And All That Madness — Joan Merrill

AND ALL THAT MADNESS a Casey McKie mystery by Joan Merrill When the New York Jazz Society acquires a fifty-year old letter from Georgia Valentine, questions arise over the legendary vocalist's death. Did she give herself a fatal dose of heroin, as the original investigators ruled, or did someone kill her? And if it was murder, what was the motive? Casey moves her operation from San Francisco to New York to investigate the cold case, questioning Georgia's musician friends, her widower, a drug dealer, a Broadway actress, a mafia boss and the authorities who declared the death a suicide. This quest takes Casey to New York's most venerable jazz clubs, a Harlem nursing home, a mob-owned Italian restaurant, a lesbian bar and One Police Plaza, home of the NYPD. She joins forces with an attractive detective from the Organized Crime unit, and, as the case progresses, so does their relationship. With no shortage of suspects, Casey ultimately uncovers evidence revealing a surprising killer. Author Joan Merrill has produced yet another captivating mystery as part of her on-going detective series featuring SF detective Casey McKie. As usual, Ms. Merrill has masterfully woven her love of jazz and its practitioners into a tale of intrigue and revenge, all set to the beat of the blues and be-bop. A colorful, exceptionally intelligent thriller, most highly recommended. -Carol Sloane, Jazz Singer, carolsloane.com