This month’s book review is the sequel to The Mussorgsky Riddle by Darin Kennedy. The Stravinsky Intrigue follows psychic Mira Tejedor as she is called upon to solve why little girls are suddenly leaving home only to be found unresponsive and in some kind of undefinable coma state. Also like The Mussorgsky Riddle, the answer seems to lie in the labyrinth mind of Anthony Faircloth. This time instead of being obsessed with Mussorgsky, he’s obsessed with Igor Stravinsky, specifically his “Firebird” ballet.
The book opens with Mira days away from making a permanent move to Charlotte to be closer to her boyfriend, psychologist Dr. Thomas Archer. In a few days her daughter will be joining her, but when the first little girl disappears and is found a day later in the middle of a park, not suffering from physical trauma but some kind of psychological trauma, her attention is diverted. Quickly she notices the similarity between the girl’s state and what happened to Anthony Faircloth the previous year. At first Mira wonders if Anthony somehow has something to do with it. The situation further escalates as more little girls follow the same pattern and a new possible suspect comes into play. With Mira’s contact with them and Anthony, she is soon sucked into an equally bizarre world as the one she was trapped in The Mussorgsky Riddle.
What I liked about this book is though it is a sequel, it’s one that lives up to the expectations set forth in the first book. Without the need to explain Mira’s abilities, the book is able to focus more on some of the supporting characters and tests the relationships between Mira and Dr. Archer and Anthony’s mother who is extremely reluctant to allow a much recovered Anthony from being dragged into the psychic link he and Mira have in order to help solve the case. All the characters returning from the first book are still interesting and develop further.
The twist in the book is well-done and Kennedy does a great job of getting the reader to question who is really behind the sinister plot. As you read you think it’s one person then another then you’re not sure at all until the twist occurs. It comes at a plausible point in the story without totally catching the reader off guard.
The pacing of The Stravinsky Intrigue is quite good though I think it was rushed a tad as more little girls turn up in the strange comatose state, but I don’t think the reader needs twelve different scenes. It would drag the story down.
Along with the pacing of the book, I think the ending was strong. Like the first book, it ties up the story and is not a cliffhanger as so often happens in a series. Though this is a sequel, it can be read without having read the first book. A reader doing that will not be lost, in my opinion. I actually like that as too often as a reader I’ve been frustrated to pick up an interesting looking book only to discover it’s not the first book in a series.
Overall, on a scale of 1 to 5 pencils, I give The Stravinsky Intrigue 4.5 pencils. A worthy and interesting sequel and I can’t wait for the next book.
DH Hanni 