This is a 5 story series about a jazz reviewer in 1951 who has an undying loyalty to the cats that he writes about. He finds himself in the middle of their dilemmas that include an extortion attempt, a personal tragedy and three different murders. If you dig 1940s style mysteries, this is it. If you dig jazz, this is really it.
The series begins in New York City in May of 1951. Bernie is a jazz reviewer who seems compelled to involve himself in different scenarios involving the jazz musicians that he writes about. He started out as a law-school student in NYC, but instead discovered the true love of his life-jazz-and began hanging around 52nd Street, the jazz capital of the world, where he became mesmerized by the music. Bernie has become a man dedicated to the music and the cats who make it. Most of his time is spent in smoky-dives, where the music is hot and the musicians' lives are even hotter. The first episode involves an extortion attempt on an up-and-coming saxophone player. The other four stories to follow center on murder and personal tragedies. The final tale takes place in Chicago with a murder mystery involving a trumpet player whose wife is found dead with the man she has been having an affair with, the horn player's own drummer. Check the trailer out on Youtube. The book is also available in ebook.If you liked this Bernie Butz chronicle, you will be delighted to know that there will be a second chronicles coming out through Amazon called Blowin' up a Storm. This one involves Bernie with problems rooted in a big band setting that is linked to the Mafia. It's only one story unlike the first chronicles, but it is a hot one. You'll like this one just as much, and it will be out real soon.
While working on the set of a Hollywood horror movie, a simulated murder turns into a real homocide. Special effects artist Harri Lewis (aka Agent Proteus) steps in to try to solve the murder