What do you think?
Rate this book
Nick Travers #2
Leavin' Trunk Blues
In the sequel to the critically acclaimed Crossroad Blues, Nick Travers becomes involved in the forty-year-old murder of a blues record producer, a crime for which the victim's potentially innocent lover, Ruby Walker, has spent forty years in prison. Reprint.
336 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2000
56 people are currently reading
301 people want to read
About the author
Ace Atkins
71 books1,561 followersAce Atkins is the author of twenty-eight books, including eleven Quinn Colson novels, the first two of which, The Ranger and The Lost Ones, were nominated for the Edgar Award for Best Novel (he has a third Edgar nomination for his short story "Last Fair Deal Gone Down"). He is the author of nine New York Times-bestselling novels in the continuation of Robert B. Parker's Spenser series. Before turning to fiction, he was a correspondent for the St. Petersburg Times and a crime reporter for the Tampa Tribune, and he played defensive end for Auburn University football.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
December 18, 2025
Not as strong as his first book. It’s a good mixture of blues and mystery but it seems more bloated with filler than the first. If it was edited down somewhat it would flow much better.
December 30, 2022
Leavin' Trunk Blues is Ace Atkins' second book in his Nick Travers series following on from Crossroad Blues. Once again we are immersed in blues music lore, legend and attitude as we are taken to nightclubs, are fed lines from blues numbers and left to appreciate the depth of emotion that goes into the blues. At the same time, there are some pretty tense and violent moments as Travers investigates an old murder.
Nick Travers is a blues historian living in New Orleans who works at Tulane University while compiling the research necessary to write his biography of Eddie Jones, better known as Guitar Slim. As part of his all-encompassing interest in the blues he has been sending letters to Ruby Walker, a former blues singer, requesting an interview with her. Ruby is currently in prison and has so far served a 40 year sentence for the murder of her lover and manager, Billy Lyons. She has agreed to speak to Nick and this prompts him to leave New Orleans and head to Chicago. After talking to Ruby and later, when interviewing more old-time blues players around Chicago, Nick gets the impression that there is a strong possibility that she is innocent and has spent the last 40 years paying for a crime she didn't commit.
Nick begins tracking down the old blues artists around Chicago in a bid to find out what they remembered about the night Billy Lyons died. His presence and his line of questioning don't go unnoticed however and it's not long before Stagger Lee gets to hear of him. Stagger Lee is the ruler of Chicago's South Side projects, ruling through terror and an abundance of crack. He is ably assisted by a couple of prostitutes, Annie and Fannie, who are as deadly as they are alluring, a fact that is demonstrated to us a number of times. When Stagger Lee decides he wants Travers stopped, it's these two he sends to do the dirty work.
The story turns into a tense hunter/stalker scenario, with Travers playing the part of both the hunter and the hunted. While he hunts for information, contacting famous musicians and forgotten recording artists, he is unknowingly being stalked by a couple of killers with an impressive track record. Backing them up is the frighteningly imposing figure of Stagger Lee who, like his namesake of legend, is also a man to be feared.
I found that the actual identity of the murderer really becomes of secondary importance as the story progresses, particularly because it is made perfectly obvious who it is so very early on. Instead, it's the tension built into Travers' search that really dragged me in. The reason behind why Billy Lyons was killed dominates our attention too and is the source of a number of surprises along the way.
There are a lot of characters used throughout the book and they ranged from the crazy, off-beat Annie and Fannie who never really progressed beyond the role of killers who wanted to escape the life they led, to the wonderfully captured irreverence of Dirty Jimmy. Jimmy had the demeanor one would expect of an ex-musician who has already seen it all and the harp-blowing little man livened up every scene in which he was included. As for Nick Travers, he is a fine character with the tough background as an ex-NFL footballer with the New Orleans Saints offset by the music geek enthusiasm he displays when he meets the odd blues legend. He comes with just the right mix of strength and vulnerability.
Leavin' Trunk Blues is a dark, moody story that showcases Chicago's rich history of blues music while providing an enthralling thriller. With the lure of more Nick Travers mysteries to come, I'm sure to be diving into the blues scene courtesy of Ace Atkins in the future.
