This was one of those rare books that just tickled a forgotten part of my brain in the best way. I was a violist from age 9 all the way through college, and often picked up an instrument or tuned in to some classical music as a way to decompress my more science-heavy studying (and activate my right brain!) well into my late 20’s. Between work, kids, and the daily grind, time spent closing my eyes and enjoying a melancholy cello solo gave way to 100 Top Disney Hits and surgery podcasts 😅


But no longer! This mystery is delightfully music-themed, with multiple references to classical music pieces and a cast full of quirky, complex musicians. Allegra, our protagonist, is the administrator of a nonprofit arts board in coastal Maine. Each summer, the town hosts a festival with an orchestra composed of talented artists from across the country. This year is expected to be different, and not necessarily in a good way, when a shocking murder rocks both the music world and the small town. When Allie’s own father is identified as the prime suspect, she has to think fast to find the real murderer before it’s too late.


This was definitely a fun, old-fashioned whodunnit. There were plenty of red herrings, questionable motives, and worthy suspects before the killer is finally revealed. One 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘺 charming detail is that the author has built a Spotify playlist with all of the music referenced in the book, which I truly, truly enjoyed!! I’ll definitely use this read as a reminder to stop and smell the roses (or listen to some classical music) more often!

It was great to read a thrilling detective story with a full soundtrack of classical and more popular songs sprinkled all over. I enjoyed the plot, tried to narrow the list of suspects... The few chapters suddenly describing in great details the future possible murder weapons were a little too obvious but because they were multiple it didn't completely give away the killer.
It was appreciated that each character had a little chapter about their past and feelings to give them a little depth.
Typos: I think the ones in the text messages are on purpose, but there is a him instead of his in the chapter 74, that's the only one that I found.
Each chapter is very short, keeping a fast pace to the story and making it easy to read while commuting.
The Spotify playlist is a great addition to the book.
Thanks Netgalley for giving me a free version of this book for a honest review.

A Mystery in Maine! Cozy mysteries seem like super popular reads these days and this one definitely is exactly that! This book does have multiple POV, so if that is something that is difficult for you to follow along with then this book might not be for you! The story is centered around a music festival and the murder doesn't happen right away, there is a lot of background information you are given first before the plot thickens. If you play an instrument or love music and a cozy mystery then you would probably enjoy this book!

Dissonance pulled me in with the promise of music and mystery. The SummerFest Symphony has been a successful music festival in it's small town for many years. However, the Board of Directors tries to save money by voting to cut the pay of the musicians. Coupled with the start of the event opening with a murder (to which her father is a suspect), there is a lot that main character, Allie, has to contend with.

This was a quick read but has many, MANY, musical references that can sometimes be a little much. As someone who has been surrounded by music my whole life, that was fine. However, there were a lot of obscure references that I can imagine went unknown to many.

This was well-written and unexpected. I would recommend to anyone who has a small background in music. Thank you to NetGalley for the e-book.

I received a copy of this book through Netgalley. This is my honest review.

This book lured me in with its cover, and for me, proved the saying that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. Sadly it was a pretty big let-down for me, and not nearly as engaging as I was hoping it would be. There was a lot of focus on picking songs, for basically every activity described in the book, and they were almost always classical, which didn't feel very realistic to me, even with the main character being a cello player. I'm really supposed to believe that she never listens to the actual radio and jams out to Taylor Swift?

Allie's relationships with the locals also felt very juvenile, which may have contributed to my disbelief about her music choices because I view classical music listeners as more sophisticated. Meanwhile Allie is breaking up with her boyfriend because her friend/surrogate mom tragically lost one of her children in a boating accident a couple years before, and it's hinted that he had some sort of involvement with that, but we never really find out what.

It also felt like the book was almost over before the main crime even happened that led to the mystery Allie needed to solve. Which means solving the mystery felt rushed as well, and we were still focusing on picking just the right song for our thinking about whodunit.

I really wanted to like this book, because I really want to like every book I read, but I just couldn't make it happen here unfortunately. Overall I give Dissonance 2.13 out of 5 stars.

I had high hopes for this one, but it didn’t hit for me… at all. It was slow, I almost gave up around the 30% mark. Once it finally picked up, it was all over the place. Maybe it was me rushing through it to be finished with it and onto the next on?

A book filled with mystery, music and romance. I enjoyed the music references throughout the book and the mystery was engaging and left you wondering who done it till the end!

I really enjoyed this book and would recommend. A short read with small chapters

I didn't have many expectations because I didn't know anything about the author and all I really knew was what the title told me: that it was a story that included a cello player, a summer music program and a murder. It was my first NetGalley read and I enjoyed it!

The chapters are quite short and that helped me read this quite quickly. I wasn't even sure who would be murdered, although if you're a cozy mystery reader, you might have a good idea.

The ending wraps up without a lot of explanation and my only real issue with this, other than some redundant conversations between characters, is that I'm left feeling like there were a few unanswered questions. Like was there a reason Abbott thought they were in such "dire" circumstances regarding budget? I thought she was maybe embezzling, especially since there were financial issues in one of her past board roles in Texas. Why was there such emphasis on musicians writing essays as part of their audition? (Such a strange suggestion and she really seemed to want that aspect.)

Another unexplained piece was what was on Allie's boss George's computer that the CSI team had to take - they seemed to think it was important but we never found out.

There is some light romance and I like that there's an annotated list of the music listed in the book, varying from Mozart to the Planets (which I'd just heard parts of in a Bluey episode, ha) to Bruce Springsteen. It apparently is a Spotify playlist but I couldn't find it when I tried to find it earlier. (I didn't search very hard, so it might be there, it's just harder to find than I expected.)

The music related quotes at the beginning of the chapters were nice, too. I especially liked this one: "In order to compose, all you need to do is remember a tune that nobody else has thought of." (Robert Schumann)

Thank you to NetGalley, BooksGoSocial and Barbara Burt for this ARC! I'd read more of her books for sure.

Dissonance is the perfect title for this delicious murder mystery set at a music festival in the small town of Kennimac, Maine. The SummerFest Symphony, founded by David Brewster, has been successful for years. For six weeks, tourists fill Kennimac enjoying carefully planned and rehearsed performances. Now David is on the Board of Directors and his daughter Allie is the assistant executive director. When the Chairman of the Board, the supremely unlikable Sylvia Abbott, proposes that the musicians take a large pay cut and audition for the positions they have held for many summers, dissonance is an understatement. A murder opens the new season and there are almost as many suspects as there are musicians in the orchestra. Allie becomes involved when her father is considered a suspect and must find the killer to clear his reputation.

Barbara Burt dedicates A Novel of Music and Murder “For all the readers who love music and all the musicians who love books…” She could add And for everyone who loves a good, well-written mystery! Dissonance is superb. The clash between the logical Board of Directors and the creative musicians naturally leads to threats of violence. While solving a murder, Allie is attracted to both a former boyfriend and a handsome new assistant conductor. Dissonance is fun to read whether you are a musician or a reader! 5 Stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, BooksGoSocial and Barbara Burt for this ARC.

Dissonance: A Novel of Music & Murder follows Allegra (Allie) Brewster as she navigates her new role as Assistant Director for the Kennimac SummerFest, a summer music festival in a small coastal town in Maine. As disagreements between the board members, the festival staff, and the musicians of the SummerFest Symphony come to light; tensions begin to rise until one of the key players in this disagreement is found murdered.

If you enjoy music, a little bit of mystery, and a dash of romance; definitely give this book a chance!

I was first drawn to this book because of the musical premise! Our main character Allie is a cellist, which is something I really connected with. I enjoyed the musical references throughout the book, and I love that the book includes a Spotify playlist to highlight these musical references. I found the mystery aspect of the novel engaging, and I enjoyed following Allie as she pieces together what really took place the day of the murder. And while it was definitely a minor subplot in the story, I also enjoyed the little bit of romance in the book as well!

While I enjoyed the major role music played throughout this book, I think this focus at times outweighed the murder mystery aspect of the novel. The beginning was a little slow for me with a lot of repetitive background information surrounding the conflict between the board of directors and the SummerFest Symphony’s musicians. While this made the story drag on a bit, the short chapters helped to speed things along!

Overall, I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to fellow music and mystery lovers!

I thoroughly enjoyed this little romp in Maine!

I was craving a cozy mystery and this definitely fit the bill. Multiple POV with most of it following Allie was a fun way to get to know the town and the musicians who would be coming in the summer. I always love a book with a playlist and this one references classical abc contemporary music alike.

The murder doesn’t come until about 35%. I didn’t mind all the set up but I did double check that there was in fact murder involved.

Allegra Brewster has returned to her childhood home to take her first 'real' job post-graduate school. She has just earned a Master's degree in arts management and is employed as an assistant to the director of the local summer arts (music) festival in her small town in coastal Maine. She is also a cellist. She has been involved with the festival since she was a kid and her father is on the board. When the story opens, there is trouble brewing. The director, Dr Sylvia Abbott (a geologist) has decided that the financial situation requires the musicians to take a 35% pay cut, add free performances to the schedule, and reapply for their positions by writing an essay about what the festival means to them. What she is really trying to do is break the musicians union. Her thinking is that they will be outraged, strike, and turn the townspeople against them. She manages to get most of the other board members to go along with this plan, but Allegra's father, David, holds out.

Time passes and events unfold. The festival rolls around once again, but this time someone will not be around to see the end of it. With so many people around, any number of people could have committed the murder and suspicion falls on various people in turn, including on David. Allegra and her ex-boyfriend, Luke, start snooping around since the police detective has some bigotry issues that cloud his judgement.

Music is a huge part of this book--almost a character in and of itself. This was one reason why the book was appealing to me when I read the description and I was not disappointed. Allegra turns to music to help her through tough times and to suit her mood. Many songs are mentioned in the book and there is a Spotify playlist that goes with the book. I have looked up some of the music mentioned and found it on YouTube. I am more interested in cello music now than I was before reading this book, which I am thrilled about. I feel like that's one of the gifts of the book for me--more music to discover. Also, I am fascinated by the ways in which people find and cultivate their passions in life, no matter what they are, but particularly in creative endeavors. I've done life story work with artists and craftswomen where they talked about this, so this was a very appealing part of the book for me.

The story was well-written and interesting. I enjoyed the backstories of the characters, although in one case the way this was presented seemed a bit like it was just plunked down out of nowhere in a short chapter in order to justify what came next. Really, that was my only quibble with the book and it didn't detract from my reading experience. I found myself immersed in the story from the beginning and when I had to set the book aside I was eager to get back to it. The ending was plausible and unexpected. It's a really good read, which I heartily recommend.

I received a copy of the e-book from NetGalley in exchange for a review. I thank them, the publisher, and the author.

A mystery set at a fictional musical festival in Maine. Allegra is a cellist and working as well with the summer festival being thrown in Maine. However, conflict is brewing there and then one of the people involved in the dispute ends up dead. Allegra must solve the mystery even if it means suspecting those she is close to. A great mystery for music lovers!