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Evan Horne #5
Looking for Chet Baker
Looking for Chet Baker by Bill Moody, released on Feb 21, 2003, is available now for purchase.
272 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
19 people are currently reading
164 people want to read
About the author
Bill Moody
32 books12 followersBill Moody is a mystery author and professional jazz drummer. He is the author of Shades of Blue, Looking for Chet Baker, Bird Lives! and three other Evan Horne novels.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
September 7, 2013
I’m a musician, I love a mystery, and I’m a pushover for anyone who is passionate about their art. Bill Moody gave us a minor mystery and a major passion in Looking for Chet Baker. He portrayed Evan Horne beautifully, showing his curiosity that seduced him into his adventures outside music as well as showing his passion for his music. I couldn’t get enough of it. He even inspired me to listen to a few of Chet Baker’s performances. I will read more of his books. I give it 4 stars.
September 28, 2024
Picked this up with absolutely no expectations, never heard of this author but the combination of jazz music and a mystery plot seemed intriguing. It didn't necessarily disappoint but it also didn't quite scratch the detective itch that lives inside of me at all times; the mystery just didn't end up being that mysterious in my opinion. A lot of the story revolved around personal aspects of the main character, which was both nice (since it tied in with the jazz subplot and I like jazz) and a bit annoying because it made for a veerrryyy long intro to the story with a lot of backstory about the MC while I mainly just wanted to read about a jazz mystery and not why Evan Horne was in therapy and who his ex love interests were... you know? Another thing that threw me off a little was the switching between present- and past-tense sometimes was really weirdly done but that was really a minor point.
Overall the plot and the eventual resolution was way less exciting than I wished and it was also over relatively quick in comparison to the other, less exciting parts of the book. Some things I'm left wondering about, like for example (spoiler alert?) I thought that Chet Baker impersonator guy would have way more of a role in the story? Where did he even go? It was still a nice book and I enjoyed reading it though!! It's a shame I accidentally destroyed it a little in the rain :(
tldr: very fun to read if both jazz and mystery fan, but will not change your life.
Overall the plot and the eventual resolution was way less exciting than I wished and it was also over relatively quick in comparison to the other, less exciting parts of the book. Some things I'm left wondering about, like for example (spoiler alert?) I thought that Chet Baker impersonator guy would have way more of a role in the story? Where did he even go? It was still a nice book and I enjoyed reading it though!! It's a shame I accidentally destroyed it a little in the rain :(
tldr: very fun to read if both jazz and mystery fan, but will not change your life.
September 17, 2021
Like the Chet Baker info and the stuff about jazz. All the jazz standards they played are ones I like. Really good descriptions of the music, how Evan Horne and Fletcher Paige meshed on the bandstand, Liked the description of Monte Rio, a place I've been, and Amsterdam. But Bill Moody is no Raymond Chandler.
December 5, 2017
I read this because I love Baker's rendition of "Funny Valentine". It is an insightful look into his last, tragic days.
August 24, 2021
When Jazz is mentioned in fiction, it is usually because the author is a fan and wants to get in a gratuitous mention. I'm certainly OK with this when it is handled well in the context of the story. In this case, Jazz, Jazz musicians, and a Jazz 'lifestyle' is central to this story of a pianist who gets roped into investigating the death of the beloved but extremely troubled trumpet player, Chet Baker [a real life character]. I can say without giving away too much that the story is well told, true to Jazz history, and to the facts of Chet Baker's life and death as I can recall them. This is apparently the 5th book featuring protagonist Evan Horne; I look forward to finding the others.
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December 20, 2022All of the Moody books are centered around the love of Jazz. They are similar to The Violin Conspiracy in that the author truly conveys the almost mystical connection that musicians have for their trade. Once a musician, always a musician. In this book, the mystery is based on a search for an apochryphal album by Chet Baker, a very talented but troubled man who died too early.
Read these books for the atmosphere, and the bond all these artists have for each other, The mysteries themselves are not all that engaging.
Read these books for the atmosphere, and the bond all these artists have for each other, The mysteries themselves are not all that engaging.
July 25, 2023
I found the book quite interesting. I had never heard of Chet Baker and I find myself wanting to listen to his music. It was a great read and recommend it to anyone who likes music and mystery.
March 23, 2014
As a Jazz enthusiast, I can appreciate books revolving around Jazz musicians. And since Evan Horne is in my hometown Amsterdam when he's looking for Chet Baker, that makes it all the more interesting.
I enjoyed Evan's first person narration, and I know Mr. Moody is a musician himself by the way he can write interestingly about performances and the life of musicians.