Nick Travers is a blues historian living in New Orleans who works at Tulane University while compiling the research necessary to write his biography of Eddie Jones, better known as Guitar Slim. As part of his all-encompassing interest in the blues he has been sending letters to Ruby Walker, a former blues singer, requesting an interview with her. Ruby is currently in prison and has so far served a 40 year sentence for the murder of her lover and manager, Billy Lyons. She has agreed to speak to Nick and this prompts him to leave New Orleans and head to Chicago. After talking to Ruby and later, when interviewing more old-time blues players around Chicago, Nick gets the impression that there is a strong possibility that she is innocent and has spent the last 40 years paying for a crime she didn't commit.
Nick begins tracking down the old blues artists around Chicago in a bid to find out what they remembered about the night Billy Lyons died. His presence and his line of questioning don't go unnoticed however and it's not long before Stagger Lee gets to hear of him. Stagger Lee is the ruler of Chicago's South Side projects, ruling through terror and an abundance of crack. He is ably assisted by a couple of prostitutes, Annie and Fannie, who are as deadly as they are alluring, a fact that is demonstrated to us a number of times. When Stagger Lee decides he wants Travers stopped, it's these two he sends to do the dirty work.
The story turns into a tense hunter/stalker scenario, with Travers playing the part of both the hunter and the hunted. While he hunts for information, contacting famous musicians and forgotten recording artists, he is unknowingly being stalked by a couple of killers with an impressive track record. Backing them up is the frighteningly imposing figure of Stagger Lee who, like his namesake of legend, is also a man to be feared.
I found that the actual identity of the murderer really becomes of secondary importance as the story progresses, particularly because it is made perfectly obvious who it is so very early on. Instead, it's the tension built into Travers' search that really dragged me in. The reason behind why Billy Lyons was killed dominates our attention too and is the source of a number of surprises along the way.
There are a lot of characters used throughout the book and they ranged from the crazy, off-beat Annie and Fannie who never really progressed beyond the role of killers who wanted to escape the life they led, to the wonderfully captured irreverence of Dirty Jimmy. Jimmy had the demeanor one would expect of an ex-musician who has already seen it all and the harp-blowing little man livened up every scene in which he was included. As for Nick Travers, he is a fine character with the tough background as an ex-NFL footballer with the New Orleans Saints offset by the music geek enthusiasm he displays when he meets the odd blues legend. He comes with just the right mix of strength and vulnerability.
Leavin' Trunk Blues is a dark, moody story that showcases Chicago's rich history of blues music while providing an enthralling thriller. With the lure of more Nick Travers mysteries to come, I'm sure to be diving into the blues scene courtesy of Ace Atkins in the future.
October 7, 2022
In this 2nd in the series set in the world of the Blues and the Blues Highway, Blues historian Nick Travers heads to Chicago from New Orleans to interview Ruby, the Sweet Black Angel whose blues career peeked and crashed in Chicago, 1959 when she was convicted to a life sentence for killing her lover, Billy Lyons, owner and producer of King Snake Records in Chicago. Ruby has been in prison for 40 years ... and claims she did not murder Billy. Nick starts looking into the crime ultimately peeling back the curtain on a vicious violent time as blues faded in Chicago with therise of R&B and Rock. Along the way we learn a great deal about the Blues Highway when it led to Chicago where careers blazed and went out in the blink of an eye.
It's a pity that Atkins only wrote 4 books in this series because they are so much more than thrillers: they are mini-histories of the blues, from origins to its fade as other music ascended (specifically R&B and Rock), mixing real life musicians and singers and their stories, including murders and betrayals, with fiction. There is a lot of violence and bloodshed, amorality, and poor treatment of women and blacks, but that is all real. Travers himself is an antihero and I suspect there is more than a little author autobiography present. These are dark compelling works deeply set in a world now gone.
I first discovered this series and read the first during Poll Tally. I will definitely finish the series.
My rating here is really 3.5 stars and probably would be at least 4 stars if I had read it when I was less distracted from reading with work. There were too many days between bouts of reading this.
It's a pity that Atkins only wrote 4 books in this series because they are so much more than thrillers: they are mini-histories of the blues, from origins to its fade as other music ascended (specifically R&B and Rock), mixing real life musicians and singers and their stories, including murders and betrayals, with fiction. There is a lot of violence and bloodshed, amorality, and poor treatment of women and blacks, but that is all real. Travers himself is an antihero and I suspect there is more than a little author autobiography present. These are dark compelling works deeply set in a world now gone.
I first discovered this series and read the first during Poll Tally. I will definitely finish the series.
