A review by tessa_talks_books
The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb

5.0

The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb is a riveting debut mystery novel about a stolen Stratovarius violin passed down through the generations and the greed caused by its discovery. I enjoyed many aspects of this novel, such as the original plot. I don’t know a great deal about the music world, especially orchestral music, and I loved that I learned so much about it through this story since the main character is a professional violinist. I also found the historical backstory of how Ray Macmillan’s family came to own the very rare violin thoroughly compelling. I did guess who stole the violin about halfway through, but I didn’t guess the reason. Guessing correctly in no way detracted from my enjoyment of the novel. The story moves very quickly, and the third-person narration focused through Ray’s eyes allowed for imparting enough information for non-musical types like myself to understand the story. Plus, the fact that the narration followed Ray’s perspective also gave me a more personalized look at the challenges of being a black man in this country, which is eye-opening. There is so much to enjoy about this mystery story, and I think there is something for everyone in this tale of family, greed, a musical dream, and a rare violin.