Evan is visited by his friend Ace in London, just before Evan is to depart for Amsterdam. Ace is a writer and needs Evan to help him research a book on Chet Baker, who died in Amsterdam after falling out of a second story hotel window. Evan, who has been burned by his curiosity and his impromptu investigations before, refuses to assist Ace and leaves him to play the reminder of his gigs in London.
Ace departs for Amsterdam, but by the time Evan arrives, Ace has moved out of his hotel and disappeared. When Evan finds Ace's portfolio on Chet Baker, something he wouldn't just 'leave behind', Evan realizes something is rotten in Amsterdam and goes looking for Ace.
Although as a suspense author myself I figured out the plot pretty soon, it was a joy to follow Evan through Amsterdam. I liked his easy camaraderie with veteran saxophone player Fletcher Paige and Mr. Moody catches the atmosphere and laid-back attitude of Amsterdam pretty good.
For the musical side of the story, Mr. Moody really knows what he's talking about. The Amsterdam part of the story has some problems though. I know the area Mr. Moody describes pretty good (I live about ten minutes walking from the Zeedijk and the Red Light District) and while many things are accurately described, there were plenty of times where the view was biased towards American sensibilities, the sort of seedy, semi-dangerous Amsterdam foreigner hope to find in a city that's safer than probably any city in the US.
Apart from having to remind myself time and time again that the book was first published in 2002, and therefore featured landmarks and situations that aren't there anymore. Jazzclub Bimhuis moved in 2005 to its current location on the Piet Heinkade and you cannot find a payphone in Amsterdam (everybody has cell phones nowadays). So it was kind of a shock when one of the characters did use a cell phone near the end of the book.
Since the book describes the official Chet Baker memorial, I guess Mr. Moody researched/visited Amsterdam between 1999 when the official memorial plaque was fixed to the front of the Prins Hendrik hotel, and 2002, the first publication date of the book. By that time, the seediness of the Zeedijk was more than a decade in the past.
For those who are interested in the memorial, both the official and the 'illegal' Chet Memorial can be viewed on this website.
Some of the Dutch (street) names are flubbed, like a Dutchman called 'De Hass' (Hass is German, the Dutch name would be De Haas), and Prins Hendrik is sometimes spelled as Henrik. The descriptions of the coffeeshops seems more like a description of an opium den. Another thing that bugged me was that Mr. Moody used the phrase 'put him off' where the phrase should've been 'blew him off', once in a narrative, once in a letter.
Despite these flaws I enjoyed this story and I'll probably read more of Mr. Moody's books, especially if they feature more Amsterdam...
3.5 stars.
I enjoyed Evan's first person narration, and I know Mr. Moody is a musician himself by the way he can write interestingly about performances and the life of musicians.
Evan is visited by his friend Ace in London, just before Evan is to depart for Amsterdam. Ace is a writer and needs Evan to help him research a book on Chet Baker, who died in Amsterdam after falling out of a second story hotel window. Evan, who has been burned by his curiosity and his impromptu investigations before, refuses to assist Ace and leaves him to play the reminder of his gigs in London.
Ace departs for Amsterdam, but by the time Evan arrives, Ace has moved out of his hotel and disappeared. When Evan finds Ace's portfolio on Chet Baker, something he wouldn't just 'leave behind', Evan realizes something is rotten in Amsterdam and goes looking for Ace.
Although as a suspense author myself I figured out the plot pretty soon, it was a joy to follow Evan through Amsterdam. I liked his easy camaraderie with veteran saxophone player Fletcher Paige and Mr. Moody catches the atmosphere and laid-back attitude of Amsterdam pretty good.
For the musical side of the story, Mr. Moody really knows what he's talking about. The Amsterdam part of the story has some problems though. I know the area Mr. Moody describes pretty good (I live about ten minutes walking from the Zeedijk and the Red Light District) and while many things are accurately described, there were plenty of times where the view was biased towards American sensibilities, the sort of seedy, semi-dangerous Amsterdam foreigner hope to find in a city that's safer than probably any city in the US.
Apart from having to remind myself time and time again that the book was first published in 2002, and therefore featured landmarks and situations that aren't there anymore. Jazzclub Bimhuis moved in 2005 to its current location on the Piet Heinkade and you cannot find a payphone in Amsterdam (everybody has cell phones nowadays). So it was kind of a shock when one of the characters did use a cell phone near the end of the book.
Since the book describes the official Chet Baker memorial, I guess Mr. Moody researched/visited Amsterdam between 1999 when the official memorial plaque was fixed to the front of the Prins Hendrik hotel, and 2002, the first publication date of the book. By that time, the seediness of the Zeedijk was more than a decade in the past.
