Too Dead to Swing

Katy Green has a wonderful, sardonic, and very with-it voice as narrator of this wonderful period mystery. The period in question is just before the US entered WWII, in 1940, and girl bands then were only slightly more scarce than they are today. She's a keen observer of her fellow humans, as well as the everyday world in which she lives, including the scenic settings of pre-war California. Katy is a classically-trained free-lance violinist and sax player - not your ordinary combination, perhaps, but this versatility generally provides more work opportunities for her. In between classical gigs, she likes to venture into swing and jazz, and is more than capable of holding her own in either type of music. Now, though, she finds herself out of work and far away from her New York apartment. Eagerly seeking work, she takes a Sunday off to go to the beach at Santa Monica, and stumbles over a former lover who is also a former employer. Band leader Ted Nywatt was known for the music he wrote as well as the girl-bands he'd led in the East. So what was he doing in California? Hoping for a break in the movies! What else? Of course, there's lots more to this adventure, but Katy and Ted, along with the girls in the band and numerous law enforcement gentlemen, work their way through band gigs, murders and imposters, as they embark on a week's worth of one-night stands, musically speaking, that is. The story is intriguing, and the period details seem right on, to this reviewer. I love mysteries, especially those with music in them, and when there is also a historical element, the book stands a good chance of ranking high on my list of favorites. When the writing and the characterization are also excellent, it can't miss! This book scores 5 stars for each of these ingredients, and I'm eagerly looking forward to Katy's next adventure.

Hal Glatzer is a writer, with three prior books to his credit: Kamehameha County, The Trapdoor, and Massively Parallel Murder. His diverse vocations include directing the Art Deco Society, playing swing guitar, and an interest in the arts and culture of the 1930's and 1940's.In Too Dead To Swing, Glatzer asserts that he has reproduced a manuscript written by a Hannah Dobryn, ghostwriter of girl-detective stories. Mr. Glatzer met Ms. Dobryn in the 1970's in Honolulu, and was gifted with her Katy Green manuscripts. Thus the reader is primed for the view of the 1930's and 1940's swing era straight from the horse's mouth.Katy Green, daughter of a doctor who possesses an uncanny sense of people and events, is a working musician on the sax and violin. She meets up with a former beau just about the time when she desperately needs a gig and a paycheck, in the form of Ted Nywatt, band leader, writer, and ladies' man. Katy agrees to go "on the road" with Ted's all-girl band, the "Ultra Belles", after their violinist Lois meets with a bizarre accident. Katy signs on, but doesn't realize that the travelling band is a hotbed of conflict, bickering, and murder:"The blonde in the compoartment opened her door, tiptoed into range, and squinted up the aisle to see what the fuss was about. But as soon as she saw, she screeched and ran back inside, throwing her door shut with a bang. From right across the aisle and high up, I had the best view. Suzanne lay on her back. Her eyes were wide open. Half of her face was covered with blood that had seeped out of her nose and mouth in a long, dark red stain that extended down past her ear and her cheek, along the pillow and onto the sheets."Katy Green is a clever and resourceful amateur sleuth, who also is well developed as the mouthpiece for Glatzer's racy and entertaining tale. Immediately the reader is drawn into Katy's world, and the antics of the Ultra Belles add spice and mirth to a fairly complicated murder plot.The reader is so drawn into their escapades that Glatzer's murderer is nicely hidden. Great story!Shelley GlodowskiReviewer