Customer Reviews

Bird Lives!

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have always enjoyed Bill Moody's writing and his ability to make his characters absolutely real. Unfortunately, I figured out the identity of the murderer far too early in this book for my tastes.

If you enjoy well-written prose, by all means read this book. But if the mystery itself is more important to you, I suggest you choose one of Moody's other excellent novels instead.

I'm not a big book reader because my time is limited so I have to pick and choose. I definitely picked the right one! I have a music background and this one was right on the money. Great characters and compelling story lines kept me wanting to read more and more. Am looking forward to his new book.

This was a totally enjoyable, fast piece of entertainment for a couple of dreary flights. Moody's musical descriptions, while not quite in the league with Rafi Zabor's "The Bear Comes Home" are never the less right on the money. His choice of "repertoire" for his characters shows where his musical heart lies. I howled with delight at the account of Evan's gig with Nicky & couldn't help wanting to tell him "Yeah Bill, I've been there." So what's with the "Help!"? I've got to confess that the last bit - when Evan gets on the plane - stymies me. I don't want to reveal anything here that might spoil this for someone who hasn't read the book, but I'm wondering just who this flight attendant is. A character from another book perhaps? If someone out there would e-mail me & either point out my stupidity or enlighten me in some other way I'd be grateful.

Bill Moody's descriptions of music as it is being played is the stuff of genius. Especially interesting is his description of the ear splitting "smooth jazz" concert. Bird Lives! is a good whodunit that could have been better had the author chosen to stick more with the investigation and explored the rift between traditional and smooth jazz more thoroughly rather than dwelling on Evan Horne's personal quandaries. Despite its shortcomings I give Bird Lives! one thumb up.

You can tell this man knows about jazz; the music, the musicians and the vocabulary. He can also tell a good story. I found it hard to put down. I've read all of Moody's books and liked them all, but this one is my favorite.

He was feeling real good with his triumphant return as a jazz pianist after a year's absence. However, Evan Horne's elation is muted when he finds out that someone stabbed to death saxophone star Ty Rodman. Santa Monica police officer Danny Cooper asks Evan, who has been involved in previous investigations where murder and music mixed, to assist on this case.

Evan learns that someone wrote "BIRD LIVES" on the wall near the body. Evan informs Danny that refers to the jazz legend Charley "Bird" Parker. Could a purist have murdered the commercial Ty? As he assists the local police over the objections of his girlfriend, the FBI, and his own music career needs, a serial killer, who seems to know the score, murders other musicians.

Like the previous tales in this series, the fourth Bill Moody music-murder mystery is an entertaining opus that fans of jazz and amateur sleuth stories will enjoy. The story line is fun even though the musical aspects star over the who-done-it as Bill Moody plays homage to jazz. Evan remains a warm character, who continues to evolve. The support cast provides a California ensemble that adds orchestral overtones to a finely tuned novel. Bird definitely lives in the works of Mr. Moody.

Harriet Klausner

As a mystery writer with my first novel in initial release, I genuinely enjoyed Bill Moody's BIRD LIVES. In this novel, Evan Horne would like to concentrate on his musical comeback, but the Feds have different plans. The FBI convinces Horne to solve a strange series of murders. Someone is killing off "smooth" jazz musicians. All right, so those folks perhaps ought to die, but Horne needs to catch the killer anyway. BIRD LIVES is a great book about the jazz community, and it is also a well-written mystery. It is most enjoyable.

Okay, the premise of a dedicated jazz fan killing Kenny G clones is funny. But that's about all that's worthwhile here. Just as Kenny G shouldn't have insulted the memory of the great Louis Armstrong by releasing a duet with him, Bill Moody shouldn't drag Charlie Parker into this book. The characters are wooden, the dialog is awkward and unnatural, the holes in the plot are impossible to overlook. This is my first Bill Moody book, and it will surely be my last.