Synopsis
Daniel Jacobus, reclusive blind concert master and amateur sleuth, returns to solve a most despicable crime and to clear an innocent man
Just after his Carnegie Hall swansong and before his imminent departure for retirement in France, beloved violinist and humanitarian Rene Allard is brutally murdered with a mysterious weapon. His young African American rival, crossover artist BTower, is spotted at the scene of the crime hovering over the contorted body of Allard with blood on his hands. In short order the aloof and arrogant BTower is convicted and sentenced to death, in part the result of the testimony of blind and curmudgeonly violin pedagogue Daniel Jacobus, like millions of others, an ardent admirer of Allard. Justice has been served…or has it? Jacobus is dragged back into the case kicking and screaming, and reluctantly follows a trail of broken violins and broken lives as it leads inexorably to the truth, and to his own mortal peril.
Publishers Weekly
The murder of a virtuoso violinist and a death sentence for a possibly innocent man launch Elias's deft follow-up to Devil's Trill (2009). Blind and cranky Daniel Jacobus, a former concert violinist, reluctantly agrees to investigate the murder of maestro René Allard after flamboyant African-American musician BTower, who had a tumultuous relationship with Allard, is seen standing over the body literally with blood on his hands. As BTower sits on death row with the clock ticking down, Jacobus talks to the figures who formed the arrogant Allard's offstage world, and uncovers shady activities on Allard's part. Puzzling transactions involving violins, an attempt on Jacobus's life, and the suicide of an elevator operator indicate that Jacobus may be closing in on uncomfortable truths. The refreshingly caustic Jacobus, a cast of superbly drawn supporting characters, an interesting classical music milieu accessible to aficionados and neophytes alike, an unexpected twist or two, and a unique murder method combine for an engrossing read. Author tour. (Sept.)