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

Synopsis

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.

Butler Books

Guest Post

Thank you for asking me about the violin theft that took place yesterday. I’m Anaheim Police Detective Jim Kavanaugh, and I’m leading the investigation into the theft of the Leonora Jackson Stradivarius violin, which people here have told me isn’t just a Stradivarius, but one of the finest of them all. The violin was stolen from room of its owner, Dr. Bill Sloan, who is attending a convention of the Violin Society of America, which is being held in a large hotel here. Apparently, it’s a really major event, drawing violinists, violin makers, dealers, and others from around the world for a week-long gathering. One of the big parts of this convention is the violin makers’ competition, where the instruments of the top violin makers in the world are judged for their tone and artisanship. The event moves around from year to year, and this year it happens to be here in Anaheim.

Here are some pictures of Sloan’s violin:

There you go – that’s what several million dollars worth of violin looks like.

Shortly after I arrived on the scene of the crime, I interviewed Sloan and determined that even though there are hundreds of attendees at the convention, only six people knew he had his rare violin there with him:

• Konstantin Pappas, a friend of Sloan’s. Pappas is a Greek immigrant who is a violin maker from Texas
• Hanna Sullenberger, another violin maker from Germany who is sort of quiet and has a rough look about her
• Alana Marino, a famous and talented Italian violinist who plays with the Los Angeles Philharmonic – and who, if you’ll allow me to say, is charming and drop-dead gorgeous
• Eric Morrison, a violin repair specialist who works for the London-based violin dealership that Sloan has retained to take care of the Jackson for him when it needs adjustments and periodic maintenance
• Phil Goodman, a Detroit-based violin dealer who is volunteering at the convention. Unlike every other one of these six, Sloan told everyone else in advance of the convention that he’d have his violin onsite; Goodman only learned it was here when he was talking with Sloan the other day, as the convention was getting underway
• Greg Zhu, a long-time friend of Sloan’s and a violin maker who was born in Hongkong and is a Canadian citizen who lives in Louisville, Kentucky now, with his “husband,” Rev. Dan Randolph, who is here at the convention, too. I know it isn’t “politically correct” to say it, but since it’s just us talking, I’ll say it: I’ve just never gotten comfortable with this whole “gay marriage” thing, and the whole idea that this Randolph is a Presbyterian minister of all things, and he’s gay, and married to another man – I just don’t get it, and I certainly don’t like it. Hanna Sullenberger is one of those LGBTQABCDEFG people, too, along with her “wife,” Chloé Lavigne, but at least they don’t pretend to be a leader in the church. Let’s just keep it between us, but right now I consider Zhu the prime suspect, since he was the last person known to have been in Sloan’s room before the violin went missing.

In addition to myself and the resources of the Anaheim Police Department, the investigation is receiving assistance from the FBI Art Crimes Team. Special Agent Luis Romero has been assigned to provide support to me as I lead the investigation. Romero seems to be a good enough guy, and his father was an FBI agent before him, so he’s definitely got decent law enforcement credentials – but to be honest, I really don’t think we need the FBI’s help on this; I’ve got things under control and I told Sloan I wasn’t going to ask for their assistance. But apparently, Sloan has some political clout and the next thing I know, I’ve got this amigo following me around. He showed up this morning, trying to blow smoke up my butt about how he’s a young agent and that while he’d provide behind-the-scenes support, he’d be able to learn field technique from me. I didn’t just fall off the turnip truck yesterday; I know when I’m being played. But my boss said I have to play nice and work with him, so here we are.

Even though our investigation will start by focusing on these six people as the most likely suspects, I’m not really sure where it will all lead. I do know that we have to be quick with whatever we do. The convention is only a week long, and if we have any hope of finding Sloan’s violin, the odds are better while all these violin people are still in town. Plus, the first few days of an investigation like this are critical. If the thief manages to not get caught quickly, the odds are good that the violin won’t be seen for another fifty years, or maybe ever – it will end up sold on the arts and antiquities black market, or it will be kept under wraps in some person’s private collection. But I’m confident that we’ll get to the bottom of this and get Sloan’s fancy violin back for him. Anyway, I’m sorry to cut this conversation short, but this is my wife calling me on the phone, and I’ve got to take it – we’ve been having some problems with our son being bullied at school, and I guess there was another incident today. Thanks for asking me about the investigation, I hope this has all been helpful. Check back with me in a few days and I’m sure I’ll be able to give you updates on the investigation.

About the Author

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.

Website * Facebook

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway