The Brahms Deception

by Louise Marley

In her highly intriguing new novel, Louise Marley masterfully intertwines the past and present with a mystery surrounding one of the world's greatest composers. . .

The Brahms Deception

Music scholar Frederica Bannister is thrilled when she beats her bitter rival, Kristian North, for the chance to be transferred back to 1861 Tuscany to observe firsthand the brilliant Johannes Brahms. Frederica will not only get to see Brahms in his prime; she'll also try to solve a mystery that has baffled music experts for years.

But once in Tuscany, Frederica's grip on reality quickly unravels. She instantly falls under Brahms' spell-and finds herself envious of his secret paramour, the beautiful, celebrated concert pianist Clara Schumann. In a single move, Frederica makes a bold and shocking decision that changes everything. . .

When Frederica fails to return home, it is Kristian North who is sent back in time to Tuscany to find her. There, Kristian discovers that Frederica indeed holds the key to unraveling Brahms' greatest secret. But now, Frederica has a dark secret of her own-one that puts everyone around her in devastating peril. . .

Praise for Mozart's Blood

"Eerie, beautiful. . .has a poetic, haunting sense of time and place." -Stephanie Cowell, author of Marrying Mozart

"Riveting, original. . .filled with the emotional power and intricate twists and turns of a Mozart opera." -Teresa Grant, author of Vienna Waltz

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Time Travel, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Historical, Historical Romance

374 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2011

About the author

Louise Marley, a former concert and opera singer, has published nineteen novels. As Louise Marley, she writes fantasy and science fiction, including THE TERRORISTS OF IRUSTAN and THE CHILD GODDESS. Writing as Cate Campbell, she published the historical trilogy BENEDICT HALL.

Reviews

[Joy D · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this combination of science fiction and historical fiction, a method of time travel for observational purposes goes awry when one of the travelers decides to break the rules of engagement. The plot centers around a trip to the Italian countryside of 1861 to observe the composer Johannes Brahms and determine the meaning behind one of his musical annotations.

Not my usual fare, but I thoroughly enjoyed it, especially the historical material about the lives of Robert and Clara Schumann, and Johannes Brahms. It inspired me to look up more information on the lives of these composers. A thread of romantic interest runs through it, but it is not a traditional romance (the cover is misleading). The content includes a fair amount of sex, which was intrinsic to the storyline and did not feel gratuitous. The characters are well-drawn, and the writing is elegant. This book requires the reader to accept that time travel into the past could be possible, but once disbelief is suspended, the story is unique, suspenseful, and quite compelling. It would have been nice to have included more explanation of the “how and why” behind the time traveling.

Rich in period detail, it includes musings on selfishness, ethics, and how society has changed since the nineteenth century. The author is a former opera singer, so she knows her subject matter. Recommended to fans of classical music and time travel stories. It reminded me a bit of the movie Back to the Future, except it goes further back into the past and there are no DeLoreans involved.

[Lori · Rating 2 out of 5]

Warning: This review, which includes a summary of the book and my opinions about said book, likely contains plot spoilers. If you haven't read this book and you really want to, you might consider skipping my review. Unless you're on the fence... in that case, you might want to read on; just be aware that my review will likely spoil the plot for you.

The description (here at Goodreads.com and likely on the book's inside jacket) is somewhat misleading... it infers more drama and more romance that is actually in the book. And the cover makes Frederika (my assumption) look like a real beauty. Problem is, the cover's dress and style don't even fit the time period!!! And Frederika is anything but a beauty.

Frederika, it turns out, is a highly driven, rich, spoiled girl -- reminiscent of Veruca Salt from "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory". Why her daddy's money can't buy her beauty is beyond me. But it *can* buy Frederika her wildest dream: to observe her hero and obsession, Johannes Brahams, on a 2-week holiday in Italy in 1861. Yes, it's possible through this book's sci-fi/technology invention of "remote transfer", a mechanism that allows one to travel to a specific time and place in the past, and to observe. The "Observer" is like a spirit -- he/she can see, hear, and smell, but not touch; he/she can move at will, but cannot be seen or heard by the actual participants of that time and place.

Frederika has become a musicologist, obsessed with Brahms and willing to do anything to see him in-person, as it were, and complete a thesis for a doctorate study. She was vying with Kristian North, a poor boy from the wrong-side-of-the-tracks of Boston; Kristian is a musicologist pursuing his doctorate on Brahms, too, but Kristian's real passion is Clara Schumann, widow of Robert Schumann, who was Brahm's mentor.

