The third in Burchell's Warrender series and one of the best. This one nominally features a non-singing heroine and a conductor hero, but the real star of the book is Gina Torelli, a soprano in her prime who is the aunt of the heroine. Torelli is a marvelous character, a total prima donna but understandably so, an artist who is fully committed to developing and showcasing her gift. She is happily married to a businessman who is mostly off-page but who shows up at the end and provides an added dimension to Torelli's characterization.

The plot: our heroine was engaged to a violinist who died of pneumonia while on tour in Canada. She blames the conductor who insisted he travel. Said conductor, Julian, is the hero. They are brought together when he is chosen by Torelli and Oscar Warrender to conduct for the former. Nicola, our heroine, is acting as Torelli's assistant. There is much tension and angst between Nicola and Julian, and Nicola is frequently pretty horrible to Julian.

The world of opera comes through brilliantly in this installment of Burchell's series. You can tell how much she loves the world and the people, but also that she sees them somewhat clearly. ( )