Book Review: Dark Maestro

Curtis Wilson is a cello prodigy, growing up in the Southeast D.C. projects with a drug dealer for a father. But through determination and talent, and the loving support of his father’s girlfriend, Larissa, Curtis claws his way out of his challenging circumstances and rises to unimagined heights in the classical music world—even soloing with the New York Philharmonic.

And then, suddenly, his life disintegrates. His father, Zippy, turns state evidence, implicating his old bosses to the FBI. Now the family, Curtis included, must enter the witness protection program if they want to survive. This means Curtis must give up the very thing he loves most: sharing his extraordinary musical talents with the world. When Zippy’s bosses prove too elusive for law enforcement to convict them, Curtis, Zippy, and Larissa realize that their only chance of survival is to take on the cartel themselves. They must create new identities and draw on their unique talents, including Curtis’s musical ability, to go after the people who want them dead. But will it be enough to keep Curtis and his family alive?

Book Review: Symphony of Secrets

Bern Hendricks has just received the call of a lifetime. As one of the world’s preeminent experts on the famed twentieth-century composer Frederick Delaney, Bern knows everything there is to know about the man behind the music. When Mallory Roberts, a board member of the distinguished Delaney Foundation and direct descendant of the man himself, asks for Bern’s help authenticating a newly discovered piece, which may be his famous lost opera, RED, he jumps at the chance. With the help of his tech-savvy acquaintance Eboni, Bern soon discovers that the truth is far more complicated than history would have them believe.

Book Review: The Violin Conspiracy

Coming in February of 2022 is The Violin Conspiracy, the debut novel by Brendan Slocumb. I had the opportunity to read an advanced copy of the galley in exchange for an honest review.

Growing up Black in rural North Carolina, Ray McMillian’s life is already mapped out. If he’s lucky, he’ll get a job and earn more than minimum wage. But Ray has a gift and a dream—he’s determined to become a world-class professional violinist, and nothing will stand in his way. Not his family nor the racism inherent in the world of classical music. When he discovers that his great-great-grandfather’s beat-up old fiddle is actually so much more, all his dreams suddenly seem within reach. But on the eve of the renowned and cutthroat competition, the violin is stolen, a ransom note for five million dollars in its place. Ray doesn’t know who he can trust—or whether he will ever see his beloved violin again.