What if the greatest violin maker in history actually had a secret formula? And what if it were stumbled upon more than 300 years later by innocent guitar makers who then became the target of someone who could not let that secret be revealed? Add to this volatile situation a second party who wants the secret made public, and what results is a series of cascading events that take the protagonists around the world as they dodge violence while trying to uncover the mystery.

Author William “Grit” Laskin is a master luthier who for more than 30 years has been building guitars known for inlaid designs that are more art form rather than decorative element. (One of Laskin’s amazing inlaid guitars, “The Puppeteer,” is on display in MIM’s Guitar Gallery.) Laskin is the first and only instrument maker to receive Canada’s prestigious Saidye Bronfman Award for Excellence. His Laskin’s interest in Stradivari’s life and work led him to write this book and others.

334 pages; 6×9 inches; paperback