The Blue Door

Eddie Cero Mystery #1

by David Fulmer

As welterweight boxer Eddie Cero makes his way home through a dark Philadelphia alley, he steps in on two punks beating up an older man. It’s a favor that’s going to turn Eddie’s life upside down. Sal Giambroni buys Eddie a round and offers him a part-time gig helping with his private-detective work. Despite Eddie’s reluctance, a few days on the job reveal that he has a knack for snooping—and then he stumbles onto a cold case involving a missing soul singer. A music lover with a budding interest in the singer’s attractive, talented sister, Eddie finds himself involved in a violent, twisted story of betrayal and intrigue, power and passion—all set to the beat of rock and roll. David Fulmer’s acclaimed Storyville series brought us a New Orleans teeming with jazz. The Dying Crapshooter’s Blues took fans to Atlanta and the blues. The Blue Door now brings us the vibrant city of Philadelphia and the early days of its famous soul.

Genres: Mystery, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Crime

323 pages, Hardcover

First published January 7, 2008

About the author

David Fulmer has been a writer and producer for over twenty-five years.

Series:
* Valentin St. Cyr Mystery
* Eddie Cero Mystery

Reviews

[Michael]

Dammit, it was another detective "noir" book. You'd think people would get tired of writing these tales, or that I'd get smart and quit reading them. Guess not. And the bruise on my jaw said it loudest. There's no moving some people without a stick, especially me, and I knew I'd get no answers today. It was turning into a drizzly night in this beat-up town, so's you could barely see the neon through the fog. What a day. I needed to get out of the cold and have a drink or ten, then maybe a visit to Darla's to clear my head... Ha hah. Anyway, this was pretty good. A retired boxer turned detective, a sultry black blues singer, impossible love, dead people, a dirty town. The usual.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

My friend, Jason, recommended this book as it's a local Atlanta author and someone we were going to go see at a reading. I'd never heard of him (the author, not Jason).

Still, pretty good book. Reminds me a bit of a 20th-Century version of David Liss's novels. Protagonist is welterweight boxer at the end of his career who falls into private investigations because it kind of came along. He has a knack for it and takes on a three-year old cold case in what becomes a very compelling story line.

The setting is just as important as the characters and plot here. The Blue Door takes place in 1960's Philadelphia amid the tensions of Jim Crow and the emergence of rock and roll and jazz as a force for change.

Eddie, our boxer detective, is a child of Italian immigrants, a lover of music, and a surprisingly shrewd student of human behavior. The harmony of that David Fulmer creates here through these various forces of cultural change mades this book very enjoyable for me.

[JoeK · Rating 4 out of 5]

Better than I expected, but not perfect. I guess it's a noir cliché that the tough guy detective fall in love with the damsel at the centre of the case. Because this is set against the historic backdrop of the early sixties civil rights movement, we get the added trope of the white guy and the black girl coming together despite the cultural forces keeping them apart.
Clichés aside, it was nice to see Eddie develop from boxer to detective, and likewise it's also almost unheard of to see a detective investigating more than one case at the same time (and not have them be coincidentally related somehow).
There was a lot of good character development among the main cast and the conflict between the leads seemed realistic, instead of a contrived "the author needs to keep the lovers apart to create tension". Ive seen way too much of that lately, possibly in as many as five books this year alone. It must be something that they teach at writers workshops...

[Shane Fritz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eddie loses a fight in the ring when a well-placed punch re-opens a cut over his eye that bleeds profusely. When he is told to take a break from his life in the ring, a detective encourages him to work for him doing surveillance. But what obsesses Eddie is the unsolved case of a singer-performer who went missing. Suddenly being a detective sounds interesting.

[Marilaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not the kind of book I normally would read but I enjoyed it. Had a twist I did not see coming.

[LJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

THE BLUE DOOR (Unlicensed Investigator-Eddie Cero-Philadelphia-1962) - VG
Fulmer, David – Standalone
Harcourt, Inc., 2008, US Hardcover ISBN: 9780151011810

First Sentence: At ten thirty on the night of March 24, 1962, Eddie Cero walked out the back door of the Southside Boxing Club in Philadelphia with a bloody bandage over his eyebrow and forty dollars cash in his pocket.

Welter-weight boxer Eddie Cero, leaving a less-than-successful bout, rescues a man from being beat up. –Salvatore “Sal” Giambroni, private investigator. Sal immediately offers Eddie some work as an investigator. While on the job, Eddie comes across Valerie Pope, sister of Johnny Pope, the leader of a black rock group who suddenly disappeared three years before. Eddie’s love of music motivates him to find out what happened to Johnny, in spite of the resistance and that the other members of Johnny’s group are being murdered.

I didn’t care quite as much for this book as I have all of Fulmer’s previous books, but I think that’s more my fault than the author’s as the early 60’s are not my favorite time period, although I remember it very well. That said, Fulmer conveys the time beautifully, particularly the racial tension of the time. This book, for me, did lack the strong sense of place his other books have created. Still, Fulmer is a wonderful writer. He is a craftsman of plot and character. Eddie is wonderful with a touch of self-deprecating humor, and his mentor, Sal, may be my favorite character of all. Reading a book by Fulmer is always a delight, and this was no exception.

[Bonnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was excellent. I was craving a gumshoe, P.I. kind of book, and this hit the spot.

Eddie Cero is a down on his luck boxer in the '70's, and, one night he comes across a man getting beat up by some thugs. He rescues him, and it ends up that he's a P.I. who then offers Eddie a job. Eddie has nothing better to do, so he takes him up on the offer, and then discovers he has a knack for the job.

Things seem to be meant to be when he sees a woman singing in a night club, and discovers that she is the sister of the lead singer in a doo-wop group, who disappeared without a trace years ago. He decides to do an investigation of his own (what better way to woo a pretty lady, than to find her brother's killer, no?), despite the lack of clues, but suddenly things take a serious turn when everyone he questions ends up dead.

The only thing I didn't get, was if he's trying to solve the mystery to 'win the girl' and she repeatedly tells him to drop the case, why he kept proceeding.

It was dark and twisty, and kept me guessing throughout. This one had a fantastic way of really walking you through what he did at all times, but it never was too much detail, and it never got boring. That takes talent.

This was definitely not one for the kiddies. There was cursing, and prostitutes, but it didn't bother me. There was one boxing fight, though, that was a little cringe-worthy. Quite bloodily described.

If you're looking for a dark and mysterious P.I. tale that keeps you guessing, I recomend this one.

[Viccy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This new stand-alone, featuring “Fast” Eddie Cero, broken-down boxer, is another winner from David Fulmer, Shamus Award winning author. After one too many beatings in the ring, Eddie decides to hang up his boxing gloves and join Sal Giambroni in SG Confidential Investigations. In the course of their first case, Eddie discovers he has a knack for snooping and he and Sal take down Walter Stollman, who is embezzling from his employer and wants to take off with his secretary. In the glow of this success, Eddie decides to take on a cold case – find out what happened to Johnny Pope, lead man for a South Philly doo-wop group, the Excels. This is the Golden Age for South Philly, Dick Clark and the Bandstand rule the airwaves and doo-wop is all the rage. Johnny Pope was here one day and gone the next and nobody knows where he went…except maybe his sister, Valerie Pope, who now sings at The Blue Door, Eddie’s hang-out joint. Or, his agent, Eugene White. Or, his cousin, Tommy. Or, Fat Cat, the Philly DJ. Or, George Roddy, the record label executive. With too many suspects and not enough information, Eddie stumbles around and eventually finds out the truth. It is a too familiar tale of betrayal and power, set in the early days of rock and roll.

[Tapley · Rating 4 out of 5]

When ex-fighter Eddie Cero takes up with a private investigator to make a little cash, he finds himself drawn to the 3-year-old disappearance of a local musician. This story deals with racial tension and the dark underbelly of human behavior, but for all that it is a story with great heart. David Fulmer transports his readers to 1960’s Philadelphia, and somehow manages to make his gritty setting feel like home.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a well-written crime novel, set in 1960 Philadelphia. The main character is an ex-boxer who becomes an assistant to a private investigator. His fixation on a singer and the mysterious disappearance of her brother distracts him from his duties and soon lands him in trouble. This is lots of fun to read, and highly recommended. I especially love the music references and the attention to detail.

[Arlen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Congrats, Mr. Fulmer, on bringing us someone we'd never expect to be a sleuth, for writing a true music lover, on leaving us some good guys in the spirit of the law (not just the letter of it). When Eddie Cero stares in the face of the possible end of his boxing career, he sees a tough row to hoe. Note, I listened to the audiobook version, and it sounded like a great film noir. So my 5 stars is for the audiobook.

[HÜLYA · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yazarı çok başarılı buldugumu söylemelıyım. Olayları o kadar güzel kurgulamiş ki,Başlarda çok sakin olan roman sayfalar ilerledıkce tansıyonu yavas yavaş yükselip,bir anda heyecan son raddinı buluyor.Olayların 1962 yılında geçmesi o tarihlerden kesitler vermesi çok güzeldi.Kitabın sonuna doğru olaylar birdenbire hızlanıyor.kendinizi olayların içinde buluyorsunuz.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am kind of at a loss about what to say about this book, which is a bit unusual for me. First of all, I listened to the audio version which was well done. Everyone knows what is meant when a book is described as "chick lit". But is there an opposite gender equivalent? That's what I think of this book....

[Paul Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it. I just love his writer's voice. I felt the same way about the Valentin St Cyr stories. And I'm just grateful that he happens to lend that voice to my favorite genre. Mystery writers are the best!!
Read this

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

David Fulmer is always worth reading. Instead of the Valentine St. Cyr novels of New Orleans, this one stars Eddie Cero, an ex-boxer learning the detective trade in Philadelphia in the late 50s. I'd love to see a sequel.

[Debbie Maskus · Rating 3 out of 5]

#1 Eddie Cero

[Robert Lamb]

Good novel. I recommend it.

[Katrina Gonsalves · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although not set in New Orleans, I think I liked it more than his Chasing the Devil's Tail. Interesting characters, and all very believable.

[Ronn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this almost as much as Fulmer's Storeyville series. I hope there's more books with these characters coming.

[Katie]

My favorite of his

[Jack Heath]

Synopsis: Philadelphia boxer Eddie Cero stops two punks beating up an old man. It leads to a part-time gig in PI work. He enjoys it.