Steel Guitar

Carlotta Carlyle #4

by Linda Barnes

Carlotta Carlyle and Dee Willis once sang in harmony. Now Dee has a skyrocketing music career, while Carlotta drives a cab, dates a mafia scion, and looks for missing persons in Boston. But the miles they've traveled can't change what they once had, or keep it from coming back to haunt them.

Dee wants Carlotta to find the man who once worked magic with a guitar, but now dabbles in blackmail — claiming to be the author of three of Dee's hit songs. When Carlottas stats searching Boston's backwaters she finds a pattern of corruption that leads back to Dee's entourage . . .and then to a dead body in Dee's swank hotel room. Carlotta knows that this gig isn't just about song titles, money, or even murder. Instead, this is the kind of stuff the saddest songs are made of: the past, and what happens when the innocence dies forever.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Crime, Audiobook, Detective, Adult

272 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

Linda Barnes is an American mystery writer, born and raised in Detroit, and graduated from Boston University"s School of Theater. She is best known for her series featuring Carlotta Carlyle, a 6'1" redheaded detective from Boston. Carlotta Carlyle is often compared to the hard-boiled female detectives created by Sue Grafton and Sara Paretsky. Her new novel, "The Perfect Ghost," which will be published in April, 2013, is her first stand-alone mystery.

Reviews

[Barbara Villegas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another Carlotta story. This one with a few twists I didn’t enjoy, but overall still a good novel.

[Karsyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. Ok story with boring flat characters, unlikable too. Didn't really care for anyone in the story, didn't care how it turned out. Didn't hate it, just forgettable.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the Carlotta Carlyle books a lot, and this one has interesting plot twists, involving Carlotta's past as a musician and her ex-husband.

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

A plot and story that really pulled me in. Well resolved too.

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not gonna tell you that these books are fabulous, but they're easy to listen to and I have fun. Another bonus is that they're usually available on Libby without any holds or only one to two people waiting. Most of my holds start at the "months out" point so not having to wait that long is refreshing.

Fate finds Carlotta in this one. She's driving her cab and just happens to pick up her old friend, Dee. Dee is living the high life of fame but Carlotta hasn't seen her in years - since her husband walked out the door and followed Dee on tour.

Dee doesn't recognize Carlotta but asks to be dropped at a sketchy park. Carlotta thinks she might be trying to score and is worried so hangs around. Dee ends up needing help and is surprised when Carlotta appears. Turns out Dee is looking for another old friend and hires Carlotta to do the job, but when someone ends up dead, Carlotta has to start looking at things a bit differently.

Carlotta learns that Dee is being blackmailed by this old friend, but when Carlotta finds the old friend dying of aides she knows that can't be the case and something more sinister is happening. I thought it was fun that Carlotta got to see her ex-hubby and get some closure and that she got to make up with Dee and her old crew.

Here's some minor quibbles I had:

*(minor spoilers) When Carlotta's purse is stolen she doesn't immediately cancel her cards and change her locks. I don't know if this has something to do with the fact that it was written in 1991, but I was absolutely horrified at this. When the inevitable happened I sort of felt like, "duh." I don't like when the "smart" characters do something insanely stupid.

*I didn't understand the big deal about Dee and the friend that committed suicide. They kept acting like Dee could get in big trouble or something. That didn't make any sense to me.

I was actually glad that we didn't have to hear too much about the "little sister." Not a fan of that plot line.

I'll keep reading the series for now.

[Chris Holcombe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of all the 90s women writing crime fiction, I feel that Linda Barnes gets overlooked in favor of Sue Grafton and Sara Paretsky. Which is a shame, because Barnes--and her 6-foot tall, Jewish redhead, cab-driving P.I. Carlotta Carlyle--are both fantastic. There are 12 books in the series but this is one of my favorites.

Set in the music scene and focusing on an old college friend who's become a famous blues singer (this was published in 1991, so think back to when Bonnie Raitt ruled the airwaves), STEEL GUITAR, like all the Barnes stories, starts off with a bang and keeps gaining speed. Dee Willis, a blues superstar, may be talented, but she's also shifty. At first, she hires Carlotta to find an old mutual friend of theirs "for old time's sake." That turns out to be the first of many lies. And the people surrounding Dee--who self-deprecatingly calls herself "an industry"--turn out to be less enamored with the talented singer.

Before Carlotta can tally up the cab fare, she's embroiled in bitter rivalries, shocking secrets, and old wounds. And, of course, murder.

