'The Violin Conspiracy' by Brendan Slocumb is 'GMA's' February Book Club pick

Sink your teeth into Slocumb's riveting page-turner this month.

ByABC News via logo
February 1, 2022, 8:41 AM

Our "GMA" Book Club pick for February is "The Violin Conspiracy" by Brendan Slocumb.

Slocumb's debut novel is a riveting page-turner about a Black classical musician's desperate quest to recover his lost violin on the eve of the most prestigious musical competition in the world.

PHOTO: Book jacket for "The Violin Conspiracy" by Brendan Slocumb.
Book jacket for "The Violin Conspiracy" by Brendan Slocumb.
Penguin Random House.

The story follows Ray McMillian, whose dream is to become a world-class professional violinist. When he discovers that his great-great-grandfather's beat-up old fiddle is a priceless Stradivarius, all his dreams suddenly seem within reach.

But on the eve of his renowned and cutthroat Tchaikovsky Competition, the violin is stolen and a ransom note for $5 million is left in its place.

Will Ray find this treasured instrument before it's too late?

"You'll learn a lot about a world you might not have known anything about: classical music," Slocumb told "GMA" about his book. "[And] stories like Ray's happen all the time but rarely have an opportunity to be heard. Now people seem to be more receptive to listen and empathize and gain a new perspective on what it's like for young artists -- especially what Black artists have to go through."

Read an excerpt below and get a copy of the book here.

“The Violin Conspiracy” by Brendan Slocumb.
“The Violin Conspiracy” by Brendan Slocumb.
ABC News Photo Illustration

This month, we are also teaming up with Little Free Library to give out free copies in Times Square and at 150 locations across the U.S. and Canada. Since 2009, more than 250 million books have been shared in Little Free Libraries across the world. Click here to find a copy of "The Violin Conspiracy" at a Little Free Library location near you.

Read along with us and join the conversation all month long on our Instagram account -- GMA Book Club and #GMABookClub.

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