When Frederika takes her stolen "remote transfer" session, she doesn't return, causing quite an uproar for the techy crew and the doctor. All her vital signs are fine; Frederika just never woke up. So Kristian goes in after her. And he discovers that Frederika took her passion/obsession too far -- in her "remote transfer" state, she managed to possess Clara, who is with Brahms on this holiday -- a love affair that no one and no history book ever knew about. Frederika takes full advantage of her possession of Clara's body to delight in sexual intimacy with Brahms. Kristian, upon returning to his body from his "remote transfer" session, is hesitant to tell the truth, fearing that he'll endanger Clara's reputation if anyone finds out she had an affair with Brahms. WHAT???

That is the point in this story that I was hopelessly lost. I understand why Kristian would be so upset that Frederika, who has no morals and no compassion, would possess Clara's body and use Clara and Brahms to further her own obsession. But why should Kristian CARE about Clara's reputation, 150 years later? Especially to a group of techy scientists who don't even care; they could certainly be persuaded not to reveal this fact. And it muddies up the whole issue of Frederika's horrid actions, because Kristian won't tell anyone what happened. He simply keeps trying to go back and figure out how to undo what Frederika has done. UGH!

As Frederika digs into Clara's body, she starts to change history. A little song that Clara wrote disappears forever. At one point, the history of Brahms and Clara completely changes, making Clara into a trollop who deserted her family for Brahms and dies a tragic death around 1871, because Brahms wanted nothing to do with her, nor did anyone else in polite society. And the more remote transfers Kristian undertakes, the more time lapses he has -- losing time or confusing time. And the time lapses might be permanent.

So FINALLY Kristian 'fesses up. (While surprised, it didn't appear as if anyone in the techy group planned to run right out and publish it - duh!) And they send Kristian back one more time to try to bring Frederika back and salvage Clara's life. Except Kristian finds it much more difficult that he expected. There's a knock-down-drag-out fight that results in Frederika/Clara practically falling down a staircase. And in the end, Kristian must do what he despised -- the very thing that Frederika did. He must possess Brahms' body to pull Frederika away. Clara regains possession of her body, as does Brahms. Kristian returns, worse for the wear. But Frederika never does return; it seems her "spirit" gave up somewhere along the way. The last we see of her, her rich family is taking her away in a perpetual coma.

There's a lot of potential in this book... but it's spoiled by the silliest of soap-opera melodramatic plot devises: a "hero" who won't reveal the truth and selfishly tries to fix things on his own until he realizes he's out of his depth. Sure, the story would have been over with much sooner. Oh wait. No, it wouldn't. Because along the way, whether you like it or not, you're treated to an in-depth personal history of Clara, Kristian, Frederika, and to some extent, Brahms. These "histories" are interspersed with the real-time happenings; and usually done well, so that you get just the pieces of info you, the reader, need to continue reading and understand what's happening or will happen next.

But overall, I found the book so unbelievable, with such wasted potential and over-blown drama, I wasn't even sure I wanted to finish reading it. Good thing I got a bargain buy on an ebook from Amazon.com!

[Bookaholics · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Brahms Deception by Louise Marley
Paranormal Historical Romance - July 26th, 2011
4 1/2 stars

Kristian North lost the prized music scholarship to a girl named Frederica Bannister. If he had been chosen, he would be one of the few people to do Remote research - a time travelesque method where a person travels back to the past as an observer. But something horrible had goes wrong when Frederica is ‘transferred’ to 1861 to meet Brahms. She does not wake up even after the scientists tried to bring her back.

Kristian was asked to ‘transfer’ to 1861 and find out what happened to Frederica and bring her back. But what Kris never expects to find is that Frederica had ruthlessly and easily possessed Brahms’ lover’s body - Clara Schumann. Frederica has an unnatural obsession with Brahms. And wants to stay. Can Kris save Clara and stop Frederica?

This was a wonderful and tense read especially when there are so many limitations on the process of transferring to the past. When a person is “transferred” to the past, they are like ghosts, unable to interact with anyone or anything, which made Kris’s rescue mission so much harder!

I really enjoyed this book even though the romance is pretty light. This is primarily a thriller with a side helping of romance between the doctor Chiara and Kristian and Brahms and Clara. Still, I could not put down the book at all. I had to know how Kris plan to stop the evil and pitiful Frederica from ruining Clara’s life!

