Paganini's Ghost

It’s the most exciting concert Cremona has seen in years: the headliner is a brilliant young Russian playing a violin once owned by the 19th-century master Nicolo Paganini. But the triumphal performance is immediately overshadowed by the murder of one of its sponsors. Solving the murder will require a journey into musical history, and to make that journey, Cremona’s police-chief will once more require the assistance of Gianni Castiglione, an elderly charmer and only mildly larcenous expert in violins. Second in the series that began with The Rainaldi Quartet, Paganini's Ghost continues to make intelligent use of both its Italian setting and violin lore.