THE VIRTUOSO was a charming tale of two people coming together and overcoming many obstacles on their way to love. The two main characters are Lord Valentine Windham, who has recently found out he can never play the piano again, and the widow Ellen Fitzengle Markham.

The story is written from Valentine's point of view. This was a little different; I am used to having two view points or more and not very often is the story written from the man's point of view. While this writing style gave me a connection to Valentine, I felt that it took away from the connection that I could have had with Ellen. Both characters are hiding secrets from each other and those around them. However, you know what Valentine is hiding. What you do not know is what is really going on with Ellen. While the author may have intended for this to keep you guessing I felt that it took away from the story. I was frustrated with not connecting to Ellen and wondering what she could be hiding that was so important to the story. I was halfway through the book before that connection was really made. This was a little disappointing. Ellen's character was almost diminished in some way. I began to feel that I was reading the story for Valentine so that I would know what was going to happen with him.

I immediately felt connected to Valentine. A handsome man, in the prime of his life, who has just been delivered a devastating blow; Valentine's life has been made up of his music. Now lost to him, he finds himself throwing all of his energies into a property that he won in a game of cards. Valentine is intrigued by the widow next door and finds that the monotony of his life is easily broken up by his daily visits to check on her. No matter how close Valentine thinks he is getting to Ellen, he feels that she is holding parts of herself back from him. Why has Ellen secluded herself from society and more importantly what is she hiding from him?

Renovating the newly acquired Markham estate has turned into quite the undertaking. Valentine is beginning to wonder just what he got himself into. Then one thing after another simply doesn't add up. Incidents that Valentine used to believe were just simple accidents have been coming more and more frequently. Who is trying to sabotage his every advancement within his new holdings? These strange and possibly deadly incidents lead Valentine to determine that something foul is at play on the Markham estate. Valentine begins to question who has anything to gain and the answer comes back as only Ellen.

Once secrets were revealed and a little bit of the mystery began to unfold the story flew by. I found that I had connected with Ellen somewhere along the way and was just as interested in ensuring that she was going to come out unscathed as I was with Valentine. My recommendation is when in doubt keep reading!