Ask a Bookseller: ‘The Violin Conspiracy’
Aaron Rishel of Friendly City Books in Columbus, Miss., is a music lover, so when a fellow bookseller recommended a literary thriller and mystery that featured one of the world's most prized violins, he was all in. That novel is “The Violin Conspiracy” by Brendan Slocumb.
Young Ray McMillan is a violin prodigy growing up in rural North Carolina, and he’s determined to play professionally, despite his mother’s disapproval.
He plays on a family heirloom, a beat-up fiddle that his great-great grandfather, who had been enslaved, received after gaining his freedom.
When the violin is revealed to be a Stradivarius, both instrument and its young Black owner rise to fame.
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Shortly before Ray is to play with at the renowned International Tchaikovsky Competition, his Stradivarius is stolen, and he’s left with a ransom note for $5 million.
Ray is determined to get his beloved violin back and — equally as difficult — prove his worth as a musician in his own right.
The author himself is a violinist. Listen to his conversation with NPR about classical music, writing and race, here.
Rishel said you don’t have to be a musician to enjoy this book, though there’s added pleasure if you do. He also recommends Slocumb’s second musical page-turner, “Symphony of Secrets.”