Barnes tells a tight story, packing so much into 200 or so pages, and yet, the reader never feels overwhelmed. (Seriously, I don't know how she does it). Carlotta's voice is immediate and unique, and her world--which includes an adopted "Little Sister," a cop friend, a Mafia boyfriend, a roommate/modern artist, a YMCA volleyball team, and a wheelchair-bound, tour-de-force owner of the cab company--is so rich and layered, you'll never want to leave it.

[Jeff Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Private Eye Carlotta Carlyle finds herself looking into her own past as a musician as she meets up with former band mate Dee Willis, now a successful blues singer who is about to play in her home town of Boston. Despite her superstar status Dee is a mess and pleads for Carlotta to look for her former guitar player Davey Dunrobie who is suing for a song she wrote but he claimed was really his. Carlotta is drawn into an alien world where Dee is the cash cow and everybody has a handle and her bass player is murdered there is an echo of something once more from her past. Steel Guitar keeps you gripped until the end but there is an underwhelming sadness to the book. Dreams and optimism from the characters youth are never what they expected and for Dee it's a poison chalice.

[Benjamin · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is death and mystery here, but it is really a tragedy. Friends were once in a band together. One of them has finally made it big. But under the glittery surface, all is not well. I guess in the technical sense, it is a comedy, in the sense that for some of the characters things end well, but it is a tragedy nonetheless. Plus, there's a lot about the music industry and blues in particular that would be of interest to someone who likes music.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

A female PI, former cop, driving a cab at night to make ends meet. Grabbed me right from the start, read the first half in one evening. Despite the fact that I don’t really understand the music biz, or mob business, I found this kept me engaged, it read fast. I might try another Carlotta Carlyle story.

[Sharron · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like the protagonist and the plot but what really sealed it for me is C. J. Critt’s narration. She has the perfect voice for Carlotta Carlyle. When she narrates a book it’s less a reading and more a performance.

[Susan Cabaniss · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another series I’ve read but don’t remember. Maybe I’ll read the most recent one and see if they are still my taste.

[Russ Leavitt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. Seemed a little drawn out at the end.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is Carlotta Carlysle, in good format, doing what she does best, which is helping a friend and working her way through who did what to who and when did they do it.

[Sheila Wyver · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this about 20 years ago! Still a good story, with Carlotta the fearless PI investigating a missing blues player. Felt very nostalgic for the days of ‘Murder One’ bookshop Clare!

[Teresa Mills-Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

An oldie, 1991 but a goodie.

[Anthony · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant weekend read

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story, well-researched. Entertaining characters. Always learn something new -- this time about early blues players I didn't know about.

[Deb Outland · Rating 3 out of 5]

In general, I like this series, but this book was a litle to enigmatic for my taste. It won't stop me from reading on in the series though!

[Spuddie · Rating 5 out of 5]

#4 Carlotta Carlyle mystery set in Boston, MA. Carlotta, a private investigator who drives cab to fill in the monetary gap, picks up a fare she recognizes--Dee Willis, a blues singer/guitarist who has increasingly gained fame and fortune over the years. The same Dee Willis whom Carlotta used to play with in a blues band. The same Dee Willis who stole Carlotta's husband Cal, now ex.

Carlotta saves Dee from a bunch of hungry hobos who attack when Dee begins waving money around looking for 'one of their kind.' When they've escaped and Dee realizes who she is, she hires Carlotta to find an old mutual friend of theirs, another musician named Davey Dunrobie. Against her better judgment, Carlotta agrees, but when Dee's bass player Brenda ends up dead in Dee's bed, she begins to wonder how that event ties into Dee's hiring Carlotta. As angry as she has been with Dee in the past, Carlotta can't imagine her having anything to do with murder. So who did kill Brenda, and what has it got to do with Davey Dunrobie?

Another good entry in the series, and one in which we get a closer look at Carlotta's past and where she's come from.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid and enjoyable entry in the Carlotta Carlyele series that brings Carlotta's past into play. We finally meet her ex-husband Cal (now clean and sober) her former friend and band mate Dee (a singer on the cusp of the big time and the one who took Cal away) and Davey the friend and ex-band mate who may or may not be trying to blackmail Dee.
The book is a "consequences" story. The sins of the suicide of their friend Lorraine years earlier have come back to haunt them. Most of the book plays out as the search for Davey against the murder of Dee's current bass player, Brenda. A murder staged to look like Lorraine's death. When Davey is finally found by Carlotta and Cal, it is one of the saddest and most poignant moments in the book. One that is only out done by books ending. Davey is Cal's "road not taken" and his condition upsets the assumptions of what is going on for both the characters and the reader.
In the end, the truth (or as much as it that will ever be known) about Lorraine's death comes out and the blackmailer and murder is caught. Carlotta sees Dee with a little more clearly and finds what is behind the beautiful song isn't quite as pretty.

