When violinist Julia Ansdell first plays the moody minor-key, arpeggio-laced "Incendio Waltz," she blacks out—and awakens to find her young daughter involved in an act of violence. That sends Julia scurrying to speak with the sheet music's previous owner in Venice, where she uncovers a horrific secret that dates back to the Holocaust. A stand-alone from the author of the mega-best-selling "Rizzoli & Isles" series.

Gerritsen's stand-alone novel (after Last To Die) may surprise the fans of her popular "Rizzoli and Isles" series. This intriguing literary thriller seesaws between the past and present in a world very different from that inhabited by Gerritsen's usual characters. After performing abroad, professional violinist Julia Ansdell finds an enigmatic piece of music tucked into an old book in a dusty antique shop in Rome. When she arrives home and plays the haunting waltz, it sets off a succession of disturbing events involving her young daughter, Lily. Concerned with Lily's mental state and seeking to prove her own sanity, Julia returns to Italy to investigate the origins of the tune. In alternating chapters, the tale of Lorenzo Todesc, a Jewish violinist living in Venice in the days immediately prior to World War II, unfolds. He pursues his musical career, ignoring the looming threat to all he holds dear. VERDICT The historical details and subtle twists take this nicely paced novel out of the realm of an ordinary thriller. The pages fly by as the fates of Julia and Lorenzo are revealed. This might appeal to readers who enjoyed Geraldine Brooks's People of the Book. [See Prepub Alert, 8/20/15.]—Terry Lucas, Rogers Memorial Lib., Southampton, NY

On a trip to Rome, violinist Julia Ansdell, the narrator of this haunting standalone from bestseller Gerritsen (The Bone Garden), buys an old music book titled Gypsy from an antique shop. Inside the book, on a loose sheet of paper, is a handwritten waltz, Incendio, by one L. Todesco. Back home in Boston, Julia plays Incendio on her violin, but doing so appears to set off a series of calamities, starting with the death of the family cat, that upset her relationships with her husband, Rob, and their three-year-old daughter, Lily. Julia subsequently travels to Venice, to try to learn more about the music and its Jewish composer, Lorenzo Todesco. Flashbacks spanning 1938 to 1944 chronicle Lorenzo's tragic story, in particular his romance with Catholic Laura Balboni, as the Fascist regime's ever harsher anti-Semitic laws tear families and friends apart. Gerritsen movingly depicts Julia's search, which has some surprising repercussions and builds to a satisfying crescendo. Agent: Meg Ruley, Jane Rotrosen Agency. (Nov.)