From the bestselling author of What the Wind Knows and From Sand and Ash comes a powerful love story about a musical duo who put everything on the line to be together.
New York, 1960: For Benny Lament, music is his entire life. With his father’s deep ties to the mob, the Bronx piano man has learned that love and family can get you in trouble. So he keeps to himself, writing songs for other musicians, avoiding the spotlight…until the night his father brings him to see Esther Mine sing.
Esther is a petite powerhouse with a gorgeous voice. And when Benny writes a hit song and performs it with her, their collaboration thrusts the duo onto the national stage…and stirs up old issues and new scrutiny that the mob—and Benny—would rather avoid.
It would be easier to walk away. But the music and the woman are too hard for the piano man to resist. Benny’s songs and Esther’s vocals are an explosive combination, a sound that fans can’t get enough of. But though America might love the music they make together, some people aren’t ready for Benny Lament and Esther Mine on—or off—the stage.
A man’s life changes when he meets a woman with a stunning voice, a woman he can’t seem to walk away from—in Amy Harmon’s sweeping story about love, music and fighting for what—and whom—you love.
New York City in the 1960s—Benny Lament sits before a piano, shaping his life one song at a time. While his father’s life is inextricably tied with the mafia, his own has intentionally veered from those familial entanglements. A consummate song man, Benny’s built a reputation all his own, writing for other musicians and keeping out of trouble.
But trouble beckons when his father takes him to see Esther Mine—a singer with a powerhouse voice. Soon, Benny finds himself writing songs for Esther, and not long after that, on stage with her. They are counterpoints embodied—Benny is tall, Esther is small in stature. His skin is white, hers is dark. Together, on and off stage, they are dynamite—but the world doesn’t entirely seem ready for them yet.
With racial tensions boiling over, and danger chasing them cross country, Benny and Esther put it all on the line to stay together.
Harmon’s writing is poetic, immersive, vibrant and emotive. I was swept away from the very beginning, captivated by Benny Lament and Esther Mine. Their story is extraordinary, thoughtfully penned and inspiring, brimming with grit and grace alike. I loved every minute of it.
Pure gold.