For those who are interested in the memorial, both the official and the 'illegal' Chet Memorial can be viewed on this website.
Some of the Dutch (street) names are flubbed, like a Dutchman called 'De Hass' (Hass is German, the Dutch name would be De Haas), and Prins Hendrik is sometimes spelled as Henrik. The descriptions of the coffeeshops seems more like a description of an opium den. Another thing that bugged me was that Mr. Moody used the phrase 'put him off' where the phrase should've been 'blew him off', once in a narrative, once in a letter.
Despite these flaws I enjoyed this story and I'll probably read more of Mr. Moody's books, especially if they feature more Amsterdam...
3.5 stars.
September 6, 2022
An Evan Home mystery, Evan is a jazz piano player who also solves mysteries on the side.
He is recovering from both the injury to his hand and to his psyche from helping to solve a serial killer case in Las Angeles leaving him some personal psychological issues and losing a girlfriend. In an effort to leave this behind him he goes to New York City and then London where he is hired to play. Then on to Amsterdam for another job.
In London an old friend from Las Vegas, university professor Ace Buffington, meets him and asks Evan to work with him to solve the 10 year old mystery of the death of a renown jazz musician Chet Baker who ell from a window in Amsterdam and died. Was it an accident or did some one pushed. Evan turns Ace down because helping him in Las Vegas turned into a lot of trouble and danger for Evan. Ace moves on to Amsterdam and when Evan gets there, Ace has either moved on or something happened to him. To find out what happened to Ace, Even must investigate the death of Chet.
He is recovering from both the injury to his hand and to his psyche from helping to solve a serial killer case in Las Angeles leaving him some personal psychological issues and losing a girlfriend. In an effort to leave this behind him he goes to New York City and then London where he is hired to play. Then on to Amsterdam for another job.
In London an old friend from Las Vegas, university professor Ace Buffington, meets him and asks Evan to work with him to solve the 10 year old mystery of the death of a renown jazz musician Chet Baker who ell from a window in Amsterdam and died. Was it an accident or did some one pushed. Evan turns Ace down because helping him in Las Vegas turned into a lot of trouble and danger for Evan. Ace moves on to Amsterdam and when Evan gets there, Ace has either moved on or something happened to him. To find out what happened to Ace, Even must investigate the death of Chet.
December 26, 2013
I really liked this book. Bill Moody knows his jazz and he know Amsterdam. (Last time I was there I stayed tehre my hotel was within about 20 feet of the red light district, and I now the area.) This is my first Evan Horne book and it appears that some of the others are pretty violent (fine with me), but this one is laid back and sort of a mediation on crime and its psychological cost to those who fight it. It's' also one of the most literate crime books I've read in a long time. I'm checking out the rest of the series.
February 9, 2015
I tend to read mostly non-fiction although I enjoy well written novels and crime and detective stories and I've been a jazz fan especially West Coast post-bop since the early 1950s. This writer and this book seemed like a good fit. However I won't be looking for other books by this author. There was little character development and no tension.
December 16, 2009
The extensive jazz content is extremely well-done. Highly recommended to jazz fans. Purely as a mystery, it's not quite at the highest level, so readers who aren't jazz aficionados may not be so impressed.
January 29, 2016
An easy, fun read. It moves at a good pace. The m.c. is a guy we can root for. I enjoyed following along as he solved the mystery. Moody's a good writer, though perhaps lacking polish. He obviously has quite the knowledge of and passion for jazz.
August 27, 2014
It was ok, but it just did not capture my attention very well. Took me quite awhile to finish it. There seemed to be to much on thought processes, which seemed to be repetitious, and a lot of information that was not really needed to move the story along. It dragged for me way to many times.
December 17, 2016
Jazz and all
Was not sure what to expect and not disappointed. Learned about great musician's and found myself wanting to feel jazz again. Been more of a blues lover and forgot about how jazz also influenced the world.
Was not sure what to expect and not disappointed. Learned about great musician's and found myself wanting to feel jazz again. Been more of a blues lover and forgot about how jazz also influenced the world.
July 5, 2009
A good yarn. A bit of history, a bit of travelogue, a bit of life as a jazz musician in Europe. Some interesting bits about the trumpet king of melancholy, Chet Baker.
December 16, 2009
amsterdam...
August 20, 2011
Like the rest of Bill Moody's Ethan Horne novels, the ending is somewhat perfunctory. However, the ride to get there is enjoyable and entertaining.
March 29, 2013
I like the jazz influence of it. I had read this book from 10 years ago. The plot could have been better.
Joe P.
Joe P.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews