I received this book as part of the Amazon Prime monthly pre-release books. For this reason (I was weirdly biased), I only read it when I had absolutely run out of other books that were readily at my disposal. I was pleasantly surprised though! I love a good mystery, especially one with a little historical background. Add to it a mysterious and wonderful violin and I was hooked!
It's been a long time since I read a book with a story that I just couldn't put down. Recently, my book choices have been based on literary merit, rather than story, so this was a change. There was also a bit of a romance novel string in it that I hated/secretly liked (still on the fence about it). I loved how the story was put together, the little pieces that really drew you into the mystery you wanted to solve just as badly as our protagonist, Lilly. The beautiful scenery of Indonesia, the appeal of London, the romance of it all. I thought it was really well done! An easy and enjoyable read.
There is one loose end that I thought could have been wrapped up a little better. When a stranger mysteriously drops this violin off at Lilly's shop, he says that the sheet music inside the case will clear things up for her. Instead, it is a mystery that never gets solved, holds no clues and is, in the end, disregarded by every character in the book. I found that unsatisfactory, as I found it a really interesting part of the mystery and the namesake for the book! A little disappointed by that.
p.s. Only swore, I want to say, twice. There's also one tiny (over in a flash) bit of a sex scene in the middle, which was, as Fat Amy put it best:
