Double Forté

What a great book! This is not the kind of book I normally read. I\’m more a fan of cops, assassins, political shenanigans, and hard-core thrillers! That said, this book drew me in and hooked me almost immediately. It is so well written, and the characters so well defined that they come to life as you read. And their relationships are real and not just one dimensional. They have joy, and stress, and love and fear. They live. And not only do the characters have depth, but their whole environment is so richly described, you can almost feel and smell their surroundings! The garden isn\’t just planted with peas and tomatoes and lettuce, but with a variety of each. And you can see how much pleasure they get from their everyday lives. But to satisfy my desire for action and dangerous deeds, there is plenty of that! It\’s woven through the book almost from beginning to end, with enough twists to completely hold my interest. Again, this is a very satisfying and beautifully written book. I can\’t wait to start the next one!

Double Forté is a gripping mystery, written with a romantic, heart-rending touch in the signature style of Aaron Paul Lazar. Music professor Gus LeGarde cannot find any consolation for the death of his wife Elsbeth, despite playing Chopin etudes on his piano and the company of his grandson and dog. Then, on an early morning skiing excursion, he finds a mute child shackled to a bedpost in a cabin, in the snow. His kidnapper, Baxter, manages to escape into the woods, which opens the mystery to the real possibility of his revenge. And sure enough, Gus’s little grandson disappears. Was he kidnapped by Baxter? Can Gus protect Camille and his family against a bitter criminal? Camille, a social worker takes the mute child into her own home, and for the first time in four years, Gus finds himself falling in love. Her own dark secrets seem to be in the way of their love. “I just want to be with her, to touch her hand, to kiss her soft lips.” In addition to the riveting plot and the well-defined characters, I love the time and place, lovingly delivered in words. “The Hatfield barn loomed out of the thick fog… The temperature had risen after the cold rain drizzled throughout the morning, and a heavy gray cloud blanketed the hill.” Highly recommended. Five stars.

Double Forte is a wonderful book, keeping you in suspense. Gus is a music professor and a loving father, grandfather, and friend, grieving over the death of his wife four years ago. He is as at home in the kitchen or garden as he is laying a trap for the bad guy, who does anything possible to get what he wants, and has threatened Gus\’s loved ones in a way that we have no doubt he will follow through on. Like a Dick Francis hero, Gus is gentle with iron strength underneath. As the story progresses, Gus deals with his grief and becomes closer to his secretary\’s adult daughter and to the policeman in charge of the manhunt. The characters are interesting and complex, right down to the minor character of the doctor who patches up Gus after encounters with the bad guy. Gus\’s best friend and brother-in-law, Siegfried, is everything good, while Gus\’s son-in-law, Harold, is a jerk who doesn\’t deserve his wife and son. Delightful chilidren and loyal, patient pets round out the list of characters. This a fascinating, well-written book with many levels of plot, and you\’ll want to keep reading to find out what happens in each.

Music professor Gus LeGarde\’s wife Elspeth died four years ago, and he hasn\’t really recovered. There\’s still a huge hole in his life. He keeps going, though, teaching, playing Chopin, and lavishing love on his daughter Freddie, his grandson, and his dog Max. It all starts to unravel when he rescues a child in the snow, who is too scared even to give a name. Finding out where the little child belongs is the beginning, not the end, of the trouble, and soon expands to endanger Gus, his family, and the first fragile shoots of possible new love. I very quickly became totally caught up in Gus\’s story. He\’s upright, decent, gentle, and kind. His friends, neighbors, and wider circle are mostly good people, too. There\’s action here, but Gus is not presented as improbably heroically formidable. He\’s just a guy who is well-built and has kept himself physically active, so that when he needs to, he can put in a creditable showing in a fight. Lazar provides a good, involving mystery, with good, involving characters, and in trying times for me, I found it but enjoyable and comforting. The narrator, Robert King Ross, also has an excellent voice for Gus LeGarde and his story, and added to the pleasure. Highly recommended. I received a free copy of this audiobook from the author, and am reviewing it by my personal choice.

Gus LeGarde and ,his brother-in -law, Siegfried Marggrander are skiing in the fields around where they live when they here the anguished howl of an animal in pain. Both are animal lovers, so they instantly head into the woods in search of the source of the sound. They quickly locate an obviously injured, pregnant female dog who is too weak and injured to walk! Siegfried who is 6’8” and very strong lifts the animal easily and begins to carry her out to their car. But the way is through deep snow and uphill, and even for Siegfried it is a tough go! Gus spies a nearby tenant house and goes to see if he can telephone for his daughter to meet them at the bridge. Their car is too far away. When he gets to the house he encounters an unfriendly man who refuses to open the door at first, telling him to leave. When he finally opens the door he shoves a phone at Gus and barely lets him out of the cold. While he’s in the dwelling Gus sees a pair of red children’s tennis shoes and hears sobs coming from another room! When his call ends he’s unceremoniously shoved out the door! Gus wonders who’s crying? Is it a child, an adult, or did he imagine the sobs? Is someone being abused by the unfriendly man? What is he hiding? Read Double Forte to find the answer to the mysteries! ♥️✝️?✡️♥️

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