this book by bill moody reaches a new standard by having a black culture presented in jazz and a murder mystery all in one. i wish there were more mysteries from a black culture

After 5 novels hasn't Mr. Moody learned that you just, can't, put, a comma, wherever you want to? And at times, well, a comma is needed. This could be credited to extreme sloppiness and mistakes that editors should notice right away. Like the fact that California is 9, not 8 hours behind Amsterdam. Consecutive chapter headings of Wednesday the 10th and Thursday the 12th (with a mention of Friday the 13th) make me wonder what happened to the 11th day of that month. Mr Baker is referred to as "Mrs" Baker. (What the hell do editors do these days?) And there are probably others that my quick reading or fading memory have missed.
If you have a craving for some Chet Baker (who doesn't/shouldn't?) I would suggest de Valk's bio, or pre-order Gavin's. If you have mystery fix, just buy Elmore Leonard. I am not familiar with the other works of Mr Moody, I like the idea of jazz mysteries but heavily shy away from silly clichés and most of all bad writing. If anything I hope this will turn a few people on to the lovely music of Chet Baker.

This is the fifth in a series featuring the reluctant detective Evan Horne who is a jazz pianist. He always finds himself involved in the solution of a mystery that concerns a real life musician. Because Bill Moody is a jazz drummer and journalist, he brings a certain authenticity to his stories and if you don't watch out, he may cause you to buy some new CDs. His other books were about Charlie Parker, Wardell Gray, Clifford Brown, and this one is set in Amsterdam where Chet Baker died in 1988 when he either fell or was pushed from a hotel window. Poor Evan, he just had a gig and then he finds himself once again mixed up with the police! I have enjoyed each one of the Evan Horne books, waited for this one for about a year, recommend the series to all musicians and mystery lovers...

Jazz pianist Evan Horne is drawn into the life and death of musician Chet Baker in this story of an investigator who tries to get away from his career on a trip to London for a gig. When he discovers his fellow musician and hero has disappeared, and Chet Baker's paperwork becomes the only clue to his whereabouts. Fast, involving intrigue with a twist.

Okay, the premise of a dedicated jazz fan killing Kenny G clones is funny. But that's about all that's worthwhile here. Just as Kenny G shouldn't have insulted the memory of the great Louis Armstrong by releasing a duet with him, Bill Moody shouldn't drag Charlie Parker into this book. The characters are wooden, the dialog is awkward and unnatural, the holes in the plot are impossible to overlook. This is my first Bill Moody book, and it will surely be my last.

I'm not a big book reader because my time is limited so I have to pick and choose. I definitely picked the right one! I have a music background and this one was right on the money. Great characters and compelling story lines kept me wanting to read more and more. Am looking forward to his new book.

As a mystery writer with my first novel in initial release, I genuinely enjoyed Bill Moody's BIRD LIVES. In this novel, Evan Horne would like to concentrate on his musical comeback, but the Feds have different plans. The FBI convinces Horne to solve a strange series of murders. Someone is killing off "smooth" jazz musicians. All right, so those folks perhaps ought to die, but Horne needs to catch the killer anyway. BIRD LIVES is a great book about the jazz community, and it is also a well-written mystery. It is most enjoyable.

After an accident has rendered his left hand--his solo hand--unfit for playing the jazz piano that's been his livelihood, Evan Horne is reluctantly recruited as a bag-man in an elaborate blackmail scheme involving his ex-wife and former employer and a host of colorful characters ranging from an ex-NFL-player-turned-bodyguard to a strangely-erudite country singer. But what at first seems a straightforward money-drop becomes a convoluted and constricting tangle of circumstance with Evan at its center, struggling against an unknown schemer who seems to know all-too-much about this musician-turned-detective. Soon the police are involved and Evan Horne learns just how cut-throat the music business can be. But this is no prissy tickler of the ivories; this is a man who uses the discipline and perserverance that made him a musician make him a detective. Moody plays out an intricate plot at a masterful pace, creating authentic characters and an atmosphere deeply informed with Moody's experiences as musician, DJ, and historian. Evan Horne is a likeable and resourceful hero who narrates but doesn't preach, who informs as he entertains. Solo Hand is a must-read for anyone interested in those two American pastimes: Jazz and murder.

After an accident has rendered his left hand--his solo hand--unfit for playing the jazz piano that's been his livelihood, Evan Horne is reluctantly recruited as a bag-man in an elaborate blackmail scheme involving his ex-wife and former employer and a host of colorful characters ranging from an ex-NFL-player-turned-bodyguard to a strangely-erudite country singer. But what at first seems a straightforward money-drop becomes a convoluted and constricting tangle of circumstance with Evan at its center, struggling against an unknown schemer who seems to know all-too-much about this musician-turned-detective. Soon the police are involved and Evan Horne learns just how cut-throat the music business can be. But this is no prissy tickler of the ivories; this is a man who uses the discipline and perserverance that made him a musician make him a detective. Moody plays out an intricate plot at a masterful pace, creating authentic characters and an atmosphere deeply informed with Moody's experiences as musician, DJ, and historian. Evan Horne is a likeable and resourceful hero who narrates but doesn't preach, who informs as he entertains. Solo Hand is a must-read for anyone interested in those two American pastimes: Jazz and murder.

In the 2nd installment of the Evan Horne mysteries, Bill Moody sets his hero in the neon snakepit of Las Vegas, where an old friend sends Evan on a mission to solve a 37-year-old murder. But doing so peels back layers of Las Vegas history, opening old wounds that someone is willing to kill to keep covered... As in Solo Hand, Bill Moody assembles a vivid cast of characters and plays out a twisted story-line like a jazz virtuoso with murderous chops that include the fate of tenor saxophonist Wardell Gray and the real history of the Moulin Rouge, as well as a handful of subplots that Moody deftly ties together in a coolly musical climax. For all its brooding authenticity, regarding both jazz and Las Vegas, Death of a Tenor Man is a fast-paced and well-wrought mystery.