My rating here is really 3.5 stars and probably would be at least 4 stars if I had read it when I was less distracted from reading with work. There were too many days between bouts of reading this.
August 15, 2016
I've committed myself to finishing the series, though this second book is much less about the music and much more a traditional mystery, technically a "closed case," but one that generates considerable murder and mayhem. Nick Travers moves from the Delta to Chicago for this case, and I really would have liked to have heard more about the life of the Blues singer whose trail he is following.
Besides pretty much losing track of this character whose unlawful conviction for murder has resulted in 20 years of jail time, Atkins, alas, loses his writing ability. I particularly liked the man who pulls an unlit cigar out of his jacket pocket and gave the 'most fascinating facial feature of the week' award to the following: "Her face was flat as a skillet with wide-set eyes, smallish ears, and an ass the size of Texas."
On to the Dark End of the Street. Let's hope Atkins has his ducks in a row for that one.
Besides pretty much losing track of this character whose unlawful conviction for murder has resulted in 20 years of jail time, Atkins, alas, loses his writing ability. I particularly liked the man who pulls an unlit cigar out of his jacket pocket and gave the 'most fascinating facial feature of the week' award to the following: "Her face was flat as a skillet with wide-set eyes, smallish ears, and an ass the size of Texas."
On to the Dark End of the Street. Let's hope Atkins has his ducks in a row for that one.
January 29, 2025
I always find the story intriguing and enriched with tidbits of blues, but the side characters become a little off putting to the seriousness of the actual story. All in all I enjoyed it.
November 15, 2012
Second in the series, our ex-NFL player/now blues historian professor, Nick Travers is off to Chicago. To interview Ruby Walker, whom they called Sweet Black Angel in the 50's, and has spent 40 years in prison for killing her lover. Nick and the reader, see the gritty/slums/under belly side of Chicago...the South Side. With a monsterous drug dealer after Nick to keep him from digging up the past, to him finding some of the names of blues past. As in his first novel, Atkins research of blues artists, icons from the 30's, makes this a unique mystery series.
November 23, 2014
Set in Chicago. Another blues story, the second published work. I enjoyed it, but I like his more current works more.
March 20, 2024
Diggin into the archive for Ace Atkins books before delving back into the latter Spenser series, as written by Atkins and others. Remembered I have a couple of early Nick Travers Blues-hunter stories to read as a primer.
While the blues information feels encyclopedic, it is probably the only thing carrying this particular book. Travers is a blues historian/professor on the hunt for a story, given a differing tale than the "truth" by his subject, and heads out to search for clues into a 40-years-closed murder case.
The background of Travers from Louisiana gets rehashed easily early on, the reason for seeking out the truth, follows suit. There was an echo of Elmore Leonard within these pages, attributed to the period specific characters and their actions/activities. Lots of moving pieces, very stereotypical, flat actors that behave almost robotically. And you see the ending before they execute their intentions.
There is no real mystery to solve when a black woman is framed for murder in the 60's, yet our hero is determined to uncover the details. It helps that he is somewhat of a tough guy (being ex-NFL is supposed to be an indicator) who takes a good deal of punishment, has very little superiority in anything but being annoying, and still finds the bad guy.
Beyond naming the South Side of Chicago, nothing left any reminder of location beyond being cold near Christmas. The cast is mainly populated with blues musicians, spinning their own version of what happened to suit their own needs. Nothing rocket science or unbelievable, quite the opposite, money, sex, and power all play their part in the rudimentary tale of human depravity.
The only thing that kept clanging in my mind was, Travers being white in the black world of the blues, even gets told as much within the story. Beyond being the truth, just an ugly reminder of our past that permeates this character.
Not bad, will have a better grasp after the next book in the series.
Thanks for reading.
While the blues information feels encyclopedic, it is probably the only thing carrying this particular book. Travers is a blues historian/professor on the hunt for a story, given a differing tale than the "truth" by his subject, and heads out to search for clues into a 40-years-closed murder case.
The background of Travers from Louisiana gets rehashed easily early on, the reason for seeking out the truth, follows suit. There was an echo of Elmore Leonard within these pages, attributed to the period specific characters and their actions/activities. Lots of moving pieces, very stereotypical, flat actors that behave almost robotically. And you see the ending before they execute their intentions.
There is no real mystery to solve when a black woman is framed for murder in the 60's, yet our hero is determined to uncover the details. It helps that he is somewhat of a tough guy (being ex-NFL is supposed to be an indicator) who takes a good deal of punishment, has very little superiority in anything but being annoying, and still finds the bad guy.
