fiction
Ray is about to compete at the International Tchaikovsky Competition when his prized Stradivarius violin is stolen and offered for
ransom. As the authorities are doing their investigation, Ray thinks through
his past to figure out who committed this crime and how.
In Brendan Slocumb’s debut novel, The Violin Conspiracy, he
began with the violin’s disappearance and initial investigation details before going
back into Ray’s history and filling in the full picture. This grabbed me and kept
me interested. This is the story of a kid who loves playing the violin coming
from an underprivileged, unsupportive family, overcoming obstacles and racism
to emerge as a top musician, only to have his prized instrument stolen out from
under him. The novel was well crafted
but tough to read sometimes when I became so infuriated by what Ray had to
experience at multiple points in his life. I actually had to turn off the
audiobook and take a break twice because I was so enraged on Ray’s behalf at
the injustices. Also, I always get upset reading about bad parents. Thankfully,
Ray did have a couple supportive, loving people in his life or things would’ve
turned out differently for him.
This is a terrific novel. Ray felt believable as a young man
making stupid choices at times. The tale is very relatable yet still original and
creative. Ray was his Grandmother’s
pride and joy and was guided through life by her wise instructions and loving
guidance. He was a likeable protagonist and I rooted for him the whole way. Sadly,
but unsurprisingly, in the author’s note at the end, Slocumb revealed that some
of the more upsetting experiences of discrimination were autobiographical.
The audiobook is narrated by J.D. Jackson and he did a good job. He had some variety in his vocal repertoire and was a good voice actor. But I wasn’t crazy about his narrator voice. I’m giving him a B+.
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