift of bringing joy into their lives.
With no answers as to her friend's death and the location of her godson, John chose to visit the island and to use his personal and professional skills to find the truth.
Now Maggie is in mourning.   She doesn't think she will ever play professionally again.   Johnny died while on this quest for Maggie.
Someone then breaks into her store and home, stealing Johnny's computer files.   The loves in her life are gone.
Her only happiness is thoughts of her soon-to-be-born grandson.
All that changes when she hears a recording. This music haunts her.   This composition was written by her former love, the father of her son, but could never be finished.   Zachary Law was missing in action with his body never found after he had volunteered for a special mission in Lebanon years ago.   He never knew he had a son.
Colonel Michael Beckett has an agenda which coincides with Maggie's healing to again learn the past and how to live and love life and music.
The author, Helaine Marion is the founder and president of The SunDial Foundation, which is related to numerous nonprofit charities in the Washington D.C. area.  She resides in Arlington, Virginia, and Sarasota, Florida.  She has previously written the novel, Firebird.
The Lost Concerto is a unique mystery intricately entering the world of professional musicians while still maintaining the passion for the music, her loyalty to her godson and friend, and the story.   Each page masterfully unfolds to reveal a small piece of this intricately woven puzzle into an outstanding novel with realistic characters who are driven to their limits in achieving what they believe is right.
This is unquestionably one of my favorite books of the last few years from a little-known author.  I am looking forward to reading more of Helaine Mario's future books.