Mojo Hand [Paperback]

Greg Kihn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 5, 2002

It's 1977, ten years after Big Rock Beat, and Beau Young is back. Now he's playin' the blues-literally. As he tours smoky dives with blues legend Oakland Slim, he uncovers an evil voodoo plot to assassinate the remaining blues masters. But disco rules, so who cares about a few dead blues greats?

Then legendary blues martyr Robert Johnson turns up alive forty-three years after his reported death, a victim of a New Orleans witch's zombie poison, not a jealous husband as originally reported. Beau knows Johnson could be the key to the murders. But Robert Johnson sold his soul to the devil decades ago. With Beau's help he must return to the infamous crossroads of fate and seize his destiny. And both of them must confront the awesome power of the Mojo Hand.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A decade past the late '60s setting of Big Rock Beat, former rock star and radio DJ Kihn continues the tale of Beau Young, ex-hippie rock guitarist. This time Beau explores the smoky world of blues music. The year is 1977 and now, as sideman to harmonica-playing legend Oakland Slim, white-boy Beau is learning the ropes when a down-on-his-luck old-time blues great, Art "Spiderman" Spivey, is slashed to death in his cheap Chicago hotel. Finding that other blues masters are being killedAPiano Red in St. Louis, and B. Bobby Bostic in FriscoABeau discovers that an albino guitar player who bought a mummified hand from a voodoo priestess may somehow be connected. Annie Sweeny, the sexy young publisher of Bluesworthy magazine, takes a fancy to Beau and joins the two musicians as they bring their suspicions of a conspiracy to savvy ex-New York City cop George Jones, who is working his first homicide since moving to California. A sleazy record producer and another blues legend, a picker who's reportedly sold his soul to the devil, round out the quirky cast. While much of the prose is clumsy, it's often softened with a harmlessly goofy charm ("Their black mood filled the car like stinky air-conditioning") and the unabashed author has a gift for conjuring up offbeat characters and kooky plot lines. In his fourth novel, he exhibits obvious respect for the history of blues music, and shows signs of getting his literary act together. (Nov.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews

California disc-jockey (and former rock star) Kihn brings back Beau Young of the Stone Savages from Big Rock Beat (1998) The authors recipe is simple: take Nan and Ivan Lyons' deliciously droll mystery, Someone is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe (1976); replace cooks with black American bluesmen. Vincent Shives, an albino guitarist as yet unfledged by playing in public, goes to New Orleans, where an ancient black zombie woman for $5,000 sells him the Mojo Hand, a mummified, severed human appendage that seems not quite dead. Beau has dropped rock 'n' roll to recover from a coke habit and play the blues with legendary harpist Oakland Slim. Suddenly Slim's buddies among the giantsRed Tunney, Art Spivey, and B. Bobby Bostare being murdered, opened up like cans of tomato soup by some sort of claw. Yes, it's the Mojo Hand, which climbs out of its shoebox while Vincent is sleeping and goes off to murder his rivals. Divorced Beau falls in with Annie Sweeney, owner/writer of Bluesworthy magazine, and begins his own investigation of the murders, drawing on his new friendship with a fan who happens to be an assistant medical examiner in San Francisco. Meanwhile, a man claiming to be long-dead blues colossus Robert Johnson, who sold his soul to the devil 43 years ago, tries to establish his legal right to royalties from recordings of his music by the Crawling Kingsnakes and their big-lipped leader Rick Dagger (yes, the Stones and Mick). Since that group happens to be recording demos in Sausalito, why not have ``Robert Johnson'' prove his identity by playing with their lead guitarist, Heath Pritchard (Keith who?), who knows Robert Johnson's every note? If he does prove out, what will Vincent and the Mojo Hand have to say about this new zombie on the block? No question, blues players and fans will dig these chords, which reverb with Kihn's now familiar shimmer. -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books (January 5, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312876106
• ISBN-13: 978-0312876104
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,007,093 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 A slight stumble in the Kihn cycle, September 21, 2000

By 

Timothy Lehnerer (Nerva Archipelago) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mojo Hand (Hardcover)

Sorry, Greg--this one didn't work for me particularly well. There was quite a bit of dancing about architecture that I don't think worked as well as the filmmaking anecdotes from "Horror Show" or "Big Rock Beat". The 'twist' ending was exceptionally unsatisfying to me, and I just plain didn't enjoy this as much as the first two books in the series.

I will, of course, buy the next one. I like Kihn's writing style enough to give this book a cautious recommendation, and for fans of the blues I recommend this highly. Add a star to the review if you're a John Lee Hooker fan.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An inventive plot packed with unexpected twists and turns., April 5, 2000

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mojo Hand (Hardcover)

As legendary blues players gather to promote the genre, a complex plot weaves around a Louisiana witch woman with a powerful 'mojo hand', an albino who is set on murder, and a lost bluesman Robert Johnson who returns from the seeming dead for his grand finale. Murder and supernatural suspense blend in a plot packed with unexpected twists and turns - hard to put down; highly recommended.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Zombies and Killer Blues: What more could you want?, August 1, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Mojo Hand (Hardcover)

To begin with, I enjoyed this book very much. It kept me on the edge of my seat and eager to come back for more. The characters were engaging and the concert scenes rang true. The storyline was imaginative and creative. However, there were a few minor details that concerned me, especially since the author is a musician.

First off, if it seems like I'm nit-picking I apologize, but being a musician and fledgling author myself, noticing inaccuracies concerning guitars, equipment and plot lines is distressing.

So Vincent Shives plays a 1951 National Steel guitar within the story? Cool, except this is impossible since National ceased production in 1941, resuming again sometime in the eighties. This would be an easy mistake to make if you're not aware of the production dates of these fine instruments, but Greg should have researched it a little more. People do care about this stuff.

I also found it odd that Annie Sweeney didn't know who Oakland Slim was upon meeting him at the interview with B. Bobbie Bostic. If she was such an authority on the subject shouldn't she have known the harpist who supposedly recorded the greatest blues harp solo ever?

I'm not sure why Greg gave Keith and Mick pseudonyms for this story. Perhaps legal reasons?

Why did the Gibson Flying V cause such a stir at the show in New Orleans? Albert King played one for years. The patrons at the club should be used to seeing an unusually shaped instrument by now.

Like I said previously I liked this book. I'd been looking for literature that incorporates blues and rock into the story. There seems to be a shortage of authors who write in this genre. This novel gave me inspiration to move on in my endeavors. Next week I'll probably go to the library and check out "Big Rock Beat," but that shouldn't dissuade you from purchasing your own copy of "Mojo Hand," from the fine folks here at Amazon.com.

In conclusion, if you're looking for a real fun book that has action, romance, voodoo, zombies, and killer blues, and don't mind stumbling over a couple of inaccuracies along the way, by all means read this book. But be forewarned that it's not "Slaughterhouse Five," "One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest" or even "Tom Sawyer," but hey, they don't write 'em like that any more.