Customer Reviews

Delta Blues

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Delta Blues
Edited by Carolyn Haines
(Tyrus Books, 2010)

James Lee Burke, John Grisham, Les Standiford, Beth Ann Fennelly, and more--a total of twenty of the best Southern writers--link music, crime, passion, the Blues and the Mississippi Delta in this remarkable new collection of short stories.

Whether playing out in modern-day Tunica's gambling casinos or traveling back in time to forge an unexpected connection to the assassination of President Kennedy, each story has been carefully chosen by the editor, Carolyn Haines, herself one of the contributors.

In Suzanne Hudson's "All the Way to Memphis," two unlikely characters set out on a road trip, stopping at Buck's Diner, a place where time has stopped. A lone waitress saunters to the table offering more tea, calling them honey and sugar and baby, her "blood red fingernails clicking against heavy glass."

The characters in Lynne Barrett's "Blues for Veneece" uncover, quite literally, a crime scene one family had hoped was buried forever. In another story, the wife of a captain of the Parchman State Penitentiary dreams of any life but the one she has.

In fact, most of the characters in these stories seem to dream of elsewhere, singing their own Blues tunes to the beat of an ordinary life.

Often played out against a backdrop of murder and misappropriation, the stories tell of second chances and new beginnings, lives wasted and more than a few rescued. Moonlit nights, shape shifting, concealed and un-concealed weapons make appearances, leaving readers with chills running up spines or hearts beating faster.

As if reading this collection for the pure enjoyment of the writing isn't enough, a portion of the sales will be donated to literacy efforts in the Delta. Well done, on many counts.

Augusta Scattergood

I love the story collections that I have read in the past that are supernatural themed (Charlaine Harris fan). However, those tend to be written in a different style. This collection of short stories really reminds me of high quality literature that you were required to read in college lit class. I really like the caliber of the writers, and they did not disappoint. This collection lives up to its name, and it really is all about the blues and blues fans/singers/musicians. There is a mystic element to it, which satisfies my need to buy it for the Charlaine Harris short story inside, which was great. It's a great book to curl up with and read from cover to cover if you can take the intensity in one sitting.

I love Amazon, but buy from bricks and mortar too (you really want one around for times when you can't wait for shipping) and picked this collection up a few months ago. It took me a while to get around to opening it, but now I can't put it down. As a noir/mystery/crime/music fan, I'm finding Delta Blues very, very enjoyable - if you love one or more of these categories, pick it up yourself. Now I need to go listen to some blues and eat something with pepper vinegar on it.

I am surprised by the reviewer who expected good endings. These stories are mainly about blues musicians and the people around them, and historically many of them came to bad ends. You have stories about musicians making pacts with the devil, musicians living out lives they wrote about, people reinventing themselves, and people dying. The stories are mainly set in the Mississippi Delta area, with some moving into adjoining states. The stories cover a span of time from the 1920s to the present, from the Jim Crow era to modern times.

Turn on your Lead Belly, sip at that lemonade and have a set down on the porch with some Delta Blues. Carolyn Haines has collected nineteen stories that "...tell about bad men and bad women who sometimes do good..." or so says Morgan Freeman who wrote the foreword. This is a solid collection where the big names slip it in good and hard and the same goes for the lesser knowns.

Ace Atkins deserves a pile of eyes (and if you haven't read his historical mysteries or Nick Travers series, you should). James Lee Burke's "Big Midnight Special" puts an inmate at Parchment Farm between a bastard big daddy inmate and an equally awful prison administration. Sticking with Parchment Farm, John Grisham gives us a sight of a dysfunctional family where prison time is a common theme for the three sons of an aging mother...death row in particular. It wouldn't be the blues if Robert Johnson wasn't mentioned and the most well known name to cover his supposed Devil-dealings is Charlaine Harris with "Crossroads Bargain."

Here's a collection of Southern-based stories that hand out redemption, rot, a bit of hellfire and a nod to the blues.

My husband and I were looking forward to this book but was very disappointed! None of the stories had good endings! It seemed like the authors just did their duty and turned in a story! We do not recommend this book!