I liked this a lot ... I'm so used to all the mystery/thrillers being about murder, I appreciated this one featuring a theft instead. This is one I put on hold after hearing some rave reviews. I didn't really even read the blurb to know what it was about. Lots dealing with racism here. This whole has as much about black issues as it does about music. It also had a slight similarity to The Queen's Gambit for me. Just the young prodigy, facing the odds, all the buzz about them, ending up going against a Russian master. 

I had this in all three formats; Physical, Audio and Kindle. I went primarily with the Kindle. The narration was very good. Happy to have the Table of Contents match between the audio and Kindle copy. As with many/most physical books, the TOC is lacking there. For me, I like seeing the TOC, it can help me compartmentalize the book. I can see right off that there are seven parts, with multiple (continuing chronological) chapters in each. That the first section has Day 1/Day2/Day3-4/Day17 ... of the violin being missing. Then the next parts do NOT show that, because they shift back in time, each part/chapter with it's own heading. We don't get back to the present "Days" until Part 5/Chapter 25 (really, the chapter before/24 is "Theft" which reflects on the day of again). I marked this as a "two timeline" book, as we have the present, and the past (the past covers years). It was an interesting reflection and build up to the present day. 

There were author's notes (included in all formats) and discussion questions - only in the Kindle edition. 

Third person/past tense (with a bit of "future tense" here and there). 

I don't believe we are given a specific date for the "present" ... but it's contemporary. Sad that racial profiling and such is still such a problem. I just read [book:All American Boys|25657130] recently, showcased in that book as well. Sad to hear in the author's notes that those were based on real life experiences. 

I'm not sure it was ever addressed HOW Ray became so proficient ... I know there are prodigies, but can one LEARN to read music in school orchestra? I never participated in it myself (piano my only instrument) but I thought it orchestra brought together kids who already know the basics (and how else but from private lessons, which Ray never had). In The Queen's Gambit, we see how the young chess prodigy learns there. I would have liked to know more about how Ray picked things up at the beginning. His family life situation was so sad ... his mother only wanting him for what he could provide for the family (would rather he work at Popeyes than attend college on a full scholarship), and how the whole family just assumed that the windfall from selling the violin would be split amongst them ("we'll even split it seven ways, so you get your own portion and not share with your momma") Really? And the white family that just stepped in and wants "their" violin back. 

There were really two mysteries going on ... the theft of the violin in the present, and the rightful ownership of the violin.

I appreciated the music throughout - in audio, some music playing between chapters. Lots of music/instrument talk within. 

I wasn't overly surprised at the reveal ... which is actually refreshing! I think psychological thrillers today try so hard to have the "unbelievable twist" ... and it IS usually just that. Unbelievable. Eye rolling. Here ... that could have actually happened!

ProFanity x44 ... some slight talk of sex, there is the challenge of racism throughout, 6 uses of the N word.