Beyond naming the South Side of Chicago, nothing left any reminder of location beyond being cold near Christmas. The cast is mainly populated with blues musicians, spinning their own version of what happened to suit their own needs. Nothing rocket science or unbelievable, quite the opposite, money, sex, and power all play their part in the rudimentary tale of human depravity.
The only thing that kept clanging in my mind was, Travers being white in the black world of the blues, even gets told as much within the story. Beyond being the truth, just an ugly reminder of our past that permeates this character.
Not bad, will have a better grasp after the next book in the series.
Thanks for reading.
November 29, 2019
It's been a year since Nick Traver's search for the lost recording of blues phantom Robert Johnson in Crossroad Blues. He has grown comfortable playing his harp at JoJo's in the French Quarter and teaching blues history at Tulane. A difficult case was the last thing on the blues tracker's mind.
When new details on the mysterious death of a blues record producer surface from a legendary guitarist over a bottle of Crown Royal, Nick becomes intrigued. In 1959, Billy Lyons' body was found stabbed with an ice pick and floating in Lake Michigan. His lover, a blues singer named Ruby Walker, was sentenced to life in prison for the murder. But even after Ruby was sentenced, rumors emerged of a gambling debt to the black mafia or a possible hit called by Lyons' partner, Moses Jordan, who moved on to immortality with another label.
After arriving at Chicago's Union Station, Travers learns there are still those who'd like Billy Lyons' murder to remain unsolved. He soon has fresh blood splattered on his boots and he's running in the blackened snow from a rogues gallery of killers that include a 6-foot-5, 300 pound breathing ball of hate named Stagger Lee Jordan and a beautiful pair of sociopaths--Butcher Knife-Totin' Annie and Fast-Lovin' Fannie--two women with respective talents for love and death.
His quest for Lyons' killer retraces the route of the Delta greats during the Great Migration of blacks after World War II. From the historic Maxwell Street Market to the South Side's Checkerboard Lounge, take a hint from Robert Johnson when he sang, "C'mon. Baby don't you want to go. Back to that same old place--My Sweet Home Chicago."
When new details on the mysterious death of a blues record producer surface from a legendary guitarist over a bottle of Crown Royal, Nick becomes intrigued. In 1959, Billy Lyons' body was found stabbed with an ice pick and floating in Lake Michigan. His lover, a blues singer named Ruby Walker, was sentenced to life in prison for the murder. But even after Ruby was sentenced, rumors emerged of a gambling debt to the black mafia or a possible hit called by Lyons' partner, Moses Jordan, who moved on to immortality with another label.
After arriving at Chicago's Union Station, Travers learns there are still those who'd like Billy Lyons' murder to remain unsolved. He soon has fresh blood splattered on his boots and he's running in the blackened snow from a rogues gallery of killers that include a 6-foot-5, 300 pound breathing ball of hate named Stagger Lee Jordan and a beautiful pair of sociopaths--Butcher Knife-Totin' Annie and Fast-Lovin' Fannie--two women with respective talents for love and death.
His quest for Lyons' killer retraces the route of the Delta greats during the Great Migration of blacks after World War II. From the historic Maxwell Street Market to the South Side's Checkerboard Lounge, take a hint from Robert Johnson when he sang, "C'mon. Baby don't you want to go. Back to that same old place--My Sweet Home Chicago."
November 7, 2022
Well here we go again! Nick Travers is enjoying New Orleans. He is teaching at Tulane University and playing Gigs at night. Something or someone has peaked his curiosity by telling him of the mysterious death of a Blues record producer and about the Blues singin' woman who was convicted of killing him and has been in prison in Illinois for the past 40 years,
So... we are off on a wild journey with Nick from Louisiana up the blues highway to Chicago. Re- tracing the Great Migration route which many a Blue's performer followed along with the Black who moved north after coming home from WW II and finding that Jim Crow STILL ruled the south.
As with the first novel in this series this one is loaded with history of the Delta Blues.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and look forward to finding and reading the next one.
So... we are off on a wild journey with Nick from Louisiana up the blues highway to Chicago. Re- tracing the Great Migration route which many a Blue's performer followed along with the Black who moved north after coming home from WW II and finding that Jim Crow STILL ruled the south.
As with the first novel in this series this one is loaded with history of the Delta Blues.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and look forward to finding and reading the next one.
March 15, 2018
If you are a Blues fan, this is a must! Delves into the Chicago music scene with a nostalgic look backwards in a contemporary Chicago setting.
Atkins blends fictional Blues characters alongside their own historical Blues icon influence. Fast paced and showing polish when compared to his debut book, Crossroad Blues.
Atkins blends fictional Blues characters alongside their own historical Blues icon influence. Fast paced and showing polish when compared to his debut book, Crossroad Blues.
August 29, 2017
I really like the books by Ace. As his story unfolds he weaves his love of the blues and not just the music but the people who brought it to us. Thank you Ace for the great story and thank you for keeping the flame alive!
July 28, 2018
I personally prefer Ace Atkin’s Quinn Colson series to the Nick Travers series. I am not a blues fan, but I did enjoy the history of the blues music scene in Chicago in the 30’s and 40’s. The actual mystery was a little flat.
January 9, 2020
I just finished this book. I did very much enjoy reading this one as it was full of excitement as it were. NIck Travers is a very interesting character. I will keep reading the books books about him.
October 17, 2018
You can feel Atkins’ ability progress in each book.
April 21, 2022
I'm not sure I like Nick. There are LOTS of names.
January 23, 2023
Very well written. Evocative prose, twisty-turny plot. In depth exploration on what it takes to write the blues from the Delta to Chicago.
Great characters.
If you like the blues and a good mystery, you will love this book.
Great characters.
If you like the blues and a good mystery, you will love this book.
September 2, 2012
Oh, baby don't you want to go
Back to the land of California, to my sweet home Chicago
It seemed like everyone in the Mississippi delta country could hear that sweet song that Robert Johnson sang calling them north to Chicago. It fell on there ears like a sweet lullaby, a promise of a better life to the north. Young Ruby Walker was no exception. As a teenager she haunted the roadhouses and blues joints hoping that one day she could sing the blues in the sweet home up north "Chicago."
Well, Ruby did make it north and for a while it was a good and sweet home. Ruby hit the big time and became known for her song Leavin' Trunk Blues. But it seemed predestined that Ruby was to live a life of the blues. One morning she woke up soaked in the blood of her manager and lover, Billy Lyons and before she knew it she was serving life in the big house for his murder.
That was in 1959 and as the years pass slowly by, Ruby steadfastly maintained that she is innocent. She begins to write to professor and blues historian Nick Travers. Nick agrees to research the circumstances surrounding the murder, because he hopes to do research on Ruby, her life and the people she knew at the time. Nick feels that historians are missing the opportunity to record living history by forgetting the people who participated in the great migration and focusing on the 1930's and the delta.
Ace Atkins has created a tasty mystery with Leavin' Trunk Blues, the second of his Nick Travers series. It is nicely atmospheric taking place in Chicago with Nick visiting blues clubs as well as Chicago's seedy underbelly to dig up information. Fast paced with action and adventure to spare, it draws the reader quickly into Nicks world.
Nick is an unlikely sleuth. A former football player who fell in love with the blues and became a blues historian from Tulane University. We find out that he can get down and dirty with the best of them and there are times in Leavin' Trunk Blues that he has to.
For a fan of mysteries or a fan of the blues, Leavin' Trunk Blues is a great read. If you are both it is even better.
Back to the land of California, to my sweet home Chicago
It seemed like everyone in the Mississippi delta country could hear that sweet song that Robert Johnson sang calling them north to Chicago. It fell on there ears like a sweet lullaby, a promise of a better life to the north. Young Ruby Walker was no exception. As a teenager she haunted the roadhouses and blues joints hoping that one day she could sing the blues in the sweet home up north "Chicago."
Well, Ruby did make it north and for a while it was a good and sweet home. Ruby hit the big time and became known for her song Leavin' Trunk Blues. But it seemed predestined that Ruby was to live a life of the blues. One morning she woke up soaked in the blood of her manager and lover, Billy Lyons and before she knew it she was serving life in the big house for his murder.
That was in 1959 and as the years pass slowly by, Ruby steadfastly maintained that she is innocent. She begins to write to professor and blues historian Nick Travers. Nick agrees to research the circumstances surrounding the murder, because he hopes to do research on Ruby, her life and the people she knew at the time. Nick feels that historians are missing the opportunity to record living history by forgetting the people who participated in the great migration and focusing on the 1930's and the delta.
