Hidden Tracks by Zoe Lee – Review by Francis O’Sullivan

Hidden Tracks by Zoe Lee
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Hidden Tracks by Zoe Lee is a romance that focuses on the music industry. Seth is a talented songwriter and musician who has re-joined his old band after living a quiet life for half a decade. Astrid is a former actress who used to be married to a rock star and is now a music journalist, writing a piece on Seth’s band.
It’s a sweet, slow-moving story. Both characters have lived. They’ve fallen in love and had their hearts broken. Astrid has a grown-up daughter. They’ve been in the limelight and stepped out of it, and are now on the brink of being pulled back in.
Astrid’s role as a journalist is quite handy in learning about Seth and his bandmates. There are formal interviews, and other occasions where informal discussions include probing questions (or less probing – “Dogs or cats?” is one!).
I particularly like the way Lee talks about sound – both musical and environmental. This struck me from the very beginning where Seth’s acoustic environment is described – “every subtle groan of the three-story house he had grown up in was like a vibrato note sung by a baritone.”. This is effective not only in painting a vivid picture of the scene, but also in giving us an insight into how Seth experiences the world.
For me, this is a four-star book. I’d recommend it to music lovers, particularly anyone who’s ever dreamed of getting together with a rock star!

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