Intriguing and fast paced, this sci-fic is very different from the typical formulaic time-traveling story. It’s very hard for me to write more without spoiling the story, but if you like a good story that combines different genres, you should definitely give this book a try!

Reviewed by Pauline from the Bookaholics Romace Club

[Deborah Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been a fan of Louise Marley's work for years now. By a wonderful coincidence, I had just begun learning the Brahms piano piece, Waltz in A Flat, when I read The Brahms Deception. For an adult beginner with small hands, playing Brahms amounts to an exercise that rivals the most complex yoga postures. The man apparently had immense hands and wrote music that he could play, refusing to compromise with anyone else's limitations. Except, apparently, those of the brilliant concert pianist Clara Schumann. Brahms was hopelessly in love with Schumann, but biographers do not agree on whether the relationship ever went beyond the platonic. Here Marley's imagination finds fertile ground as scholars use time travel for their researches, and an unstable, emotionally needy music historian enters into the world of Brahms and Schumann...at the country house where they have a secret tryst. When the historian does not return as scheduled, a second is sent in search of her. Marley combines drama, mystery, the perils of time travel and changing history, and delicious appreciation for the music, artistry and passion of two immensely gifted musicians. If you don't read science fiction, read this anyway. If you do read science fiction but don't know anything about classical music, read it anyway, too.

[Heidi (can’t retire soon enough) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was not the book I thought I was picking up. Still, I did like it and there were several nice scenes of tension. However, the ending felt abrupt, disconnected and then nearly redeemed itself, which is why it wasn't a four- star read for me. I did enjoy the 1861 scenes and learned more about Brahms. Schumann's character seems the best drawn character in the book!

[Dawn Cook · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the book was a great story.

[Allison · Rating 5 out of 5]

A little sci-fi mixed with historical fiction and romance. Loved this book. What a cool idea the author expanded upon. Can't wait to read another of her novels.

[Neeuqdrazil · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this one. It took a bit to get into it, but by the end, I didn't want to let the characters go.

[Stephanie Krause · Rating 3 out of 5]

After reading Mozart's Blood, this was NOT the story I expected, but an enjoyable enough read due to Ms. Marley's writing.

[Victor Vilchiz · Rating 2 out of 5]

OMG this DRAG soooooo much. No way am I looking for the next book.

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm probably not the target audience for this book, and indeed it was not for me. The story started weakly with one of the point-of-view characters examining her reflection in a mirrored surface. It did not get better.

The characters never seemed true. Almost without exception, the author depicted good people as beautiful, noble, and poor (and if they were a woman, they were small), while depicting bad people as ugly, rich, and controlling (and, if a woman, big -- the villain even had big feet and ugly hair). The author might as well have given the poor villain a moustache to twirl to complete the picture. The hero's flaw felt much more like a "flaw" and was told instead of shown. The POV characters from modern times were supposed to be from academia didn't feel academically minded, and I had trouble with the hero being so passionate about a female composer and feminism. Felt like the author was trying to pander to her readers.

I didn't care for the artlessly repetitive names. Friederich, Frederick, Frederica, and Erika. Erika was the hero's sister and it grated on me that he called her Rik. Clara, Catherine, and Chiara. All this felt very heavy-handed.

I didn't care for the fact that the hero kept the secret for so long, and I didn't like the ultimate resolution. It felt unfair to the innocent people in the past who were being interfered with. Also felt like the author was trying to milk more from her story rather than allowing it to unfold organically.

There were a few odd details that were surprising for so recent a book. For one, the young protagonists relied on landlines. I'm not sure when the author wrote this, but I think the landlines should have been all edited out in favor of cell phones. The landlines gave the piece a very strange feel.

When the story ended, there were three more chapters to wade through that should have been pared down and wrapped neatly into a tidy little epilogue.

What bothered me most was the sci-fi element. The "transferring." I don't think the author thought this through. She added protesters to her story who didn't understand the "science" and feared that the timeline would be messed up. What about invasion of privacy?!?! I wanted to scream at the "researchers" in the book completely ignoring the fact that what they were doing was invasive, amoral, and unethical. Spying on people, no matter the century they live in, is always wrong. Nobody gave their consent to being watched.

Of all the bookclub questions in the back (which were a little cheap and silly), I was surprised the one they didn't ask was how people felt about the possibility of having a more definitive view of the past through were something like transference possible. Do we have any right to go back to witness the past? I say no. Unreservedly no.

