Rock and Roll Never Forgets: A JP Kinkaid Mystery [Hardcover]

Deborah Grabien (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 8, 2008

The last thing the members of Hall of Fame rock & roll band Blacklight need to hear is that ruthless tabloid biographer Perry Dillon is planning a tell-all history of their group. The issue hits hardest for English ex-pat guitarist JP Kinkaid; with his history of heroin addiction and deportation, his estranged wife, and his long-term relationship with a girl he met when she was a teenager, JP has the most to lose. Dealing with his multiple sclerosis doesn’t make things any easier.

When he sits down with Dillon, JP’s main concern is to preserve both his own privacy and that of Bree Godwin, his fiercely protective longtime girlfriend. But it’s obvious from the first question that Dillon is digging deep. And he’s not planning to stop until he hits rock bottom.

Dillon’s looking for trouble, the kind of trouble that garners publicity and sells books. What he finds is the kind of trouble someone will go to any length to cover up, and that includes murder.

Opening night at Madison Square Garden encores with a corpse in JP’s dressing room, leaving Blacklight in the middle of a media frenzy---and Bree as homicide lieutenant Patrick Ormand’s prime suspect.

Rock & Roll Never Forgets, the first JP Kinkaid mystery, offers an all-access pass to how musicians work, live, and love.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Adult/High School–JP Kinkaid, a member of the legendary British rock band Blacklight, is unnerved when he learns that Perry Dillon, a tabloid biographer, is writing an exposé of the group. Kinkaid has a lot of secrets he would like to remain hidden: heroin addiction, deportation, and his struggle with multiple sclerosis. His fear only escalates when Dillon turns up dead in his dressing room and his life partner, Bree Godwin, is identified as the prime suspect in the investigation. As the mystery unravels, the novel provides a behind-the-scenes look at the world of professional rock and roll, revealing the close bonds that are formed within it. As the story progresses, secrets are revealed as JP revisits his early days with Blacklight and Bree. The more that is revealed, the less trustworthy the characters are as their seemingly normal existence becomes shrouded in mystery and suspicion. The novel is reminiscent of Meg Cabots Size 12 Is Not Fat (HarperCollins, 2006). Grabiens novel is likely to appeal to casual readers as well as those with an affinity for rock and roll.–Kelliann Bogan, Colby-Sawyer College, New London, NH
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From Booklist

The author of the Haunted Ballad supernatural mystery series (New-Slain Knight, 2007) changes direction with this rock-’n’-roll mystery. When John “JP” Kinkaid, the bassist for Blacklight, a Rolling Stones–like rock band, learns that he must sit for an interview with a sleazy celebrity biographer, he’s not happy. There’s plenty of info that he would just as soon keep under wraps, including his 25-year estrangement from his heroin-addicted wife and his longtime relationship with his girlfriend, Bree, who is fiercely protective of their privacy. When the unscrupulous journalist is found murdered in JP’s dressing room, Bree soon becomes a “person of interest” to the NYPD. JP is desperate to clear her name, realizing he has always taken their relationship for granted. She is the one who has provided him with unending support over the years, helping him overcome his addictions to alcohol and drugs and deal with his diagnosis of MS. The straight-talking JP makes for an appealing narrator in this credibly plotted mystery, which is seasoned with plenty of interesting details on the machinations of an aging, enormously successful rock band. --Joanne Wilkinson

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books; First Edition edition (July 8, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312379994
• ISBN-13: 978-0312379995
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 7.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,304,660 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Big stage, intimate stakes, July 17, 2008

By 

ita (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rock and Roll Never Forgets: A JP Kinkaid Mystery (Hardcover)

Ms. Grabien writes a book with a pounding rhythm without overshadowing the nuances of a delicate and intimate relationship. And that's before the mystery even shows up! It could easily stand on its own as a rock and roll love story, but why stop there if you have the talent to weave a gripping mystery with compelling characters in and around that?

And that's just what Ms. Grabien does, with her typically lyrical turn of phrase. Check [...] for a link to her video and a taste of the style, and check the top of the amazon page for links to inside the book to get a taste of the writing.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hits the right note, July 8, 2008

By 

Barbara Caridad Ferrer "A vivr con miedo es c... (Jacksonville, FL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rock and Roll Never Forgets: A JP Kinkaid Mystery (Hardcover)

For anyone who's fantasized about what being part of a big rock band is like, this is for you. For anyone who likes a good mystery, this is for you. For anyone who likes strong characters with vibrant voices, this is for you. And for anyone who likes a believable, long-term love story that only keeps growing, this is definitely for you.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars <<waving lighter back & forth>>, September 7, 2008

By 

Pieter B (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Rock and Roll Never Forgets: A JP Kinkaid Mystery (Hardcover)

Do you love rock 'n' roll? Do you play air guitar with your favorite tunes? Do you love a good mystery? This is the book for you. Great musicians never waste a note; Deborah Grabien never wastes a word. Even if you didn't answer "yes" to all the questions above, if you love fine writing, this is a book for you.

I spent several years in and around the California rock 'n' roll scene of the late '60s/early '70s, and none of the backstage detail rings false or hollow. The characters don't either; they have their talents and their flaws, their virtues and their vices. It's said that it's never too late to have a happy childhood; it's never too late to grow up, either, and that process is one of several things that make this book a good bit more than a sex, drugs & rock 'n' roll potboiler.

The only way Ms Grabien disappoints me is that she doesn't write as fast as I can read, and so I spend a good deal of time in unrequited lit-lust. A new book from her presents me with a dilemma -- read it one or two gulps, like a kid with a bucket of ice cream and no witnesses, or take one chapter at a time, like someone who's been given a small box of exquisite chocolate truffles? Either way, it's over too soon, and the pining for the next begins.