Fearful Symmetry

Sarah Selkirk Mystery #2

by Morag Joss

IN A CITY OF BEAUTY AND HISTORY, A LITTLE NIGHT MURDER IS BEING COMPOSED…

For world-class musicians, Bath is no mecca. But to cellist Sara Selkirk it is home, now invaded by an unbearably sexy Czech composer and his unheralded protégée, who is scoring an opera for a local company. Between the notorious composer and his untried student, Sara does not expect great music. Nor, however, does she expect murder….

With Sara caught up in a stormy relationship with a music-loving and very married police officer, she is privy to the investigation into the first killing. The next victim she knows personally, and Sara is sure of a connection. Alas, someone has composed a perfect score for murder. And she who can detect its melody first—will be the next to die….

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, British Literature, Detective, Mystery Thriller

396 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

She is the author of six novels, including the Sara Selkirk series, and the Silver Dagger winning Half Broken Things. She began writing in 1996 after a short story of hers was runner-up in a national competition sponsored by Good Housekeeping magazine. A visit to the Roman Baths with crime writer P.D. James germinated the plot of her first novel, Funeral Music, the first in the Sara Selkirk series, which gained a Dilys Award nomination for the year's best mystery published in the USA.

Series:
* Sarah Selkirk Mystery

Awards:
Crime Writers' Association Silver Dagger
◊ 2003: Half-Broken Things

Reviews

[Sara Bartlett · Rating 4 out of 5]

I need to read more of Morag Joss, this mystery was well thought out, great character development, interesting action and a good ending. I loved it, will read more.

[Beirut27 · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first meeting with Morag Joss literature was, unfortunately, when I read Half Broken Things, which to me felt like a poorer 'A Fatal Inversion', in my view the best novel by Barbara Vine.
I found FS in a secondhand bookshop and, fortunately, decided to give it a shot.
It's well-written, the characters are convincing, even if the twisted love affair between Sarah and her married policeman is a tad too complicated to be quite believable at times, the narrative is elegant, there are touches of humour, it is British literature at its best : impressionistic.
Now I can't wait to read at least the other two Selkirk mysteries Morag Joss has written.

[Louise · Rating 3 out of 5]

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[Linda Frances · Rating 3 out of 5]

Difficult for me to rate. I like the characters, but some of the situations seem pretty unbelievable.

[Erichtho]

as far as little paperback mysteries go this was fun, silly, self aware, and decently written. perfect vacation read🦭

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fearful Symmetry is the second in the Sara Selkirk series by Morag Joss. Before starting on this series, I read Our Picnics in the Sun, which involved quite a bit of psychological tension. The Selkirks are quiet little mysteries, but that's not to say that they're overly cozy or lacking in suspense. They draw heavily upon their setting, the unique English city of Bath, which does have an ambiance all its own. In Symmetry, much of the mystery occurs in one of the houses comprising Bath's famous Circus, where one of the residents, a famous retired opera singer, is attempting to stage an original opera based upon the city's history. The singer's adult daughter Adele is autistic, and has the unusual ability of remembering and reproducing symmetrical patterns, be they visual or auditory. The other 7 or 8 members of the company are varied and colorful as well, and their interactions are fun to observe.

Sara Selkirk is unusual in the literary world amateur sleuth-dom. A gifted cellist, she falls into criminal cases by coincidence, much like the Agatha Raisins and Miss Marples do. But although Sara can often discern facts and connections that the police miss, she's not so good at fashioning a coherent picture from them. This both fascinates and irritates Chief Inspector Andrew Poole, Sara's cello student and the married man with whom she is developing a passionate love affair.

The mystery opens with the delivery of a letter bomb to a harmless elderly woman who also lives at the crescent. Her stance against animal rights appears to have triggered a revenge killing. But a few days later, a second explosion kills Adele, and while CI Poole doubts that the two deaths are connected, Sara believes otherwise. Music fraud, ego, and unrequited love muddy the waters, and at times, Sara's obsessions about Andrew obscure the focus on her investigation and his.

The solution of the case is anything but simple, yet all the disparate pieces eventually come together to form the picture that both Sara and Andrew have struggled to construct. And the picture is not pretty. What will become of their romance remains to be seen.

[Lisa · Rating 1 out of 5]

Usually when I dislike a book as much as I disliked this one, I never finish it and I don't review it. However, when I was halfway through this one, I felt compelled to keep going, mainly because no one had died since the beginning of the story and I wanted to see who Ms. Joss killed. Of course, she killed the only character I actually found compelling. I wanted to throw the book across the room. Every character is petty, immature, plays games and manipulates everyone else. The two main characters, a cello player and her detective lover, never really listen to each other and treat each other fairly badly. As Ms. Joss was developing the cello player character, I found myself thinking, "Women really act like this? Professional women in their 30s? Really?" It is much the same reaction I have when I read Jodi Picoult or Laura Lippmann. I found myself comparing the book to Eclipse, which I read recently and also disliked the relationships between the characters, especially the romantic ones. However, at least Eclipse had a somewhat compelling plot. Nothing was resolved in Fearful Symmetry (except the mystery, such as it was), many plot threads were abandoned, and it was an altogether horrible read.