[Rainbowjay · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read three books by the same author, Louise Marley. I feel the need to write a singular review for all three. The plots are not the same, nor are they dealing with the same genres(one is more of a romance, one more science fiction, one more mystery/adventure). They are however drawn together with a singular plot device, classical music, and how it connects people throughout the ages.
The first book I read was The Braham’s Deception. This was the more science fiction based book. It dealt with time travel and actually going back to see Braham himself. Anything more then that on the plot would reveal to more of the plot but a wonderful book!
The second book I read was Mozart’s Blood. This one I had trouble with. Not an issue with the book itself but I personally just am NOT a fan of Mozart. This is written more as a romance, even to the point of following the opera of Don Giovanni. That was another point that made the book harder for me to deal with as I have never seen, heard or read the opera.
The third book I read was The Glass Butterfly. This book is more of a mystery/ adventure book. The music in this book doesn’t seem as obvious until later in the book and when it does it deals with Puccini a more modern composer. There are elements of science fiction in this book but they are secondary to the main mystery plot. This is a good mystery as is keep me guessing fairly far into the book as opposed to most mysteries where I understand immediately what is happening.
Overall these are great books. At times, I found I had trouble with some of the language(parts are written in Latin, German, French and Italian to give a authentic feel). I also struggled with the music references as I am not a fan of classical music. I like most music though and can understand how music can be a driving force in our lives which is the point the author is trying to convey. I have previous read her Singers of Nevya series which I immensely enjoyed so I expected nothing less of this great author. I just wish she had picked a different genre of music on which to demonstrate her point. I did read the authors notes and understand her choice of opera. Louise Marley is a classically trained opera singer. However not everyone is. I still liked the books and would recommend them to everyone, especially those who had a vested interest in classical music.

[Amy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had high hopes for this book. Author, Louise Marley, has written feminist-themed s/f books that I've enjoyed. Her writing's even been nominated for a James Tiptree Award (for f/sf that deals with gender issues).

And the premise seemed so promising -- time travel romance meets alternate history of classical music, a sort of hybrid between Amadeus and Connie Willis's The Doomsday Book. A young musicologist goes back in time to solve some mysteries about the career of Johannes Brahms.

As in most of these stories, time travelers must avoid any inadvertent changes to the past. And, as in most of these stories, the narrative is driven by a violation of these rules. The researcher, driven by her proverbial demons, decides to stay in the past and has to be extracted by another time-travelling musicologist.

So why did I almost give up on this book several times?

The main antagonist, the one who messes with the past, is so unlikeable in such a stereotypical way. (Spoiler describing plot points early in the book.) She's described as plain -- by herself and by other characters -- and her bitterness over being ignored by men and her jealousy over the beautiful and talented Clara Schuman's relationship with Brahms is a big part of the motivation for the actions that turn her into the story's villain.

Disappointing.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a completely fabricated account of Brahm's relationship with Clara Schumann interwoven with the stories of two musicologists who are able to go back in time to observe them. I liked Kristian as a character and I was prepared to like Frederica during the first chapter, but holy crap, did she ever become a selfish bitch!
Parts of the time traveling reminded me a little of Doomsday Book by Connie Willis, in that there are people in the future who know that something has gone wrong in the past with their researcher, but they're not entirely sure what to do about it.
As a musicologist myself, this was a fun, quick little read about Brahms and Clara. I think Marley could have made even more of the theme about how far you're willing to go in your research - what lines you might be willing to cross if you were given a completely unique opportunity to delve into your subject.
But mostly, this book made me want to go back to Tuscany! Marley includes some mouthwatering descriptions of food in both the present and past settings.

[Phoebe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is another of Louise Marley's intriguing time-travel stories, richly enhanced by her deep knowledge and love of classical music. A talented but unattractive (and ultimately dastardly) young woman pianist travels to 19th century Italy to eaves-drop on Brahms and Clara Shuman. Her emotional needs are so overwhelming that she breaks the rules and interferes and a monitor must be sent to get her back. The story is pretty straight-forward, but the telling of it is a sensitive, funny sometimes, always warmly human and, like life itself, complicated. The cover doesn't do it justice and makes it look like a romance. It must assuredly is not a penny dreadful. There is romance, of course, to be found in the warm Italy countryside, but it is much more than that. I've recommended it to my classical music friends. They love it as much as I do.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

The cover of the book is misleading and is not a period romance. A new scientific discovery makes it possible to return to a previous time and be a "remote observer." Francesca, a musicologist, returns to Italy in 1861, to a vacation spot that the composer Brahms has rented. When she arrives, there is a surprise. Clara Schumann, widowed from Robert for 5 years, has joined him for the two week stay. Then trouble occurs. Francesca "disappears." Another musician, Kristian, is sent to discover what went wrong. The book was a slow start but I'm glad I persevered and enjoyed the novel. Brahms is one of my favorite composers. It imagines him at age 28, tall and muscular, blue eyed and not the old man with the beard we usually remember his as.

