The Dark Maestro

Slocumb (The Violin Conspiracy) melds music and crime in his impressive third thriller. Growing up in southeast Washington, D.C., with a drug dealer father and a largely absent mother, Curtis Wilson has limited opportunities for advancement—until he learns to play the cello, thanks to a public-school grant. As a preteen, his talent and commitment yield first local and then national success. Sadly, his family members don’t share his trajectory—his father, Zippy, lands in jail, leaving his longtime girlfriend to barely hold things together. Once Zippy’s out, his former kingpin boss sets him up with an accounting job. The gig turns out to be crooked, and the FBI quickly strong-arms Zippy into providing evidence to avoid prosecution. Unfortunately, the case brings Curtis’s stratospheric rise to a shrieking halt as the family goes into witness protection and the feds’ case flails. Slocumb effectively incorporates issues of class and race into the well-paced story, for example by prompting readers to wonder if Curtis would have to go so deep undercover if he were white instead of one of the few elite Black cellists. Though the narrative requires more than a little suspension of disbelief, it’s worth sticking around for the nerve-jangling climax. This is as stimulating as a well-played sonata. Agent: Jeff Kleinman, Folio Literary. (May)