Reviewed by Tracy Traynor for Readers' Favorite

Five Stars

In "The Universe in 3/4 Time" by Leona Francombe, a perpetual night walker, Audrey Nightingale comes across an abandoned piano on the streets of Brussels. She hasn’t played the piano since a mysterious disaster happened three years ago. Her fingers are drawn to the keys. She plays, and her soul awakens. Only, when she looks up, is she being stared at by a dark stranger? Unnerved, she hurries to her favorite café. Once a member of the acclaimed Kepler Players, she hasn’t seen the other two members since their last fateful night together. But music calls her to save the piano, and she can’t do it alone. She picks up her mobile and dials. In a way, what follows is a treasure hunt to save the piano. The treasures she finds are a cabin in the Black Forest, a castle on a hill, new friends, a puzzle to solve, and the most important one—a reconciliation with old friends. As it is with stories that float on the memories of war, traces of sadness lace the chapters that are otherwise vibrant and full of life.Wow, what a book! Leona Francombe is both a musician and a lover of music. The history of the war in Europe, and even more insightful, the history of Kepler and his writing “The Harmony of the World” pour through the pages, giving us a breathtaking glimpse into the love of everything musical. Leona's writing style is among the best I’ve ever read. "The Universe in 3/4 Time" abounds with mystery and the dream of musical romanticism. The twisty plot is delightfully revealed, and the star pinning the tale together is a Czech piano, unassuming in looks and dripping with intrigue and secrets. Best line from the book—'beauty is the only antidote to war.' In this stunning work of fiction, the ghosts of the past walk hand-in-hand with the spirits of today. It is a magnificent blend of modern-day and the 1940s and more. Leona Francombe’s work deserves to be read again and again. Fabulous from start to finish!