[Marathon County Public Library]

“The Brahms Deception” is a music history meets sci-fi thriller novel. When a musicologist travels back in time to unravel a mystery that has haunted musicians for centuries, her rival must find a way to undo the damage she creates. The book has an unexpected and interesting premise and well-developed -- if slightly stereotypical -- characters. The average reader may want to brush up on their music theory before tackling this novel.

Amy R. / Marathon County Public Library
Find this book in our library catalog.

[Lizbett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay I've never disliked a main character in a book (ie. the person whose perspective we read the book from) I've read like ever. But oh my god, I wanted to KILL Federica half the time like STOP FEELING SO SORRY FOR YOURSELF. Swear to god I just wanted to be done with this book so many times, but I just wanted to finish it to see how it ended. The concept was definitely interesting, but having Federica as one of the main characters just made me hate her so much it was surprising. I liked Kris and everyone else, just Federica pissed me off a lot.

[Mandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

My mom gave this to me because of the classical music aspect. Too bad I’m not really a Brahms fan, but more of a Chopin or Mozart sort of a girl.

This story follows two musicologists that get a chance to observe Brahms back in his time. The going back in time aspect was pretty unique and interesting, but I kept hoping for some scientific explanation for how they accomplish it. The heroine of this book is so one-sidedly horrible with a lack of emotional depth. But, overall it’s an entertaining read that I didn't have to buy myself. ;-)

[Mitchell Friedman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ugh. I have liked Louise Marley's books in the past but this one is even worse than the cover art. I read it as an Endeavour Award book - and it is loosely time-travel but it's more fair to label it Paranormal Romance. And for the first half of the book I absolutely just plain hated it - the concept, the hero, the villain. It ended better than it started and it was written well. But it was was not something I appreciated.

[Nicole · Rating 1 out of 5]

hated most of the characters by the time I was halfway thru and gave up. Other people's summaries convinced me it would not improve. themes are: ugly people are evil and pretty people are good. The plot hinged on two unbelievable things: a rich woman who hates being ugly, but aparently getting plastic surgery never occurred to her; and a guy who keeps a ridiculous secret to preserve the reputation of someone who died centuries ago. AND the other man female is a Mary Sue. Arrgh.

[Charleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This could have been a really great story. As it was, it was only okay. My favorite parts of the book were those discussing Clara's life and the music itself, while the plot and the modern day characters fell a little flat in comparison. Still, most of my disappointment comes from my own very high expectations. Between the subject matter and the time-travel premise, this definitely had the potential to be a 5-star book for me. It just wasn't executed in a way that suited my taste.

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. Just...wow. Not only was the concept original and unique, but the way Louise explored the human side of what could've been a very tech-y story was great. I almost want to visit with these characters again.

Louise always does so well adding music to her text. I've enjoyed almost all of her work and really recommend her novels to anyone interested in unusual musical stories.

[Lindsay · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not a romance novel. The cover design is misleading in that respect. The author initially sets up Frederica as a sympathetic character and Kristian as unlikeable, but it quickly becomes evident that Frederica is a villain and Kristian is a complicated hero, who we like more and more as the novel goes on. Interesting execution of a time travel story.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Received through Goodreads giveaway.

The cover makes it look like a romance novel, but if anything it's a blend of sci-fi and history. The story was interesting, as was the commentary it provided on nostalgia. However, the ending was a bit weak and there were some frustrating loose ends.

[SpecialK · Rating 2 out of 5]

A fun book about the consequences of time travel. The plot is predictable though. I like that the setting was about one of my favorite composers and about the creative process of music as I don't see that in most books I read.

[Janna]

Review coming. It will discuss the proliferation of commas, as well as the strangeness of reading a book about piano-playing musicologists as a composer who has no head for history and does not play the piano.

[Vicky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting premise. Fun. Probably wouldn't have read it if it were about someone other than Brahms, but I'm glad I did.

[Janice · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting take on "time travel". The flow of the novel, betwqeen 1861 (Brahms) and modern times was smoothly done.

[Barbara Callahan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very interesting book. I could hardly put it down. It
certainly had a few twists I wasn't expecting.