
Dixieland
Paul Adam(Author)
Endeavour Publishing
Published on 5. August 2024
Book
Paperback/Softback
385 pages
978-0-9571913-9-6 (ISBN)
Description
New Orleans, 1916
Wealthy, well-connected congressman Charles Whitman is murdered in a high-class brothel in Storyville, the city's notorious red-light district. Detective Eddie Riordan finds evidence implicating the flamboyant Creole pianist Jelly Roll Morton - the self-professed "inventor" of jazz - who was playing in the band at the brothel that night.
But why would a lowly piano player want to kill a leading politician, and why are some very powerful people in the city's business and political elite so keen to see him convicted?
Riordan probes deeper and uncovers a trail of conspiracy and murder that leads him out into the alligator-infested swamps of southern Louisiana and a hunt for the killer that puts his own life in jeopardy.
Interwoven with the sounds and colour of Storyville, the prostitutes and pimps, the musicians and music that made the area so unique, Dixieland is a vibrant portrait of human frailty, greed and lust that will keep the reader enthralled from start to finish.
Wealthy, well-connected congressman Charles Whitman is murdered in a high-class brothel in Storyville, the city's notorious red-light district. Detective Eddie Riordan finds evidence implicating the flamboyant Creole pianist Jelly Roll Morton - the self-professed "inventor" of jazz - who was playing in the band at the brothel that night.
But why would a lowly piano player want to kill a leading politician, and why are some very powerful people in the city's business and political elite so keen to see him convicted?
Riordan probes deeper and uncovers a trail of conspiracy and murder that leads him out into the alligator-infested swamps of southern Louisiana and a hunt for the killer that puts his own life in jeopardy.
Interwoven with the sounds and colour of Storyville, the prostitutes and pimps, the musicians and music that made the area so unique, Dixieland is a vibrant portrait of human frailty, greed and lust that will keep the reader enthralled from start to finish.
Reviews / Votes
"Tension that resonates like flawlessly tuned strings" - The Guardian"Brilliantly imagined, fiercely authentic and wholly gripping" - Literary Review
"An intelligent, civilised mystery...beautifully written...a real pleasure to read" - Sunday Telegraph
"Paul Adam has the great gift of narrative drive" - Tribune
"A distinctly atmospheric thriller" - Mail on Sunday
"Adam always handles his massive canvases with real panache. The requisite pulse-racing action is wedded superbly to the serious theme" - Good Book Guide
"Beguiling mystery" - New York Times
"Brilliantly researched and informative...a turbo-charged, white-knuckled thriller by a brilliant storyteller" - Daily Record
"Mystery fans and music lovers alike will be captivated by Adam's excellent contemporary thriller" - Publishers Weekly, starred review
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Sheffield
United Kingdom
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 198 mm
Width: 129 mm
Thickness: 23 mm
ISBN-13
978-0-9571913-9-6 (9780957191396)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Paul Adam has written fourteen critically-acclaimed novels for adults and an award-winning trilogy of thrillers for children. His stand-alone thrillers for adults are: Unholy Trinity, Shadow Chasers, Genesis II, Oracle Lake (original U.K. title, Flash Point), Enemy Within, Knife Edge, Dixieland and The Wolves of Nifelheim. He has also written three crime novels in his Cremona Mysteries series, featuring Italian violin maker Gianni Castiglione and detective Antonio Guastafeste: The Rainaldi Quartet (original U.K. title, Sleeper), Paganini's Ghost and The Hardanger Riddle. His three thrillers featuring investigative journalist Mike McLean are: An Exceptional Corpse, A Nasty Dose of Death and Toxin. He is also the author of the award-winning Max Cassidy trilogy of thrillers for younger readers: Escape from Shadow Island, Jaws of Death and Attack at Dead Man's Bay. Paul lives in Sheffield and is married with two sons.