Kirkus Reviews QR Code
BLOOD RED BLUES by Teddy Hayes

BLOOD RED BLUES

by Teddy Hayes

Pub Date: June 15th, 2004
ISBN: 1-932112-21-9
Publisher: Justin, Charles

An ex-CIA agent returns to his Harlem roots and solves a murder.

When avuncular Ernest Barnett is killed in his 125th Street bar, the Be-Bop Tavern, his son Devil, a wet-ops agent for the CIA, comes home to run the popular watering-hole. The Agency’s glass ceiling, a diagnosis of sickle cell anemia, and the recent death of his beloved Amanda all make his return an easy decision. Manager Honey Lavelle and the rest of the staff at the Be-Bop become a second family in no time. Meanwhile, at the nearby Tease Me Club, hotbed of drug dealing and prostitution, a brutal murder spawns big headlines and bigger headaches for local political boss Deke Robinson. When the former FBI agent appeals to Devil to do some legwork on the crime, it’s an offer the new local businessman can’t refuse. The Tease Me victim is a Japanese diplomat named Yamaguchi; the girl he was with, an Amazonian beauty known as China Blue, hasn’t been seen since. Devil gets a crash course in Harlem social studies, but doesn’t get much traction in his investigation until he teams up with a stand-up young cop named Al Mack. A handful of short italicized chapters in the killer’s voice add chills to the tale.

The sophomore series installment (As Wrong as Two Left Shoes, not reviewed) is uneven, but shows potential in its textured portrait of a neighborhood and rich cast of supporting characters.