Brendan Slocumb is absolutely the best storyteller and author that I have read this year! I loved The Violin Conspiracy and when I saw this book, The Dark Maestro, by Mr. Slocumb, I knew it was going to be the bomb! What a story! I was glued to this book and read it in one day.

Zippy, the dad, Larissa, the girlfriend/almost wife and the best, Curtis! Curtis, the most gifted prodigy of a cello player and what happens to their lives is the story and what a story it is! The Dark Maestro is a comic book character they create which goes hand in hand with the full drama of this incredibly engrossing novel.

No spoilers here, just know that this book will definitely become number 1 on the best seller list!
It is that good! and even better than that! Mr. Slocumb's prose is indelibly mosaic, graphic, and deliciously well written. The Dark Maestro is a great story with great writing. Thank you, Brendan Slocumb...and then I read his Author's Notes....well, you just have to read it all!
I recommend this book with my highest accolades....!

Classical music prodigy Curtis Wilson has it all figured out after making it out of inner city DC. He's worked his way through Juilliard and is now performing a solo with the New York Philharmonic on his beloved cello.

However, his father, Zippy, and Zippy's long time girlfriend Larissa, who has been a mother figure to Curtis since he was small, have other ideas. Zippy is a midlevel drug dealer and gets into it with the drug kingpin, leaving the whole family no choice but to enter witness protection and to upend their entire lives. Curtis is determined to get them out of this mess, but can he do it before it's too late? I finished Slocumb's 600 page novel in 3 days because it was so propulsive and I couldn't put it down. I'll read anything he writes!

The story flowed well and the characters were well developed. I recommend this book and look forward to more from this author.


****Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review****

Dark Maestro was definitely not what I expected, especially after adoring Branden Slocumb's last two novels, The Violin Conspiracy and Symphony of Secrets. Both beautifully highlighted the struggles of disenfranchised youth in gaining access to classical music, a topic I admittedly don’t know much about. So, I was excited to dive into another classical music thriller with this ARC I received.
The story starts in a gritty part of Southeast D.C., focusing on young Curtis Wilson, a five-year-old cello prodigy, his father Zippy—a drug dealer working for TBlock—and Zippy’s girlfriend Larissa, who cares for Curtis like her own. Together, they try to balance their dangerous lifestyle with supporting Curtis's dreams, as he sets his sights on performing with the New York Philharmonic. We watch him as he sails through Juilliard and becomes one of the most coveted cellists in the world.

But then, a twist propels them into the Witness Protection Program after Zippy implicates his bosses in a highly unusual crime. This unexpected turn costs them everything, including Curtis’s dream of playing for an audience.
Dark Maestro diverges from Slocumb’s usual style by blending classical music with an unexpected love letter to comic books. Without revealing too much, the second half of the novel shifts dramatically, taking Curtis down a surprising path that gives him a “superhero” arc. I found myself wishing for a plot more akin to Slocumb’s previous taut, music-infused thrillers.
While I did find the plot a bit implausible and felt there were some unresolved questions, understanding Slocumb’s reasons in the end for this narrative shift made it resonate a bit more. Because I’m such a fan of his earlier work and his storytelling, I’m giving this book four stars, though if not for his reasoning for writing this book, I might have rated it three.

The Dark Maestro is an engrossing novel about a boy from a poor and shabby neighborhood of Washington DC who wants to play the cello. His story and rise to fame is compulsive reading and immensely enjoyable. However, after reading approximately 50% of the novel, there is a drastic change in his life and that of his family and the abrupt deviation of the story into the world of comic books and podcasts was not at all interesting to this reader and the conclusion, while exciting, is somewhat ludicrous. I thank NetGalley and Doubleday Books for the opportunity to read and review this book prior to publication.

Wow, I read this in almost one sitting. What a story, What great character development. Brendon Slocomb is a genious and his fans will love this. The epilogue only made it even more powerful but wow, just wow wow wow....it kept me going from beginning to end. Now, I do have to say, I predicted part of the ending but it was part of the story's harmony. The love between the characters was palpable and I am kind of dissappointed I don't have more to read and now have to wait for the authors next book.. All his fans are going to love it.