The Vanishing Violinist: A Joan Spencer Mystery [Hardcover]

Sara Hoskinson Frommer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1999

Joan Spencer's daughter falls for a virtuoso violinist coming to an international competition in Indianapolis, and Joan is drawn into a swarm of violinists, their host families, and their unspoken rivalries. When a rare Stradivarius is stolen, and then the seductive violinist who owned it vanishes, Rebecca's amiable fiance is the prime suspect. With her own fiance, Lt. Fred Lundquist, working a fatal hit-and-run in Oliver, it's up to Joan to uncover the simmering tensions beneath the players, and to string together a theft, a disappearance, and a murder.

Admirers of Sara Hoskinson Frommer's previous Joan Spencer mysteries will love this wonderful tale of ambitious musicians and small-town mayhem, and will once again fall in love with Joan's plucky determination to set things right.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

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.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Widow Joan Spencer manages a civic orchestra in Oliver, IN, but she still has time for family. Her daughter's intended, Bruce, will vie for fame in the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis, and Joan will look out for himAwith help from her own fianc?, police detective Fred. Events turn sour when someone steals a competitor's Stradivarius and police blame Bruce. Then the competitor herself disappears, while back in Oliver a hit-and-run murder baffles Fred. Small-town doings mixed with uptown music appreciation make for light entertainment with a shiver or two. For all collections.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 229 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books (September 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312241046
• ISBN-13: 978-0312241049
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,027,300 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Top honors go to . . ., December 14, 2000

By 

kellytwo "kellytwo" (cleveland hts, ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Vanishing Violinist: A Joan Spencer Mystery (Hardcover)

Brava to the author who so skillfully balances life in the slow-paced, small town of Oliver, Indiana, against the sophisticated internationally-renowned Violin Competition, held quadrennially in the larger city of Indianapolis. Indeed, the author is not the only person to refer to this as the 'Olympics for the Violin'. Such competitions are a fact of life for aspiring young musicians, and the pressures are unbelievable, as a career can easily be made or broken by the final standings. The descriptions of the competition are exactly right--as are those of the young entrants.

Joan Spencer is an amateur violist who loves and lives her music. But that is not her entire life. Widowed, perhaps too young, she was left with two young children and the necessity to earn a living. Now her children are more-or-less out on their own, and Joan can resume her own life. And so she does.

A big part of her new life is Lieutenant Fred Lundquist of the Oliver police force. As much as she loves him, she wonders if she can cope with being the wife of a policeman. As the story of the vanishing violinist unfolds, intruding even to the little town of Oliver, Joan comes to realize that time is more important than anything else, and she mustn't waste whatever time she and Fred can have together.

This well-written book will appeal greatly to lovers of classical music, whether knowledgeable about it or not (and kudos to the editor who didn't dumb down the many musical references!) as well as to mystery novel fans. Women of a certain age will also like this book, along with the clear-headed Joan who hasn't lost her common sense. She is such a genuinely nice person I'd really like to have her for a friend. You might, too.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Dippy, February 7, 2000

By 

ReggieRoy (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Vanishing Violinist: A Joan Spencer Mystery (Hardcover)

If you like your murder mysteries sans murder, this is the book for you. No one is hurt (much), and everything works out for everyone in the end. The characters' lives are as routine as yours or mine. They don't even eat anything interesting. The "mystery" is barely mysterious and the perpetrator of the "crime" is extremely tangential to the story. Her motive is pretty dippy, too. the writing is okay, but extremely ordinary. Anyhow, can't recommend this one except maybe to someone who likes reading about musicians in any fiction format.

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Midwest cozy, September 21, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Vanishing Violinist: A Joan Spencer Mystery (Hardcover)

In Oliver, Indiana, Joan Spencer and police detective lieutenant Fred Lundquist plan to marry soon. Her happy daughter Rebecca informs Joan that she is engaged to marry violin expert Bruce Graham. Joan meets her future son-in-law when he competes in an international event in nearby Indianapolis.

However, at the convention site, someone steals a precious Stradivarius from one of Bruce's more talented rivals. Subsequently, that same individual soon vanishes. The police suspect Bruce is involved with the missing violin and person. This, in turn, places a cloud on the joyous occasion of meeting her daughter's future spouse. Since Rebecca insists her fiancé is innocent, Joan begins to investigate. Joan quickly learns that beneath the veneer of civilized behavior the contestants harbor deep rooted grudges and jealousies. This makes several of them prime suspects, at least in Joan's mind to commit both crimes.

The fourth Joan Spencer Midwest cozy is a wonderful mystery that retains the charm of the three previous novels due to the delightful lead protagonist. The support cast adds to the overall feeling of being at a musical competition. The mystery is fun, but the lyrical description of the musical competition is simply heaven, thus confirming that Sara Hoskinson Frommer is a virtuoso.

Harriet Klausner