Take a photo of a barcode or cover
mackenzierm 's review for:
The Dark Maestro
by Brendan Slocumb
Curtis has been playing classical music, the cello specifically, since he was five years old. He has clawed his way up and out of inner-city DC and risen to the heights of the classical music world as a soloist in the New York Philharmonic. Zippy, Curtis’ father, is a mid level drug dealer who runs afoul of the kingpin, leaving him and his family in danger. Zippy, Curtis, and Larissa (Zippy’s girlfriend) have to enter witness protection and abandon their former lives, but when law enforcement can’t take the cartel down, they realize they’ll have to take the cartel down their own way.
THE DARK MAESTRO feels like it takes a steep departure from Slocumb’s previous novels, but I still enjoyed it. It still has the sliver of a taste of the classical music world, highlighting Curtis, a young and disadvantaged Black boy, and his love of the cello. I loved the continued show of love for classical music and the skill required to truly shine within this realm. Where this book departs from its predecessors is the intertwining of a deep love of comics. It was absolutely fascinating to see how Slocumb married a love of comics and a love the cello together. Absolutely beautiful.
A second departure from Slocumb’s previous two novels is the addition of a crime thriller angle. It does require some suspension of disbelief, but the plot was very interesting nonetheless. It’s a tense and suspenseful read. That said, the ending did come as a bit of a shock. The epilogue does an excellent job of bringing everything together and returning to a love of music.
THE DARK MAESTRO is an interesting read that is filled with creativity and the arts. The audiobook narration is excellent, though I would have loved a full cast narration. The novel is told in three POVs (Larissa, Curtis, and Zippy) and I think it would have been cool for each of them to have had a narrator. I highly recommend reading the author’s note as it shares a piece of the author’s own story, as well as the inspiration for this story. Well worth the read.
THE DARK MAESTRO feels like it takes a steep departure from Slocumb’s previous novels, but I still enjoyed it. It still has the sliver of a taste of the classical music world, highlighting Curtis, a young and disadvantaged Black boy, and his love of the cello. I loved the continued show of love for classical music and the skill required to truly shine within this realm. Where this book departs from its predecessors is the intertwining of a deep love of comics. It was absolutely fascinating to see how Slocumb married a love of comics and a love the cello together. Absolutely beautiful.
A second departure from Slocumb’s previous two novels is the addition of a crime thriller angle. It does require some suspension of disbelief, but the plot was very interesting nonetheless. It’s a tense and suspenseful read. That said, the ending did come as a bit of a shock. The epilogue does an excellent job of bringing everything together and returning to a love of music.
THE DARK MAESTRO is an interesting read that is filled with creativity and the arts. The audiobook narration is excellent, though I would have loved a full cast narration. The novel is told in three POVs (Larissa, Curtis, and Zippy) and I think it would have been cool for each of them to have had a narrator. I highly recommend reading the author’s note as it shares a piece of the author’s own story, as well as the inspiration for this story. Well worth the read.