Sunset Swing (City Blues Quartet #4)

by Ray Celestin

Overview

WINNER OF CWA GOLD DAGGER FOR CRIME NOVEL OF THE YEAR AND CWA HISTORICAL DAGGER

Los Angeles. Christmas, 1967. A city on fire as a killer strikes . . .

A young nurse, Kerry Gaudet, travels to the City of Angels desperate to find her missing brother, fearing that something terrible has happened to him: a serial killer is terrorizing the city, picking victims at random, and Kerry has precious few leads.

Ida Young, recently retired private investigator, is dragged into helping the police when a young woman is discovered murdered in her motel room. Ida has never met the victim but her name has been found at the crime scene and the LAPD wants to know why . . .

Meanwhile Mob fixer Dante Sanfelippo has put his life savings into purchasing a winery in Napa Valley but first he must do one final favour for the Mob before leaving town: find a bail jumper before the bond money falls due, and time is fast running out.

Ida’s friend, Louis Armstrong, flies into the city just as her investigations uncover mysterious clues to the killer’s identity. And Dante must tread a dangerous path to pay his dues, a path which will throw him headlong into a terrifying conspiracy and a secret that the conspirators will do anything to protect . . .

Completing his American crime quartet, Ray Celestin’s Sunset Swing is a stunning novel of conspiracy, murder and madness, an unforgettable portrait of a city on the edge.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781509838981
Publisher:	Pan Publishing
Publication date:	08/04/2022
Series:	City Blues Quartet , #4
Edition description:	Main Market ed.
Pages:	560
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 7.80(h) x 1.40(d)

About the Author

Ray Celestin is a novelist and screenwriter based in London. His debut novel, The Axeman’s Jazz, won the CWA New Blood Dagger for best debut crime novel of the year, and was featured on numerous ‘Books of the Year’ lists. His follow-up, Dead Man’s Blues, won the Historia Historical Thriller of the Year Award, and was shortlisted for a number of other awards, including the CWA Gold Dagger for best crime novel of the year. The novels are part of his City Blues Quartet, which charts the twin histories of jazz and the Mob through the middle fifty years of the twentieth century. Sunset Swing is the fourth instalment in this series.

Editorial Reviews

"This is a book bursting with heart, soul and spirit, at once all-encompassing and intimate, superbly paced and immaculately constructed. It’s a testimony to this book that Ray has scooped not just one, but two CWA Daggers.” —Maxim Jakubowski, Chair of the Crime Writers’ Association

Praise for Dead Man's Blues:

"Where better to set a gangster novel than big, bad, brawling Chicago during Prohibition? Celestin perfectly captures the jazzy street rhythms of this proudly pugnacious city and its peculiar characters." — Marilyn Stasio, New York Times Book Review

"In this engrossing follow-up to the award-winning The Axeman, a crime scene photographer, a gangster with a dark secret, and two Pinkerton detectives are bound together by a series of crimes that play out in 1928 Chicago." ― Library Journal

"Gripping. Rich description and meticulous attention to historical detail." ― Publishers Weekly

"Prohibition Chicago, early jazz, Capone and Moran—all are familiar elements in crime fiction, but Celestin gives them a fresh dusting, and what emerges sparkles with energy. His evocation of the jazz-filled South Side is particularly sharp, and his lead characters, Davis and Talbot, establish an easy, swinging rapport that will make readers want to hear more from them." ― Booklist

"Celestin captures 1920s Chicago in all its grimy, roiling, teeming glory in this intricate and absorbing thriller, which is surely destined to be an instant go-to for historical crime enthusiasts. Fantastic." ― Criminal Element

"Readers of hard-boiled murder mysteries will enjoy the ride to the very last page and will appreciate the honest portrait of a big city finding its way." ― Historical Novels Review

"Gripping, atmospheric, and satisfyingly meaty." ― Seattle Times

Praise for The Axeman:
"Celestin's atmospheric debut uses this unsolved case as the axis for his engaging historical suspense novel." ―Booklist

"Celestin deftly weaves the rich history of New Orleans into the multiple plot lines while highlighting racial prejudice and political corruption that are more appalling than the Axeman's crimes. In sum, this is a tasty bowl of gumbo with a side of dirty rice." ― Publishers Weekly

"Ray Celestin skillfully depicts the desperate revels of that idiosyncratic city and its bizarre legends in his first novel, THE AXEMAN."  The New York Times Sunday Book Review

 

From the Publisher