Young Ray McMillian is determined to become a world-class professional violinist, and nothing is going to stand in his way. Not the fact that his mother wants him to stop all that noise, get his GED, and start earning money for a 60-inch color television. Not the fact that he's Black and wants a career in a predominantly white profession. Not the fact that he's never had private lessons. Not the fact that he doesn't even have a decent violin to play.
Given a beat-up old family fiddle by his beloved grandmother, Ray's fortunes begin a meteoric rise when he discovers that the old fiddle is actually a priceless Stradivarius. All his dreams are suddenly within reach, and he qualifies for the renowned Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. Then tragedy strikes. His violin is stolen; the thieves wanting five million dollars before they will return it. As the time for the competition approaches, Ray not only has to try to recover his violin but he also has to prove that-- regardless of the outcome-- there is a truly great musician within him.
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I don't remember why I decided to pick up Brendan Slocumb's The Violin Conspiracy and read it, but I'm certainly glad I did. Slocumb's story grabbed me by the throat almost from the beginning, and it didn't let me loose until I'd turned the last page.
The story isn't new. Boy has talent. Boy needs violin. Boy gets violin. Boy works hard. Boy starts to get some breaks. Boy's violin is stolen. Can boy's dreams still come true? But if the only books that mattered were those with completely new plots, very few books would matter at all. Some stories are universal and deserve to be told over and over again.
Some of the characters aren't new either. The self-absorbed mother who wants Ray to stop making all that racket, get his GED, and get hired on at the hospital so he can buy her that 60-inch color TV she wants. The greedy family who, when they learn that the old family fiddle none of them gave a hoot about is actually a priceless Stradivarius, see nothing but DOLLAR SIGNS and insist that Ray sell it so they can wallow in millions of dollars. The evil couple who insists that the violin is theirs. The fairy godmother of a college music professor. Even Ray isn't new.
But guess what? Those tried-and-true characters we've seen thousands of times are just as fine as that "old" story because of the way Brendan Slocumb breathes life into it all. We care about Ray. We want him to succeed. We want to tackle every bigot the young boy has to face and get them out of his way for good. Our hearts soar as music fills every pore in Ray's body and then comes out in a brilliant torrent as he plays that old family fiddle. You don't have to love classical music to enjoy this book, but-- if you do-- it's going to add that extra Something Special.
The identity of the violin thief is easy to deduce, but how the theft was accomplished and what happened to the thief made up for that. The author explains how much of The Violin Conspiracy actually happened in his notes and acknowledgments, and I also watched a video of one of his appearances on Youtube in which Slocumb stated, "I want to be the Stephen King of musical thrillers!" After falling head over heels into this first book of his, all I can say is that I hope his wish comes true.
The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb
ISBN: 9780593315422
Vintage Books © 2022
Trade Paperback, 368 pages
Standalone Thriller
Rating: A+
Source: Purchased from The Poisoned Pen.
