(I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.)Īt 20 Mae comes into an inheritance she had just about given up on. The book will really grab you from the first page, with a gruesome, senseless murder, to the final pages with a most satisfying end and bit of revenge thrown in for good measure! We ALL need a friend like Ollie!!įans of mystery and suspense, as well film noir with a twist, will want to give THE STRADIVARIUS a try.

And the animal-loving character Ollie is so darn likable, loyal, and tenacious!! Ollie made me smile so much throughout the book, especially their loving relationships with Hobbes and Lady (our wonderful orange tabby and German Shepherd characters, respectively!). The characters were well developed and relatable, making it easy to feel their horror and pain - especially regarding our protagonist, Mae! The fine line between sanity and insanity is deftly walked by this author, as we watch Mae slowly spiraling into an abyss she may or may not escape from. The pacing of the book was superb, helping build the suspense perfectly. It was difficult not to think of Ingrid Bergman and Charles Boyer as I was reading. Definitely reminiscent of the movie, GASLIGHT, one of my all time favorites. The title and book cover caught my attention, and once I read the synopsis, I was all in! The plot was fabulous. I really enjoyed this debut novel by Rae Knowles. And I appreciate you trusting me with an honest review!! Another winner out of Brigids Gate Press, and well done to Knowles!īefore writing my review, I want to thank BookSirens and Rae Knowles for gifting me the ARC of this book! It was such a privilege to read this before publication. The writing was atmospheric and the descriptions very well done. I enjoyed the contemporary Gothic vibes of this book immensely, and I always love a thriller centered around something like a Stradivarius!Even if the villains and what's going on in this story are familiar, I always wonder how the terrorized character will get themselves out of a mess like this, and the tension was continuously building throughout. Soon unable to trust any of her senses, her only ally is Ollie, a stellar genderqueer character who comes to do maintenance work and stays to do a bit of mystery solving as the situation spirals out of Mae's control. Eager to escape poverty, her aunt's trailer and the woman's rampant conspiracy theories, Mae hastily accepts her sketchy older boyfriend's offer of marriage, and they move into her inheritance, cobwebs and all.īut all is not well, and soon Mae is hearing eerie concertos through the walls, menacing voices, and seeing things. Mae Pruitt receives a call informing her that she's the sole inheritor of her murdered father's estate, compromised of some money, his crumbling Victorian house, and his prized Stradivarius. A hauntingly twisted tale of psychological horror, The Stradivarius is a modern take on the Hysterical Or Not Heiress trope with some delightfully queer accents. Thank you, Brigids Gate Press via Netgalley, for a copy of Rae Knowles' debut novel that came out in May. If Ollie and Mae can’t work together to uncover the Victorian’s secrets, Mae will join her mother in an institution or her father in the grave. Mae fears the house is haunted by her father’s spirit, her husband believes she’s going the way of her mother–slipping into madness, but Ollie suspects something more sinister is at play. Inside, Mae is taunted by a feminine specter, soft voices from empty rooms, and distinct melodies of Lady Paola: the priceless, Stradivarius violin stolen the night of her father’s murder.įorte, mezzo-forte, the measured, andante cadence. Sure that solving the cold case will land them a coveted job in the police department, Ollie gains access to the Victorian by agreeing to do maintenance work on the property. Leading the charge to unravel the mystery surrounding her father’s death is Ollie, a vibrant genderqueer and an outsider in their hometown. But when she and her new husband arrive, the towering Victorian sits in disrepair, and Mae learns that her father’s decade-old, unsolved murder is still a source of rumor and speculation in town. When a surprise inheritance and whirlwind romance offer Mae a chance to escape her repressive aunt, she’s all too eager to elope and start life anew in her childhood home.

Treasured violin