cover image The Vanishing Violinist: A Joan Spencer Mystery

The Vanishing Violinist: A Joan Spencer Mystery

Sara Hoskinson Frommer, Frommer's. St. Martin's Press, $23.95 (272pp) ISBN 978-0-312-24104-9

Love's in the air in the fourth Joan Spencer cozy (after Murder & Sullivan). While Joan is planning her wedding with Det. Lt. Fred Lundquist in Oliver, Ind., her daughter calls from New York to say she's engaged to one Bruce Graham, a classical musician who will be participating in an international violin competition in nearby Indianapolis. Joan gets a chance to meet her future son-in-law when she's invited to a picnic given by the families who help to host the competition. Tragedy strikes when a German violinist slams his hand into a stone planter while trying to catch a Frisbee, ending his chances to compete. Then a Brazilian musician has her Stradivarius stolen immediately before her first concert. Gamely, she plays on a borrowed instrument, performing well enough to make the cut. Before the second round, however, she vanishes, and the police suspect Bruce of taking her instrument and being involved in her disappearance. Prompted by her daughter's assurances that Bruce is incapable of such crimes, Joan leaps to his defense and decides she must help Fred find the real culprit. Frommer's latest emphasizes Joan's gentle levelheadedness and Fred's devotion to her. It's a well-plotted tale, as the author keeps readers guessing as to whether Bruce is as sweet as he seems, and wisely picks up the pace once the culprit has been identified. The novel's highlights, however, are the exceptional descriptions of the musical performances, passages in which Frommer proves herself, at least for a moment or two, a Paganini of prose. (Sept.)