Violin Conspiracy served with Peach Pie

 The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb served with Peach Pie 

Ray McMillian inherits his great grandfather's violin and  with that violin become a musical sensation!  It turns out the old violin is actually a Stradivarius, one of the rarest and move valuable instruments there is.  It is valued at 10 million.   That opens up all kind of problems for Ray.  In the very beginning of the book, the violin is stolen and held for ransom.  From there we go backwards and learn about how Ray came to get the violin, his rough family history, his exposure to racist actions and the claims being made against his instrument.   His family is pretty awful.  His mom has never understood or appreciated his musical talent.  Once the violin is valuable, the family wants him to sell it and split the money.  When he refuses it causes a fracture in the family.  There is also the family that was the slave owners of his great grandfather who claim it is their violin and was stolen.  The story starts at the present day, flips back to Ray's childhood and then works its way back to present day and the mystery of who stole the violin. 

Here is what I liked about the book, I have never given any thought to the racism that exist in the classical music arena.  I mean it makes sense.  Classical music is typically thought of as rich white people music.  Here is the young black musician who is showing up at event with this amazing violin and he isn't always treated well.  Some of the things that happen to him are so shocking that i can't even believe it could be true.  At first I thought the author was just exaggerating the issue but then i listened to an interview with him and he shared that the events were based on real life issues he has had.  I can't even believe this type of crap happens!  I'm obviously living in my own little bubble so it's good for me to have my mind expanded!   I also loved Ray's mentor Janice and the support she gives him.  I loved Grandma Nora and the love she gives him.  And Ray himself, he manages to not let the racism and in fighting with his family make him bitter.  He continues to strive to be the best in his field and even tries to mend the family bonds.  

Probably my only disappointment was that it's not much of a mystery.  I would call it more of a family drama/ coming of age story and not a mystery.  I mean half of the book is about the background.  I also thought I knew who did it and i'm typically not good at that kind of thing.  

I listened to it on audio.  I had heard that there was music between chapters.  THere was but it was so small that I wish I had read it instead.  I just didn't love the narrator and I think I would have enjoyed the print version more.  Still, it's a ⭐⭐⭐⭐ read and one I would recommend. 

I wanted to make Peach Pie because it felt like something Grandma Nora would have made for Ray.  I don't typically make pie crust but buy the premade.  I decided to do kind of a hybrid pie/cobbler and just do the crust on the top.  (I think that probably is a cobbler but who knows)   I cut a violin shape on the top of the crust and added some music notes.  It look better before cooking.  After, you can't hardly see it!  

For the Pie,  I used frozen peaches.  Because I only had one bag, I used a smaller casserole dish and made a mini pie.   

Bag of frozen peaches (approx 3 cups of peach slices) 

1/4 cup flour 

1/2 Tablespoon of CornStarch 

1/2 cup of white sugar

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon 

1/8 teaspoon of nutmeg and salt 

2 Tablespoons of butter. 

Mix all together except the butter.  Put into the casserole dish.  Slice up the butter into thin slices and put across the top of the mixture.   I used a store bought crust.  I rolled it out and trimmed it to fit over the top.  I brushed it wit 1 egg white and sprinkled it with turbinado sugar.  Baked in 350 oven for about 40 minutes.  Watch the crust so it doesn't burn.  I had to use my pie cover to prevent it getting too dark.  You want it toasty brown and bubbly.    Enjoy!