ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Sue Duffy is an award-winning writer whose work has appeared in Moody magazine, The Presbyterian Journal, Sunday Digest, and The Christian Reader. She is the author of Mortal Wounds (Barbour, 2001), Fatal Loyalty (Kregel, 2010), and The Sound of Red Returning (Kregel, 2011). Sue has also contributed to Stories for a Woman’s Heart (Multnomah). She and her husband, Mike, have three grown children.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

After losing everyone she loves, concert pianist Liesl Bower has nowhere to go but to escape into her music. Searching for the peace she usually finds in her concertos and sonatas, Liesl can’t shake the feeling that she is being haunted by her past . . . and by someone following her. When she spots a familiar and eerie face in the audience of a concert she’s giving for the president in Washington, DC, the scariest day of her life comes back to her with a flash.

It has been fifteen years since Liesl watched her beloved Harvard music mentor assaulted on a dark night in Moscow and just as long since the CIA disclosed to her that he’d been spying for Russia. She had seen that man-that eerie face-the night Professor Devoe was attacked. And now he’s back-and coming for her.

ENDORSEMENTS:

“Sue Duffy has mixed the mayhem of political intrigue with the melody of romance.” —Dick Bohrer, author, editor, and former journalism professor

“Intrigue and suspense come together in an incredible story of love and betrayal, commitment and courage, power and danger . . . and a God who controls it all. Sue Duffy is a wonderfully gifted writer and this book is a must-read.” —Steve Brown, founder and president of Key Life and host of Steve Brown Etc.

If you would like to read the first chapter of The Sound of Red Returning, go HERE.

Learn more about Sue and her books on her Website.

MY REVIEW:

Just as I was beginning to think that “The Sound of Red Returning” might be a slow and possibly boring read, it grabbed me and took me for an incredibly suspense filled ride. Although the plot moves at a fast pace, the author gives the reader occasional breaks that include flashbacks, a bit of humor, or even a brief romantic interlude. Then it’s right back to the action and suspense as an unlikely team of U.S. law enforcement agencies and citizens rush to prevent a major world disaster at the hands of the Russians.

Did I say Russians? I thought any threat from Russia ended when the Soviet Union was dissolved. Well, tell it to the Russians. Apparently there are some who aspire to achieving the world domination planned by the old regime and they believe that Liesl Bower, concert pianist holds the key to a secret her mentor discovered before his death fifteen years earlier. When Russian agents attempt to find the information Liesl isn’t even aware she has, her life suddenly takes a drastic turn and she is no longer in control of it.

Several secondary characters are introduced throughout this story and each of them add extra dimension to an engaging story. Liesl’s personal history also has significant bearing on her reactions. At times the plot moves so swiftly that I had to pay close attention to keep up with what was going on and at least one subplot was a bit confusing at times. However, everything tied together well at the end and I even think that some of the confusion may have been intentional to keep the reader just a bit off balance. A strong spiritual message was skillfully knit into the story and one surprise near the end was especially touching.

I thoroughly enjoyed “The Sound of Red Returning” and look forward to the next installment of this three book series.