Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Aug 2009
320 pages
Genre: Mysteries
Publication Information
From concert violinist Gerald Elias comes this debut set in the classical music world about the theft of a priceless violin.
Daniel Jacobus is a blind, reclusive, crotchety violin teacher living in self-imposed exile in rural New England. He spends his time chain-smoking, listening to old LPs, and occasionally taking on new students, whom he berates in the hope that they will flee.
Jacobus is drawn back into the world he left behind when he decides to attend The Grimsley Competition at Carnegie Hall. The young winner of this competition is granted the honor of playing the Piccolino Stradivarius, a uniquely dazzling three-quarter-size violin that has brought misfortune to all who possessed it over the centuries. But the violin is stolen before the winner of the competition has a chance to play it, and Jacobus is the primary suspect.
With the help of his friend and former musical partner, Nathaniel Williams, his new student,Yumi Shinagawa, and several quirky sidekicks, Jacobus sets out to prove his innocence and find the stolen Piccolino Strad. Will he be successful? The quest takes him through the halls of wealth and culture, across continents to Japan, and leads him to a?murder.
Devil’s Trill gives the reader a peek into the world of classical music, with its backstabbing teachers and performers, venal patrons, and shady violin dealers. It is the remarkable beginning of a wonderful new series.
"This richly plotted mystery will thrill music lovers, while those not so musically inclined will find it equally enjoyable." - Publishers Weekly
"Starred Review. This captivating and wholly originally debut by a former concert violinist is packed with insider tidbits on the classical music scene in New York City." - Library Journal
"Fans of ratiocination will be pleased with Utah concertmaster Elias' witty and acerbic debut, which is critical of the classical-music industry and so passionate about the music..." - Kirkus
This information about Devil's Trill was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Photo: Melanie Patton
A graduate of Yale, Gerald Elias has been a Boston Symphony violinist, Associate Concertmaster of the Utah Symphony, adjunct professor of music at the University of Utah, first violinist of the Abramyan String Quartet, and Music Director of the Vivaldi Candlelight concert series. He is also the author of the Daniel Jacobus Mystery series - the first volume of which, Devil's Trill, was selected by Barnes and Noble for their 2009 Discover Great New Writers catalog, and the second, Danse Macabre, was hailed as one of the top five mysteries in 2010 by Library Journal.
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