Dead Man’s Blues

Author: Ray Celestin

Number of Pages: 336

A gripping historical crime novel and sequel to The Axeman’s Jazz, the winner of the CWA John Creasey Dagger for Best First Novel Chicago, 1928. Al Capone runs the city but cracks in his rule are starting to show … In the heavy summer heat, a series of shocking events takes place. A group poisoned in a swanky hotel. A rich white man found dead in a down-and-out neighbourhood he should never have been in. A socialite, known across the city, vanished without trace. Could these events be connected? Is someone trying to bring down Al Capone? Ida and Michael at Pinkerton Detective Agency; Jacob, a police photographer with a personal vendetta; and Dante, working on behalf of Capone himself, are all trying to find answers in the city of jazz, dancing and corruption. PRAISE FOR THE AXEMAN’S JAZZ “the best debut I’ve read this year … A serial killer tale that captures its time and place with real style.” Scotsman Crime Books of the Year “Smart, thrilling and dripping with class. A very special debut.” Malcolm Mackay, author of The Glasgow Trilogy “Debut novelist Ray Celestin has based his beguiling crime thriller on the true story of a serial killer who terrorised New Orleans for more than a year after the First World War. Beautifully written, the evocative prose brings the jazz-filled, mob-ruled ‘Big Easy’ of pre-prohibition America to life in glorious effect with a story full of suspense and intrigue. Stunning” Sunday Express “A rewarding crime novel, swinging its way to a terrifying denouement with all the panache of a New Orleans marching band. This is an excellent debut, with a promise of more good mysteries to come.” The Times