Ace Atkins has created a tasty mystery with Leavin' Trunk Blues, the second of his Nick Travers series. It is nicely atmospheric taking place in Chicago with Nick visiting blues clubs as well as Chicago's seedy underbelly to dig up information. Fast paced with action and adventure to spare, it draws the reader quickly into Nicks world.
Nick is an unlikely sleuth. A former football player who fell in love with the blues and became a blues historian from Tulane University. We find out that he can get down and dirty with the best of them and there are times in Leavin' Trunk Blues that he has to.
For a fan of mysteries or a fan of the blues, Leavin' Trunk Blues is a great read. If you are both it is even better.
March 28, 2012
Leavin' Trunk Blues is the second mystery in which the detective is blues historian Nick Travers. I absolutely loved the first, Crossroad Blues, in which Travers investigates the death of musical prodigy Robert Johnson.
In this book, there is a character known as Stagger Lee. Nick Travers, doubts his existence because Stagger Lee is an urban legend. Neither Travers nor the author, Ace Atkins, reveals how or why Stagger Lee became a legend, or what role the legend plays in African American culture.
What he does give us seemed to me a fairly disappointing standard sort of mystery. Travers investigates on behalf of a blues performer who has spent forty years in prison for a crime she hadn't committed. It's a sleazy case involving predictable motivations. If it weren't for that tantalizing reference to Stagger Lee as a legend, I wouldn't have cared about any of it. Stagger Lee is the only mystery that I wanted this book to solve.
For the complete review including research about the legend of Stagger Lee, see my post "Who Is Stagger Lee?" on my blog at:
http://www.maskedpersona.blogspot.com
In this book, there is a character known as Stagger Lee. Nick Travers, doubts his existence because Stagger Lee is an urban legend. Neither Travers nor the author, Ace Atkins, reveals how or why Stagger Lee became a legend, or what role the legend plays in African American culture.
What he does give us seemed to me a fairly disappointing standard sort of mystery. Travers investigates on behalf of a blues performer who has spent forty years in prison for a crime she hadn't committed. It's a sleazy case involving predictable motivations. If it weren't for that tantalizing reference to Stagger Lee as a legend, I wouldn't have cared about any of it. Stagger Lee is the only mystery that I wanted this book to solve.
For the complete review including research about the legend of Stagger Lee, see my post "Who Is Stagger Lee?" on my blog at:
http://www.maskedpersona.blogspot.com
September 29, 2012
Book Two in the Nick Travers series by Ace Atkins - 3.5 stars. It is the week before Christmas, and Nick is in Chicago, interviewing Ms. Walker and any of her friends and associates he can find in an effort to solve the 1959 murder of famous blues record produce, Billy Lyons. Nick's biggest problem is that Ruby has been in prison for 40 years after being convicted of that murder and it does not appear that anyone wants to see her freed. In the course of his investigation Nick run afoul of a local hood known as Stagger Lee who tries to kill him.
Although the mystery is fairly conventional, the blues setting is sufficient to set this book apart from the rest of "the pack." The blues permeates the entire story with actual historical characters mentioned among the fictional characters that populate the story. In the end, I was left with a desire to know more about this most American of musical genres.
The first book in the series was more compelling, but this one fleshes out Nick's history more, and adds dimension to his story. I am looking forward to reading the next in the series.
Although the mystery is fairly conventional, the blues setting is sufficient to set this book apart from the rest of "the pack." The blues permeates the entire story with actual historical characters mentioned among the fictional characters that populate the story. In the end, I was left with a desire to know more about this most American of musical genres.
The first book in the series was more compelling, but this one fleshes out Nick's history more, and adds dimension to his story. I am looking forward to reading the next in the series.
April 13, 2011
This book is a big improvement over the previous one in the series, CROSSROAD BLUES. While I enjoyed the first one, I found this one to be much more engaging, and the characters more realistic and well-rounded.
This time, Nick Travers heads to Chicago to investigate the 1959 murder of a blues producer. A famous female blues singer has been in jail since she was convicted for his death, but now she claims to be wrongly imprisoned. Nick, as a student of the blues and a sucker for a hard-luck story, decides to try and set things right.
Things get complicated as Nick reconnects with a past lover, and it turns out that there's more to the story of what happened the night of the murder.
Unfortunately, Atkins continues his trend of having unnecessarily quirky "hit men" populate the novel (although in this case they're women), which is the only reason I knocked a star off of my rating.
