Plausible Deception
by Dwain Lee
About Plausible Deception
Plausible Deception
Mystery/Detective/LGBT/Quozy
Setting: Primarily Los Angeles/Anaheim CA; Louisville KY; New York NY
Publisher: Butler Books (October 15, 2024)
Paperback: 332 pages
ISBN 978-1-964530-02-4
There’s only one Jackson Stradivarius.
Welcome to the arcane world of handcrafted, professional violins. Master luthier Greg Zhu and his husband, Presbyterian minister Dan Randolph, travel to Los Angeles, where Greg’s newest design is competing for recognition from the Violin Society of America. Only a handful of participants know that the Jackson is at the conference, but the owner offers Greg the rare opportunity to examine it—and Greg is the last person in the room before the violin disappears. Greg and Dan team up with the authorities to clear Greg’s name, catch the thief, and recover the priceless violin before it is lost to the arts and antiquities black market.
Dollycas’s Thoughts
The world of luthiers (a maker of stringed instruments) and those who play those instruments professionally is a tight-knit community. Greg Zhu is a Master luthier married to Presbyterian minister Dan Randolph. Dan is very supportive of his husband’s amazing ability to create beautiful well-crafted violins. Greg has entered his latest design in a competition held by the Violin Society of America in Los Angeles. The owner of one of the most famous violins, the Jackson Stradivarius, is bringing his treasured instrument to the conference and invites Greg to examine it so that he may use similar elements in his creations. But then, while everyone is attending conference events the valuable violin goes missing. It appears Greg was the last one in the room before the instrument disappeared and is the police detective’s prime suspect. The owner presses to get the FBI involved. Dan and Greg team up with Agent Luis Romero to capture the real thief. Will they be successful? or is the Jackson Stradivarius already being sold on the Black Market?
What is so interesting about this story is that Mr. Lee drew from his own life for inspiration. He has served many years as a Presbyterian minister. His husband, George Yu is an internationally recognized violin maker. As I don’t know them personally, I don’t know how the character’s lives differ from their real life. According to a guest post written by Dwain that I shared earlier this month, I know that the book is based on a trip he and his husband took to Anaheim, California in November of 2022 to attend a major international violin makers’ competition. No violins were stolen but some events in the book actually happened. Both Dan and Greg and Dwain and George are strong couples invested in their partner’s lives. The characters are talented amateur sleuths and Dwain is a talented writer.
I enjoyed the detailed description of Greg’s process of creating his violins. I never gave much thought to the step-by-step process or how priceless violins are studied to construct new violins similar but with the luthier’s unique twists to get the best tone possible. The “precision of joinery, the intricacy of the carved scrolls, the fine inlaid detailing of the tuning pegs” that took place in Greg’s workshop was incredible and interesting.
In addition to learning about luthiers, Mr. Lee has written an intriguing mystery. The luthiers and vendors at the convention came from near and far and all seemed to be familiar with each other or quickly got to know each other. Who would have taken the Jackson? and how did they do it? The place was full of suspects. Some were mentors and friends, others were tolerated. I like that Agent Luis Romero worked with Dan and Greg because he had experience the detective didn’t have. I had my little suspect list, but I found myself caught up in the story and the subterfuge. I loved the surprising assistance that was received to catch the thief and the wonderful satisfying twist at the end.
I was unsure if this story would be my cup of tea. My musical ability died a quick death when I dropped out of the sixth-grade band. But I found Plausible Deception to be very entertaining and Greg and Dan characters I could root for. The other characters develop nicely throughout the story. The mystery was well-plotted and drew me in. The knowledge I gained about violin-making was a bonus as was learning about life as a gay pastor. I love learning new things when reading no matter the genre and this quozy was A Perfect Escape.
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. Thank you to the author for providing me with an ARC.
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About Dwain Lee
Dwain Lee grew up in Masontown, Pennsylvania, where his first job was working as a coal miner during the summers of his high school years. He graduated from Penn State University, majoring in architecture, and he owned and operated his own architectural firm in Columbus, Ohio for twenty years. During the thirty years that he lived in Columbus, he raised a family and also served as President and Chairman of the Board of Montana de Luz, an orphanage in Honduras for children living with HIV/AIDS.
Transitioning out of the architectural profession, he obtained a Master of Divinity from Trinity Lutheran Seminary and for many years has served as an ordained Presbyterian minister and pastor. In addition to more typical pastoral duties, a large part of his time in ministry has focused on social justice issues, including LGBTQ+ equality, refugee and immigrant issues, and racial justice.
Dwain has two amazing, wonderful adult daughters, Erica and Andrea. He and his husband, George Yu, an internationally recognized violin maker, currently live in an old double-shotgun house in the eclectic Germantown/Schnitzelburg neighborhood of Louisville, Kentucky. In addition to writing, he enjoys spending time with George traveling, gardening, doing never-ending home renovation projects, camping, and yoga.
Author Links: Author’s Website Facebook: Dwain Lee, Author
Purchase link: Butler Books The book will be more widely available in the New Year.
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November 14 – Boys’ Mom Reads! – REVIEW
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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the author. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of this book. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Hey, thanks very much for the wonderful review – I’m so glad you enjoyed my book! And I’m so appreciative of you putting the Virtual Book Tour together. It’s been educational – this is my first book and I didn’t know anything about virtual tours before this – and a lot of fun, too! I hope that others have enjoyed checking out the various stops in the tour, and are intrigued enough to want to check the book out.