Thank you to Anchor Books for the gifted copy of The Violin Conspiracy.

“Second, he learned that doing what you loved may not be enough, that all the passion and perseverance that roared like blood within you could be trumped by factors that you could never control—factors like the color of your skin, or the shape of your eyes, or the sound of your voice.”

A masterful mystery from Brendan Slocumb that will hook you from page one.

Ray is a Black violinist with no formal training, gifted a very special violin by his beloved Grandma Nora. He is sweet, determined, and inspirational: a perfect main character and underdog to cheer for throughout the book.

And he does need cheering. He is lonely and has had a rough road, as his prized violin creates lawsuits among greedy family and entitled descendants of enslavers, and is stolen while he prepares for the Tchaikovsky Competition. As a Black man in America, Ray also experiences many, many acts of racism throughout the book that left me feeling horrified and nauseous at the pervasiveness of racism in every aspect of his life. Ray’s rough road is made better by only few people in his life, who cheer him on as he becomes a world-famous violinist and attempts to raise ransom money for the return of his violin. As Ray navigates the world of classical music, where people of color are not always openly welcomed, you will wonder WHO STOLE THE VIOLIN?? And also receive a lot of insight into racism in the music world, the fallout of slaves not being able to easily keep records/documentation, and the hope that can be found in a place where hopelessness comes more easily.