Bird Lives!: An Evan Horne Mystery [Hardcover]

Bill Moody (Author)

Book Description

Series: Evan Horne Mysteries | Publication Date: 1999

AUCTION DESCRIPTION

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Jazz pianist Evan Horne improvises with the FBI in his latest after-hours murder investigation (following The Sound of the Trumpet). When a popular "smooth jazz" saxophone player is fatally stabbed in Horne's Southern Californian town, the piano man is called in by his best pal, Santa Monica homicide detective Danny Cooper, to decipher the clues left at the concert-hall crime scene, including the phrase "Bird Lives!" scrawled in blood on the dead man's dressing-room mirror. Soon it's revealed that two other fusion jazz musiciansAa guitarist and a piano playerAhave recently been murdered in New York City, and Horne helps move the case forward by figuring out the significance of the dates on which the three deaths occurred and of the music playing at each death scene. But his increasing involvement in the investigation begins to undermine both his new recording contract and his relationship with a long-time girlfriend, while opening up romantic possibilities with FBI Special Agent Andrea Lawrence. Although well-played, Moody's plot is less than compelling because it moves along predictable lines. The jazz esoterica and the unusual serial killer, however, should keep Evan Horne fans reading, and they will be pleased to see that the piano player has finally recovered from his hand injury. Agent, Philip J. Spitzer Agency.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Now that jazz pianist Evan Horne is playing music again, he'd like to concentrate only on his upcoming recording gig--not on a series of murders in the music industry. It doesn't work that way, as Horne, whose playing career was interrupted by the hand injury he sustained in Solo Hand (1994), is strong-armed by the FBI into helping track down a crazed purist who is killing "smooth" jazz stars and leaving a bird feather, symbolic of Charlie Parker, on the bodies. Jazz fans will love the joke here: the Kenny Gs of the world finally get their comeuppance, after having made millions playing a watered-down version of jazz. As usual in this series, Moody is much stronger on the jazz elements than on the human interaction: a subplot involving Horne's failing relationship with his girlfriend and tentative flirtation with an FBI agent seems strained, with too much first-person agonizing and some clunky dialogue. But the witty premise and all the jazz talk will more than satisfy series fans. Bill Ott

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Walker & Company (1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802733271
• ISBN-13: 978-0802733276
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,484,720 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Oddly disappointed, given the high quality of the writing, October 27, 2000

By 

Charlene Vickers (Winnipeg, Manitoba) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bird Lives! (Paperback)

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.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An exciting blend of music and mystery!!, September 23, 2002

By 

Michael Z. Gordon "Michaelzstuff" (Woodland Hills, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bird Lives!: An Evan Horne Mystery (Hardcover)

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.

4.0 out of 5 stars Help!, September 24, 2000

By 

Jim Sommers "J.S." (Cincinnati, OH USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bird Lives! (Paperback)

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.