Canary

by Tony Cohan

The headlines numb the entire Lisa Wilde is dead. The singer known as the Canary, whose music excited a generation, is killed in a crash. Now her ex-lover, the man who helped merchandise the idol and make her a star, receives the horrifying message from the brass at RPM cover up her murder. Canary is a literate, hard-edged suspense novel about the underbelly of today's multibillion-dollar record industry. From L.A. to San Francisco, New York and Europe, from the poolsides of the moguls who package the sounds to the flash of the Strip that pulsates to them, Canary follows one man as he stalks Lisa Wilde's killer-only to learn that the same trap that ensnared the Canary is closing in fast on him. A riveting international thriller, Canary is all the more compelling because it was written by an insider. A former creative director of a major record label, Tony Cohan knows the inside story of life and death in the fast lane. Canary is so real and shocking, readers won't be able to catch their breath.

336 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1981

About the author

Tony Cohan grew up in Manhattan and Los Angeles, where at the age of fourteen he made his debut as a jazz musician. After attending Stanford and the University of California he spent two years in Europe and North Africa, performing with jazz artists Dexter Gordon, Bud Powell and blind Catalan pianist Tete Monteliu. Returning to San Francisco, he worked briefly at the University of California Press before moving to Kyoto, Japan for two years to teach and write. Back in California, he wrote an unpublished first novel (and a published erotic novel) and worked as a studio musician with Lowell George, Ry Cooder, and others. During the 1970s he designed media campaigns for musical artists including Van Morrison, Pink Floyd, and Prince. In 1975 he founded the long-running independent press Acrobat Books, publishing nonfiction books in the arts. His 1981 novel Canary (Doubleday) was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year, his 1984 novel Opium (Simon and Schuster) a Literary Guild selection. His bestselling travel narrative On Mexican Time (Random House, 2001) was followed by an autobiographical memoir, Native State (Random House, 2003), a Los Angeles Times Notable Book of the Year, and a second travel narrative, Mexican Days (Random House, 2007). His collaborations as lyricist with pianist and composer Chick Corea include the jazz classic High Wire. His essays, stories, articles, songs and reviews have appeared in a variety of media worldwide. His most recent novel is Valparaíso.

Reviews

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't normally read mysteries. This was good.