Masks and Shadows is an enjoyable and fast paced read that succeeds in combining historical facts and fantasy fiction into a carefully woven story of espionage and dark magic.

Charlotte von Steinbeck is a visitor at the Eszterháza Palace.  Still in mourning following her husband’s death Charlotte accepted an invitation to the Palace from her sister Sophie, mistress to Prince Nikolaus.  Charlotte isn’t the only visitor. She’s joined by a famous singer called Carlo Morelli, a Prussian spy and an alchemist!  In spite of the wealth and opulence of the palace however it appears that dark plans are being plotted, blackmail is being wrought and occult style magic is creating a sinister atmosphere that fortunately most of the privileged guests are blissfully unaware of.

The story gets off to a very quick start with the death of two opera singers who have eloped together only to be quite viciously murdered.  This certainly arouses the curiosity and fear around the Palace as people speculate about how the two met their untimely and grisly end. Meanwhile, this leaves the Kapellmeister, Haydn, short of two singers for his forthcoming performance for the Prince and in this respect we get to also follow in the footsteps of Anna, previously maid to Charlotte now elevated to singer following the discovery of her own musical ability.

What I enjoyed about Masks and Shadows was the combination of intrigue, dark and hidden corridors, mysterious secret societies and occult like magic blended with plenty of characters that it was easy to either like, suspect or dislike.  To be honest the story feels almost like an elaborate production which fits perfectly with the musical theme that runs throughout.  There is a strong cast of characters each with their own particular sequence of events and motives.  Charlotte, whilst the older sister, is also the more sheltered of the two.  Her younger sister Sophie is something of a spoilt brat to be honest and on more than one occasion I wished that Charlotte had used a firmer tone with her (or just slapped her!).  I really couldn’t like Sophie at all – or the Prince for that matter – so in that respect the two of them were perfectly matched and deserving of each other.  Charlotte  and Carlo on the other hand, after a rather disastrous first meeting during which both of them manage to display an equal amount of pride and prejudice, eventually begin to develop more romantic feelings towards each other.  I wouldn’t class this as a romantic story at all but there is definitely a love story taking place in the wings.  Carlo is a famous singer – a castrato to be precise.  I can’t profess to have known what a castrato is to be honest although the name is a little bit of a giveaway.  Basically a few hundred years ago, and until the practice was outlawed, certain young men, who displayed a talent for singing and were yet to go through puberty, were castrated in order to retain a high singing voice.  Of course this had other side effects and castratos, although in one respect were revered for their singing abilities were also the subject of much prejudice and ridicule.

So, what else.  Well, this is a sumptuous production and yet Burgis manages to rein in the prose which leaves us with just enough detail to tantalise without being overburdened with weighty descriptions.  The setting is of course the Eszterháza Palace which is actually one of the residences owned by the Eszterhazy family.  Actually built by Prince Nikolaus it was incredibly isolated – a fact that adds to the fear factor in this particular story.  Labyrinth style corridors make it easy for the characters to become lost and secret passageways make it even easier for those that would plot to hide away.

On the whole a very enjoyable read.  Well written, fast paced, characters that you can like and dislike in fairly equal measure.  No quick fix solutions or instantaneous attractions and a dark plot with creepy ghostlike manifestations.

I would certainly read more.

I received a copy courtesy of the publisher through Edelweiss for which my thanks.  The above is my own opinion.