Book Review: The Lost Melody by Joanna Davidson Politano

The Lost Melody (A Midnight Dance #2). Joanna Davidson Politano. Fleming H. Revell (2022). 378 pages. Genre: Historical Fiction, Christian Fiction.

First Lines: "Hurstwell Asylum. One day in late May of the year 1886, I found myself imprisoned in the Hurstwell Pauper Lunatic Asylum.  This was unconscionable - I had never been a pauper."

Summary:  When Vivienne Mourdant's father dies, he leaves her with many debts to pay as well as the guardianship of a ward at the Hurstwell Pauper Lunatic Asylum.  The ward's name is Rosamond Swansea and Mr. Mourdant had been paying for her care for years. This was a surprise to Vivienne.  However, there is something familiar about that name.  

When Vivienne inquires about Rosamond at the Asylum, she is told there is not a patient there by that name and never was.  In order to find out what is going on, Vivienne gets a job as an aid under a false name.  Soon she is struggling to tell what is true and what is false.  She hears music that no one else hears, she finds notes that seem to be written to her.  Something is not right in this place, but will she be able to discover what it is before she succumbs to madness?  

My thoughts: This was a beautifully written, atmospheric book that will stick with me for a while.  I didn't realize until after I had read it that it is the second book in a series.  I had no problem picking this up without reading the first one.  

Vivienne is a concert pianist whose father was very demanding.  So much so that he would punish her by locking her in the larder if she didn't play well.  She does grieve his death, but more than anything, she is relieved he is gone.  Even as a grown woman, she still fears the dark.  As she begins working at the Asylum, she has many secrets to keep.  This becomes harder as her work days become longer and her nights become shorter.  She is trying to discover if anyone has heard of Rosamond and where she might be now.  I was kept on the edge of my seat, turning pages to find out what was going to happen.  

The story is set in Victorian England with the Asylum being located at the edge of the Moors.  The author's description of the interior of the building had me feeling like I was walking the hallways.  There is even a tower on the property that employees are forbidden from entering.  

There are two doctors at the Asylum, along with several nurses who are in charge.  Each of them has a distinct personality and the reader is never quite sure what to think of them.  We also get acquainted with some of the inmates.  

Music is a major theme in the book.  Most chapters open with a quote from a famous composer.  The concept of music therapy was quite interesting and is woven throughout the story.   Some of the other themes are mental health, sanity, light and darkness, appreciating where you are at right now, asking God why?, the value of every human, and serving others.  

This book deals with some very hard topics, but it does so in a beautiful and hope-filled way.  This was my first book by Joanna Davidson Politano, but I am looking forward to reading more from this author.

Quotes:

"How odd that here, of all places, I should find like-minded souls, yet it was the only place in all of England protected from the influence of society's disapproval."

"How delicate the line was between sanity and madness."

"Layers peeled away before my eyes, and I glimpsed the inner workings of God's creation - a heartbeat and pattern that tied everything together.  An expression of his sense of order and creativity placed within humans - even the ones who were deemed lost in all other ways."

"We're all of us told to walk in the light, but we don't.  We simply wish to drag the light over to where we're already standing, so we may better see the path we've set out for ourselves."