Book Review: Leavin' Trunk Blues

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Leavin' Trunk Blues     Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
Ace Atkins
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Private Investigator
Series: Nick Travers # 2
Dunne, Jul 2000, $22.95, 256 pp.

Former professional football player, Nick Travers loves his work as Tulane University's blues historian. When convicted murderer Ruby "The Sweet Black Angel" Walker agrees to Nick interviewing her, he can hardly wait. Four decades ago, Ruby was sent to jail for killing her lover Billy Lyons, owner of King Snake Records, in what was considered a "Frankie and Johnny" murder.

In Chicago, Nick meets Ruby, who insists she is innocent. She pleads with Nick, who had recent success solving a mystery, to prove her innocence. Unable to resist the lure of Ruby, who was one step away from music legend, Nick begins to investigate the death of Lyons back in 1959. However, his inquires leads to the maniacal Stagger Lee and his assortment of lunatics wanting the case remaining closed and Nick dead.

The second Nick Travers' blues mystery, LEAVIN' TRUNK BLUES, is a well written, but much darker tale than its predecessor (see CROSSROAD BLUES) is. The story line still sings with a rhythm not often seen in an amateur sleuth tale. The setting seems ghostly in an abandoned urban way and supplemented by the arctic Christmas weather that together adds up to the overall feeling of gloom. However, the light that shines through the bleak landscape is the heroic Nick, who tries to do the right thing even, as he feels like his enemy's blitz has sacked him several times. Ace Atkins scores with his second mystery that provides readers an entertaining tale that educates the audience on a part of Americana.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner