Bestselling author Brendan Slocumb joined the LA Times Book Club on Feb. 23 to discuss his mystery “The Violin Conspiracy.”
You can watch Slocumb’s virtual conversation with Times classical music critic Mark Swed online: . The discussion was streamed live YouTube, Twitter And Facebook.
In his debut novel, Slocum introduces readers to Ray McMillan, a rising star in the classical music world whose priceless Stradivarius family is stolen for one of the world’s greatest music competitions.
Also “The Violin Conspiracy” is about family, race, discrimination and finding the way against all odds.
Slocumb is a musician and music teacher who grew up reading Sherlock Holmes mysteries. He began writing during the 2020 pandemic lockdown and drew from his own experiences for his first novel.
In his senior year of high school, Slocumb’s violin was stolen from his house while his family was at an amusement park. “It was the worst feeling in the world” he says in an interview with Makeda Easter.
“The Violin Conspiracy,” published in 2022, is the February book club pick. Slocumb made this playlist go to the book.
Slocumb’s second novel, Symphony of Secrets, is a thriller about a professor who discovers that a famous composer has stolen music from a young black artist. It will be released in April.
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