Swan Music

by Sarah Harrison

Bryn Mancini was born under a lucky star. As he celebrates his silver wedding, he rejoices in a beautiful wife, handsome grown-up children and the house of his dreams overlooking a bend in the river. But something dreadful is drifting downstream to his door. Apollonia Durrance is a misfit, the emotionally neglected youngest child of an entirely selfish marriage. Her strongest influence is a man she never her great grandfather, John Ashe. Appi thinks marrying for money might bring her the security she craves, but on her wedding day she meets again the only man who has haunted her dreams. From the moment of this second meeting, two tragic destinies are set.

Hardcover

First published February 14, 2005

Reviews

[N · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love a good dark atmospheric book, full of twisty folk with heavy agendas. Lost a star for the ending - I do hate a ........ type ending........

[Debi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really bad ending to the story line. Plus was a hard book to get into, I skimmed allot of pages and just read what I found interesting.
Allot of unanswered questions to the story line as well.

[Margaret Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Haunting and beautifully written.

[Celia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this up in the library, attracted by the cover and the blurb. It begins with a woman's body being washed up on a river bank, and then we move back in time, following the characters to see how they end up at this moment.

It's a rather sprawling book, partly because of the period of time it covers and the numerous characters, but also because of all the plot points - we have a mysterious painting, an illegitimate child, a secretive marriage, a period of abuse, an affair, and so on and so forth, all woven in together. Api, one of the main characters, puzzled me - I didn't fully understand her motivations, and felt rather unsympathetic towards her. In fact, all the characters in this book are somewhat self centered, but Api is certainly the worst.

Although I wish I had understood her better, and therefore understood and appreciated the end of the book better (rather than closing it and thinking, "Oh - that's it? OK..."), it was still an enjoyable book, and I think I'd check out something else by the same author. (Oooh - it looks like The Nightingale's Nest is a sort of prequel to this - however, as I wasn't crazy about the characters I'm not sure I'd pick it up.)

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

An easy and undemanding read. Until about halfway through I found myself switching off as the plot and characters did not really engage or interest me. However, as Abi's character and relationships (particularly her obsession with Bryn) developed and the plot outcome became less certain my interest grew. A reflective analysis of Abi's realtionships after the book concludes could make for an interesting discussion with others. What did happen to Abi finally? I must confess I'm still not absolutely sure!

[Laraine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'd rate this wonderful read a 4 1/2-5 star book. Sarah Harrison is a wonderful storyteller, keeping you enthralled with her excellent writing. This book is the first in a trilogy..it tells interconnecting stories of interesting people, Bryn Mancini, an architect and his family, Api Durrance whose shambolic family was left behind as she changed herself into someone cool and elegant and whose marriage to a hotel scion connected her with Bryn and his wife. An old family portrait of a brooding ancestor adds to the mix and also connects the two families. A terrific read.

[Tracy]

Dreadful. I trawled my way through this tomb of a book, with a whole series of sub plots that served no ultimate purpose, constantly thinking some great mystery or twist was going to be revealed, only for the ending to be completely flat and uninteresting. Although there was a huge sense of relief that the book was finished.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good book...many layers...intersting characters.