Reviews with content warning for Violence - A Conspiração Do Violino

Oh my goodness, I loved this book! In some ways, it's a simple story about a young Black man who pursues a career in classical music despite having no support. Slocumb is magical; I was lost in the experience of the music despite not being able to actually hear it! The unraveling of the mystery was a bit anti-climatic after such a big build-up. These characters are going to stay with me for a long time.

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voracious_book_addict's review against another edition

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challenging inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

Overall I really enjoyed this story about Ray and his violin. This story is hyped as a suspense type story but really it felt like a coming of age tale of a black classical musician growing up in the south and overcoming the racism, inequity and adversity in his life, profession and throughout the world. Some of this book was a beautiful tribute to the music and his violin. That said there were many scenes and scenarios that were difficult to listen to as Ray was treated beyond unfairly throughout the book.

The narration by JD Jackson was beautiful to listen to. Smooth and consistent, his voice was like being wrapped in a warm hug.

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msennflinn's review against another edition

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challenging emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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emswantree's review against another edition

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hopeful informative inspiring mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

There was a lot to love about this book. The detailed commitment of musicians to their craft, family legacy and gift, examples of racism in every facet of our culture, and a great story. The part that fell flat for me was the thriller part around the theft of the violin. The culprit felt obvious and all of the chase and the investigation felt disjointed. But I really still loved it.

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angelaf's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

I am now hooked on NC author Brendan Slocumb. The professional violinist and debut author pulls back the curtain on the world of classical music as the main character, Ray McMillan, tries to track down his stolen Stradivarius violin. Importantly, Slocumb addresses racism in the world of classical music, a field in which only 1.8% of professional musicians are Black. Read if you enjoy: fine arts mysteries, classical music, theatres, POC main characters

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carireadsbooksandtarot's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

The book opens with the theft of Ray McMillian’s $10 million Stradivarius violin from his hotel room in New York. Going back in time, it is revealed how Ray, a Black musician, came to own this rare instrument and who may have a motive for stealing it. The novel also tackles the racism inherent in the classical music world and what it’s like to be a Black classical musician.

I found this book to be fairly engrossing and enjoyable. Learning the history of the violin and Ray’s family was really interesting and the scenes depicting the racism Ray faced (based on true experiences of the author) were tense and eye-opening. I don’t, however, think this book should be classified as a thriller. I also think they mystery aspect was not particularly believable: the violin is replaced with a shoe and he doesn’t notice a difference in how the case feels when he picks it up? Furthermore, I guessed the culprit about halfway through, and I’m not particularly good at solving the mysteries I read.

JD Jackson’s narration is great and I stayed invested in Ray’s story throughout but I did feel let down in the end.

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meganpbennett's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

The Violin Conspiracy is a very tightly-paced, well-plotted thriller. You want to know what happens next, eagerly turning the pages until the very end, when it all comes together.

Ray is a young black man playing a rented school fiddle when his grandma remembers her grandfather's fiddle, hidden away in the attic for years, and he plays the violin at a few concerts and competitions, winning a scholarship to college. And then he learns that the violin is.... a Strad. A legit, $10 million dollar Italian-made Stradivarius violin. He's immediately famous - the black kid playing a priceless family heirloom that is actually a priceless violin - and plays around the world.

In the first few chapters - which are set after the violin is stolen from his New York City hotel room - we learn that there are numerous suspects, including his own family. Those chapters are difficult to follow, as Ray is our POV character, and Ray is totally distraught, which means the stream-of-consciousness writing is hard to follow. The first section is really one to power through. The book starts getting really good once the violin's provenance is established, and the Marks family walks into the picture.

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padawan17's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-paced

4.0

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