[KATHERINE · Rating 3 out of 5]

Being sick has it's advantages. I like Morag Joss' central sleuth Sara Selkirk. A classical cellist who comes to Bath to recover from performance anxiety and finds herself amid a typical British village of strange characters who like to knock each other off. Fearful Symmetry is the second in her Selkirk series and this one explores Sara's unconsummated affair with a very married police officer. The tension between Sara and Andrew is beautifully realized. Do they finally fall off the edge? I'm not telling. ;)

The central mystery around a community opera group (featuring Andrew's wife), an autistic but brilliant soprano and her stage mother, a temperamental Hungarian composer and a lost Chinese immigrant who seems unhealthily attached to the young autistic Adele.

I'm going to have to get the third in the series now...

btw, I loved Selkirk's Half Broken Things. Not a Selkirk mystery, but a beautifully constructed study of loneliness and what it can drive us to do.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an okay story. It was fun for me because it was centered in Bath, one of my favorite cities -- the attitude of the police detective bothered me because he was so close-minded. The music part of the tale, the famous present-day composers and the criticisms of the non-composers, was fascinating -- the criticisms reflected the way I feel. The cast of characters, wives, musicians, singers, a gay couple, etc was a good hodge-podge and having a community opera as a theme was a good way of "connecting" everyone. It's not one i'd read again (and esp since the pages fell away from the binding -- yeah for Kindle because i don't have that problem with it).

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book by Brit author Joss for its writing style, descriptions, characters, and relationships. As a mystery novel? Not so much. The mystery seemed lost in the shuffle of all of the characters and relationships for most of the book, and then, towards the end, I was actually able to guess the murderer (which I normally can never do). I will try another in this series, because I want to see what happens to protagonist Sara Selkirk. But I won't expect "a mesmerizing psychological thriller" as the quote on the book cover promised.

[Janellyn51 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read the first Sara Selkirk, and I'd read the 3rd already. I enjoy these books. I was watching a PBS show about Bath recently and I saw the Pump Room, and the baths and some of the architecture that features so prominently in these books and that was fun. This was a good mystery. I totally thought someone else did it....but it tied up the loose ends nicely in the end. It would be my advice, that if you have an pretty autistic daughter though, you should really keep a close eye on her, because this poor Adele kid, got used and abused, and half the men in this story should have been shot.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I continue to like this series - especially the setting (Bath) and the fact that the protagonist is a world-recognised cellist. It adds a lot to my enjoyment. The characters are interesting, and a plot is beginning to advance from book to book, which I always enjoy. I will definitely read the next one.

[Sherry · Rating 5 out of 5]

This mystery had me enthralled. The setting was what prompted me to read this book-I'd been to Bath and had loved it - but the attention paid to character development was what hooked me. The author is skilled in depicting conflicting desires and differing personalities as well as writing a novel that kept me guessing . I'm now a fan and will read all of her work.

[Rogue Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cellist Sara Selkirk is unwillingly drawn into the preparation of a local musical, and enmeshed in the affairs of a great composer who seems more of a fraud than a performer. Sara's ongoing almost relationship with the local (married) detective seems contrived and somewhat ridiculous. Love the historic setting of the works - someday will see Bath, England for myself.

[Bere · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mildly entertaining; feels more like the draft of a story that could have been much better constructed. Still, it delivers what is expected from a book one can purchase at an airport. Full of unnecessary physical descriptions of the characters, all of which are not even well accomplished. Or, maybe I am too picky.

[Jeeps (immovabletype)]

Full of small, petty characters and a similar view of their relationships. Perhaps this was intentional and depth would have been revealed eventually, but they're not people I want to spend that time with. Just not for me.

14% read.

[Sarah A · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really enjoyed the first part of the book, tolerated the second part and just skimmed the rest as had lost interest. Some parts were just so enjoyable and well written and other parts seemed almost like they were trying too hard.

[Anke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Een mooi boek, dat elke keer terugkomt bij het muziekstuk. Het is het tweede deel in een serie met Sarah Selkirk, je merkt wel dat er al eerder iets gebeurd is, maar het is prima los te lezen. Misschien ga ik nog meer boeken van deze schrijfster lezen.

[LInda L · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not so great -- not up to par with Half Broken Things. Kind of rambles on and on and not in an interesting way.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kindle edition

I liked the setting, Bath, England and thought that this was a pretty good except for some plot stretches that I couldn't quite buy into.

[Sharron · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have enjoyed a couple of her earlier books but this was ghastly.

[Spitz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hard to believe the same author wrote the wonderful Half Broken Things and Puccini's Ghosts.

[Priscilla · Rating 3 out of 5]

The mystery kept me guessing, but it took a long time to get through the novel.

[Bo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice fluff.

[JenniferB · Rating 3 out of 5]

Better than her previous novel, but simplistic in places

[Lindig · Rating 2 out of 5]

Characters not engaging.