Bookworm in the City

The violin maker’s secret / Evie Woods
What it is: a story about the magic of music
Did I like it: it was music to my ears

This category was provided by friend C who admitted she figured I would go for a book with a librarian in the title. And to be honest, I was tempted! But, I recently realized that I have bought a lot of books this year. Like, a Lot. As in, I’ve not used my library card so far and it’s September. (My face is getting red from embarrassment typing this out loud.) So before rushing out to the bookstore again, I dove into my own stock first for a title that befitted the category. And I found this book about a violin maker! Not the most obvious of professions, but a wonderful one.
(If like me, you wonder about the profession I suggest the internet for a lot of interesting learning materials. But ye be warned: the rabbit hole is deep and I myself got majorly distracted by everything I found, from schools, videos, discussion threads, to how-to’s on making your violin making business a thriving success.)

I have read other books by this author, and based on those I expected a lovely read with an infusion of magic. And it didn’t disappoint!
The heroes of this story are Devlin, airport luggage handler, his former history teacher Walter, and Gabrielle, violin appraiser. They are brought together when Devlin buys a violin from the lost and found at the airport. Even though he doesn’t know anything about violins, he is aware that this one is seriously old and he might have a good find on his hands. To be able to find out more, he visits his former history teacher. Walter is newly retired and it’s making him feel as though he is no longer useful. So when Devlin arrives with questions about his violin, Walter is happy to jump in. Walter knows a violin appraising business, which is Gabrielle’s shop. Her father left her the business and there are a lot of unresolved family issues.
It’s not before long that the three heroes are being targeted by thieves and although uncertain about the origins of the violin they are not willing to give it up before learning more about it. So, they continue their quest for knowledge by visiting experts and museums that Gabrielle knows of while trying to stay one step ahead of whoever is after the violin. The quest is not smooth going because their personalities clash at times and they are holding back details, but as the layers of their backstories are slowly peeled away they learn that there is always more to a person than there seems to be at first sight and start to really care about each other.
Then intersected with this storyline, is the story of the violin itself. From how she was made to who played her throughout the ages. This part was as nicely written as the other storyline.

The violin maker’s secret was an easy and very enjoyable read, one of those where I wanted to savor it but couldn’t stop myself reading it at the same time. Love that.