Shades of Blue: An Evan Horne Mystery

Some gunplay, some mystery, some romance, some heartbreak, and some touching moments come together to form another and quite enjoyable Evan Horne jazz mystery. Horne's skills as a pianist are being recognized in the jazz world as he is asked to record with a well-known drummer in New York City. On the heels of this opportunity, his mentor and friend has recently passed away leaving Horne with a nice inheritance including some mysterious photos and a letter. As Horne pursues the many questions surrounding his mentor, Calvin Hughes, he discovers links to his own past, various jazz musicians, relationships, and old recordings. He once again becomes embroiled in a law enforcement situation where his connection to the FBI serves as both a hindrance and help to complete his journey. Shades of Blue is a little heavy on the jazz side, making it a perfect read for those in the jazz world, but not so understandable for non-musicians or non-music lovers. The joys and sorrows of being a jazz musician are exploited, including side-line stories of fine musicians who were never recognized as such, and others who made it big. Especially enjoyable were the descriptions of the recording process, and the allusions to the complex world of copyright, ownership, performance, greed, and ambition. Moody's experience with jazz music serves him well in this genre, moving the reader realistically into landscape of what makes jazz so endearing. Several odd plot situations were a little confusing and disappointing, however, including the events surrounding a new friend, the unanswered reason for the problems with a missing file, the question of why Hughes never sold his home, and the tendency to be suspicious of some while completely trusting others. While there were plenty of hints of serious corruption on several levels, the book never presented enough passion for or against anyone or anything, creating an emotional disconnect to the characters. I never was sure who to support and never sure who to be against. Also, the events of the story could have been inverted, giving the plot more direction and overall purpose. Still aside from some of these quirks, it is a fun, jazzy read and made me want to dash over to a piano to try some of the charts mentioned throughout the book. I recommend this for jazz and mystery enthusiasts and look forward to many more books by Bill Moody.

Bill Moody's fourth Evan Horne book is a welcome return of this series. Evan, a jazz pianist who has been living and working in London and Amsterdam, has returned to the US and settled down in San Francisco. When he receives a call from an attorney in LA telling him that his mentor of many years ago, a pianist named Calvin Hughes, has died and named Evan as his sole beneficiary, the world as he knows it is turned upside down. Evan travels to LA and, among Hughes' things, discovers evidence that, incredibly, Hughes might be his father. [As far as he knew, Cal had never been married and, further, Evan's mother and father are alive and well and living in Boston.] Also unearthed are some sheets of music, in Hughes' writing, that Evan recognizes as famed old jazz pieces ostensibly written by the late and great Miles Davis, that were included in two legendary old jazz albums. Is it possible that Hughes was the actual composer? Either one of these mysteries would be daunting enough to solve; Evan must attempt to get to the bottom of both. He turns for assistance to his girlfriend, an FBI agent, though he vaguely fears she has some knowledge she is not sharing with him. The sense of place is strong of both NYC and California, and I especially enjoyed the description of the small town on the Russian River in northern California where Evan lives. The author, himself a skilled jazz musician with an impressive background, brings to life the vibrancy of this music and its practitioners, and a knowledge of the history of the music and the musicians isn't at all necessary to thoroughly enjoy his writing, although it is certainly makes it that much more wonderful. As good as the story is, what makes it so special is the entrée it provides into the world of jazz music. The articulation of what a jazz musician, or indeed probably any musician, has in his head as he listens to, or creates, great music is absolutely elegant. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and it is recommended. I was delighted to see that Poisoned Pen Press has published this new Evan Horne book, and hope it portends more of the same in the future.

I have enjoyed all of the Evan Horne mysteries. It's been a few years since that last one. So I was looking forward to this book. Evan has returned from Europe and settled in California. He has unexpectedly been named beneficiary to the estate of his mentor Calvin Hughes. Some clues are left in the home of Hughes that start Horne on a search which takes him to New York City as he attempts to unravel things. Hughes had played during rehearsals with the Miles Davis Birth Of The Cool Band. One of the questions was did Hughes compose the song Boplicity which the band played? Several heretofore unknown tapes of the band surfaced. Horne met several obscure former associates of Hughes as he searched for answers. The major find was that Horne was shocked to find out his own family history. This was a solid read of particular interest to those who would enjoy the jazz tie in.

Been waiting a long time for another Evan Horne novel and love this one. Just the way jazz can evoke emotion Mr. Moody's writing is jazz on paper. You won't be disappointed.