Marley Z and the Bloodstained Violin

Jim Fusilli is one of my favorite authors - even though he hasn't written fiction in a while - His Terry Orr series was one of my favorites - A young widower, Terry Orr, takes care of his daughter Bella, while trying to cope with the deaths of his wife, a famous painter, and their infant son, who died when they were run over by a subway train. One of the coolest characters of the series was Diddio, a music critic and good friend to the Orrs. (Mr.Fusilli is also a fine music critic for The Wall Street Journal) The series was resolved, and aside from a short story, the Orrs were no more. Mr. Fusilli had participating in other literary and musical ventures. Now Mr. Fusilli has written an excellent 'young people's' book Marley Z and the Bloodstained Violin, and has the start of a wonderful series for all ages. Marley Zimmerman's parents are accomplished - her Dad is a famous comic book artist and illustrator, and her Mom is a well known Wall Street lawyer. Marley's friend Marisol, is accused of stealing a valuable violin - and the videotape proves she indeed takes it - but Marisol doesn't remember anything...Marley and her friends seek to find what happened to Marisol and clear her name. New York is another character in this book, as it has been in his other works. Vividly written and alive - Crisp, sharp writing with a heart, Marley Z and the Bloodstained Violin will have you turning pages to figure out how this theft really came about. Jim Fusilli writes a weekly column in the Wall Street Journal and seems to have the fiction bug again - it's our gain - he's a writer's writer. With his passion and knowledge of music, creating a character like Marley Zimmerman who is forming a rock/reggae group with a nose for detecting is just what the mystery fans ordered. A wonderful read for all ages.