The Schumann Proof

Darleen R. Golke is a high-school teacher-librarian in Abbotsford, B.C.

After his lover’s suicide, Vikkan Lantry, a gifted pianist and
musician, returns to Toronto and performs at an upscale bar and lounge,
eschewing the musical establishment of his alma mater, the University of
Toronto’s School of Music. Remnants of his classical-music past keep
intruding, orchestrated by Elly, music teacher and friend, who is
determined to compel Vikkan to share his remarkable talent. Elly’s
persuading him to accompany vocalist Ulrike Vogel at the Royal
Conservatory’s launch of the Alumni Gallery propels him into the midst
of professional rivalries, massive egos, academic squabbles, competition
for funding— the underbelly of music’s academic world.

Unable or unwilling to deny Elly’s requests, Vikkan meets Dieter
Mann, an octogenarian legend (“possibly the greatest piano teacher
alive”) who just happens to have a folio of publisher’s proofs,
undiscovered Liederkreis attributed to Robert Schumann, 1839, a song
cycle to celebrate his upcoming marriage to Clara Wieck. Ultimately, the
information that Clara actually composed the Liederkreis emerges, but
not before murder sullies the extraordinary musical discovery and
propels Vikkan into a murder investigation.

After Vikkan and Elly discover two bludgeoned bodies in her studio,
Inspector Andrew March conducts the murder investigation. After
initially antagonizing Vikkan, March unexpectedly invites him to
co-operate in the investigation and later, to Vikkan’s delight, to
share a night of passion. However, passion spent, March reverts to his
tough-cop routine while Vikkan continues to poke around identifying
possible suspects until his clever deductions almost cost his life.

Schaffter plots a multi-layered, literate, well-paced mystery with an
intriguing, witty, and engaging protagonist whose ambivalence about his
passions reflects the complexity of his emotional welfare. Using
interesting, well-drawn secondary characters and image-rich, vibrant
prose, this debut novel invites the reader into the intricately plotted
narrative and delivers intelligent and engrossing entertainment.
Schaffter includes German excerpts from Liederkreis with English
translations at the beginning of each chapter and scatters German
phrases throughout the narrative, a value-added challenge for readers,
although he considerately provides contextual translations throughout.