Moody, intriguing, and engaging, I found this one to be a quick, entertaining read.
The next book in the series is DARK END OF THE STREET.
This time, Nick Travers heads to Chicago to investigate the 1959 murder of a blues producer. A famous female blues singer has been in jail since she was convicted for his death, but now she claims to be wrongly imprisoned. Nick, as a student of the blues and a sucker for a hard-luck story, decides to try and set things right.
Things get complicated as Nick reconnects with a past lover, and it turns out that there's more to the story of what happened the night of the murder.
Unfortunately, Atkins continues his trend of having unnecessarily quirky "hit men" populate the novel (although in this case they're women), which is the only reason I knocked a star off of my rating.
Moody, intriguing, and engaging, I found this one to be a quick, entertaining read.
The next book in the series is DARK END OF THE STREET.
October 8, 2014
I had not read the first book Crossroad Blues but this one caused a lot of interest from musicians when I showed it around.
A blues historian is looking for elderly people to interview who can tell him about the past blues and jazz scene in Chicago. People doing farm work in the southern states could earn much greater wages by moving to work in Chicago and they brought their music with them. But some were exploited by music managers and signed contracts that were not in their favour, so they ended up poorly off.
Amid his interviews the historian unearths a 'cold case' murder and his investigations take a more sinister turn as people today are endangered by what they might reveal.
I did enjoy it although it is a very gritty tale, not for those who only read cosies. The story is well told and the characters feel very real.
A blues historian is looking for elderly people to interview who can tell him about the past blues and jazz scene in Chicago. People doing farm work in the southern states could earn much greater wages by moving to work in Chicago and they brought their music with them. But some were exploited by music managers and signed contracts that were not in their favour, so they ended up poorly off.
Amid his interviews the historian unearths a 'cold case' murder and his investigations take a more sinister turn as people today are endangered by what they might reveal.
I did enjoy it although it is a very gritty tale, not for those who only read cosies. The story is well told and the characters feel very real.
October 16, 2009
Heaven for Delta and Chicago blues fans. The action takes place in the present but the mystery to be solved takes place in 1959. As a result, you get a dissertation on The Great Migration to Chicago and the evolution of the blues. The author is clearly biased in favor of the first generation bluesmen like Muddy Waters and not so keen on the newer generations i.e. Buddy Guy. Atkins did a wonderful job of recreating the atmosphere of South Side then and through the last days of the infamous Robert Taylor Homes. I'm not sure how this book would play with non-blues fans and those who don't really know Chicago. As for me, I disappeared into the book and lived in its settings for the duration.
September 12, 2016
Obviously I am still on an Ace Atkins binge, or exploration. I do like this series better than the Ranger guy series: it's better written, the characters real, the places evoked. And they are good. BUT, Atkins always tries, finally, too hard, the plot goes on a little too long. Perhaps only a ruthless editor is needed. Please, Ace, stop with the beloved and the hair across the face. Behind the ear. Hiding the eyes. I too want to be another James Lee Burke, but there is only one. There is so much to learn from him, but keep your own. Voice. Like me: Atkins tries to fit the whole world in a grain of sand cuz he thinks he should. Sometimes it's just a grain of sand. I am talking to myself.
Read
July 26, 2011I liked this book because it gave you two perspectives: the account of Ruby, who's in jail for a murder she didn't commit, and Nick Travers, the man who's out to prove her innocence. This is a great book about the twists and turns of how one person can survive the system and the only man that believed her. Good read!
April 22, 2012
Okay I admit it....I'm a sucker for any book that with the blues, Chicago and a tough guy like Nick Travers that's got brains and heart to match his brawn. Once I started reading i couldn't but the book down. It has some flaws - dragging a bit in spots, uneven transitions between story lines - but the characters, the turn of phrase, and plot more than made up for them.
October 9, 2008
I quit on about page 200. At first the data dumps about the blues were interesting, but that didn't last 200 pages. I thought the main character was particularly obtuse, which I found annoying. Just got so far and didn't want to go any farther.
July 3, 2016
This book was very much a mixed bag for me. The stories and tidbits about the great Chicago bluesplayers was great, but the mystery part of the story was fairly obvious. I would recommend this to any blues fans, but mystery lovers should beware.
January 11, 2008
My blog post about this book can be read here.
June 2, 2009
loved it
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews