Second reading, 10 years (10/22) after the first. My favorite part of the book is not the mystery but the backstory. An antique violin is stolen and the person who had it in his posession. a lutherier is killed. A friend, also a lutherier begins an investigation. In the process history of violin making in the 15th and 16th century is worked in, and that's what I enjoyed the most. ( )

The book is tangentally about music, but I wanted to start to read mysteries again, and this was a good one, set in the narrow world of luthiers (violin makers). I found the Italian setting a bit exotic compared to my little part of the planet, Some characters are well developed while the minor characters are one-dimensional (mostly greedy). I recommend this to any mystery lover. Good pacing and detail. ( )

I loved how this book seemed to have a little of everything without it over powering the main storyline. I found the background of the history of the violins extremely interesting and it was quite refreshing to have a murder mystery that was so different from average ( )

This mystery involves a valuable violin and multiple murders in contemporary Italy.

Shortly after playing a short composition by Beethoven with his friends Tomaso Rainaldi, a retired professional musician and sometime violin teacher, and Antonio Guastafeste, a local detective; Gianni Castiglione, an elderly luthier (that is, a craftsman of stringed instruments), receives a suspicious call at his Lombardy countryside home from Rainaldi’s wife Clara. His friend hasn’t come home and he is soon found stabbed near his abandoned car. Guastafeste, a generation younger than narrator Castiglione or Rainaldi, returns when he’s assigned to the case. Because Castiglione’s technical knowledge makes him useful as a valuable resource, he accompanies Guastafeste on his investigation, which begins with Venetian violin collector Dottor Forlani. The curious collector lives in squalor but spends a small fortune on instruments. They learn that Rainaldi had contacted Forlani about acquiring a valuable violin known as the “Messiah’s Sister.” Not long after their visit, Forlani is also murdered by a nefarious and mysterious persona as ruthless as he is determined. The mystery’s trail, which includes old letters and older tombs, leads Gianni through a network of auction houses and black-market dealings across Italy and western Europe, reaching its denouement at Casale Monferrato, the cement capital of Italy.

Well-paced storytelling perfectly suits the subtle pleasures of this tale. The author offers plenty of European history and an immersion in a subculture of the classical music world as well as a pleasant mystery. ( )

I loved this book! Even though it was obviously a foreign author and book, it was easy to get into the story. I did have to get used to the way the author will have the character talking to someone on the phone and in the very next paragraph, that person is at their home with no words about time elapsed. That happens quite a lot through the book but the story and mystery makes everything worth it. The characters are very good! ( )