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Linda Barnes's Steel Guitar, this cool fast-paced mystery will leave you singing the blues. Meet Carlotta Carlyle. A former Boston cop turned PI who drove a hack for her side business. When she went to pick up her latest customer, it was a blast of the past. Dee Willis was a R&B singer with a band and a former foe of Carlotta. It all started with a crash of a mad mob at the park, when Carlotta's purse had gotten stolen from her. From there, it went downhill from there, when Dee asked her to find a former friend of theirs and fellow bandmate, Davey Dunrobie. With any bittersweet animosity aside, she discovered what was the story behind the letter she received. She also had some run-ins with her band and groupie, when things turned grisly, when a former band mate turned up dead. It brought back painful memories of when a fellow friend of theirs died the same way a decade ago. Although her close friend was in trouble with the law, she continued the search for Dunrobie and went into her ex-husband Cal. Right in the end, they've nabbed the bad guys and had a sobering ending of their close friend. Bring a hankie!

[Robert Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finished 03/21/2014. Had't read a Carlotta Carlyle novel in a long time & forgot how great they are. CC picks up a fare in front of a hotel & recognizes her as an old friend and musician who is now a star. She is not recognized & is asked to just cruise around and asks to be let out in a dark park in Southy. Dee Willis is attacked by a gang of homeless & hangers on at the park & CC helps rescue her & then is recognized. They are arrested on a drunk's complaint & Mooney has to intervene. DW's bass player is murdered, CC's home is van-dalized, her ex shows up & they find an old friend dying of AIDs. They also are instrumental in the apprehension of a money laundering perp which is blown when the principle witness is shot dead by the murderer of the bass player.

[Ed · Rating 4 out of 5]

#4 in the Carlotta Carlyle series.

Carlotta Carlyle series - Her former best friend, singer Dee Willis, in Boston to begin a tour, hires Carlotta to find a mutual friend, bass player Davey Dunrobie. Carlotta is suspicious--not, she tells herself, because Dee walked off with her husband Cal Therieux, but because Dee isn't the type to pay to have someone located for old time's sake. Dee finally admits that Davey has claimed that she stole his songs and owes him $300,000. The singer wants to talk to Davey, but when she finds the body of her current bass player in her hotel room, she begs Carlotta to stop the search. Intrigued by Dee's plea and angered by the ransacking of her own home, Carlotta decides to investigate.

[Gail · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am reading my way through the Carlotta Carlyle mysteries this summer. I listened to this on audio and am glad I did. The case is about the music industry and the narrator sings during the audio book. This added a lot to my enjoyment. The story takes place in the 80's but other than the lack of cell phones the story isn't that dated. Each book gives a little more history on the main character Carlotta and her co-stars, Paolina, Roz, Mooney, Sam, and Gloria. This one is my favorite so far of the series. The sex, drugs and rock n' roll got to me.

[LJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Steel Guitar - VG
Barnes, Linda - 4th in series

Hired to find a guitar-playing blackmailer who claims to have authored three of rock star Dee Willis' songs, Carlotta Carlyle searches Boston's backwaters and finds a trail of corruption heading in a surprising direction.

Very enjoyable.

[Ryan Mishap · Rating 3 out of 5]

I hate it when mystery characters get a Thing, you know, like blues guitar music here, or Bosch's jazz fetish.Rather than make them seem more like really people, the Thing stands out as an obvious gimmick. Learn to integrate Things without drawing attention to them.

[Joe O'Connor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent; Continuing Character: Carlotta Carlyle; her former blues playing friends, including her ex-husband and a now famous artist, show up to complicate Carlotta's life - then a murder needs to be solved.

[La · Rating 2 out of 5]

Murder, blackmail and drugs in the music world. Surprised? Carlotta's old friend Dee has become a famous singer and is being blackmailed by another old friend. There is a murder, money laundering and an old lover. Not a particularly good book but it is ok.

[Debdanz · Rating 3 out of 5]

i like this series, too- mysteries set in boston- female PI who drives a cab.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this installment of the Carlyle series. Good characters and Barnes knows how to keep the reader interested.