Dead Man's Blues

September 25, 2017
Set largely in 1928 Chicago in the months leading up to the landmark championship heavyweight boxing match between Gene Tunney and Jack Dempsey (moved forward from 1927 for dramatic purposes), British author Celestin’s gripping sequel to 2015’s The Axeman chronicles the evolution of jazz and organized crime in early-20th-century America. The narrative can be unwieldy at times with its intricately intertwined story lines (two Pinkerton detectives seek a missing heiress, a crime scene photographer investigates a gruesome murder, and Al Capone brings a heroin-addicted fixer back to Chicago to find the rat in his organization), but the rich description and meticulous attention to historical detail more than compensate. Louis Armstrong’s journey to Chicago and his role in revolutionizing jazz is a highlight. Celestin’s portrayal of the Prohibition-era city—from the widespread political corruption to the rampant racism—gives the story a sobering foundation. Readers will look forward to the third installment (of a projected four), which, Celestin promises in an afterword, will be set in 1940s New York.

December 1, 2017

In this engrossing follow-up to the award-winning The Axeman, a crime scene photographer, a gangster with a dark secret, and two Pinkerton detectives are bound together by a series of crimes that play out in 1928 Chicago.--ACT

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 15, 2017
Set to the pulsing beat of that still relatively new musical phenomenon called jazz, the second in Celestin's historical mystery series (following The Axeman, 2015) moves from 1919 New Orleans to 1928 Chicago ( Jazz was born in New Orleans and grew up in Chicago, thinks Louis Armstrong, a supporting character in the series). African American Pinkerton agent Ida Davis, a friend of Armstrong's, has moved north, too, and is now working with former New Orleans cop Michael Talbot. Their current case has them hunting a missing heiress known to frequent the jazz clubs in theBronzeville neighborhood. Meanwhile, rum-runner Dante Sanfelippo has been summoned back to Chicago by Al Capone, who wants him to find the traitor who may be helping rival gangster Bugs Moran attempt a coup. Prohibition Chicago, early jazz, Capone and Moranall are familiar elements in crime fiction, but Celestin gives them a fresh dusting, and what emerges sparkles with energy. His evocation of the jazz-filled South Side is particularly sharp, and his lead characters, Davis and Talbot, establish an easy, swinging rapport that will make readers want to hear more from them.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)