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Greg Kihn
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Painted Black: A Novel (Dust Bin Bob) Paperback – April 7, 2015

by Greg Kihn (Author)
3.9 3.9 out of 5 stars 53 ratings
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Dust Bin Bob is back after saving the day for the Beatles in Manila, except this time he’s hanging in Morocco with Brian Jones, the doomed original guitarist of the Rolling Stones. Brian buys an antique mirror used for the esoteric art of mirror gazing. What Brian sees in the mirror frightens him and sets the scene for his untimely death. Was he murdered? Find out in the sequel to Rubber Soul, Painted Black. 
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  1. Book 2 of 2
    Dust Bin Bob
  2. Print length
    406 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    Open Road Media Mystery & Thriller
  5. Publication date
    April 7, 2015
  6. Dimensions
    5.25 x 1.02 x 8 inches
  7. ISBN-10
    1624672698
  8. ISBN-13
    978-1624672699
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author


NBC called Greg Kihn “Rock’s true renaissance man.” His career stretches from the dawn of punk and indie rock to the discos of the 1980s to the glory days of MTV. As a pioneer with the legendary Beserkley Records, he helped write the book on revolutionary West Coast rock ‘n’ roll.

In the 1990s, Greg turned his attention to writing fiction. He published four novels and a handful of short stories in various anthologies, and edited a compilation of original fiction by famous musicians. Horror Show was nominated for the Bram Stoker Award for Best First Novel.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Open Road Media Mystery & Thriller (April 7, 2015)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 406 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1624672698
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1624672699
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 7.1 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.25 x 1.02 x 8 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.9 3.9 out of 5 stars 53 ratings

About the author

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Greg Kihn

Greg Kihn

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NBC called Greg Kihn “Rock’s True Renaissance Man.” His career stretches from the dawn of punk and indie rock to the discos of the 80’s to the glory days of MTV. As a pioneer with the legendary Beserkley Records, he helped write the book on revolutionary west coast rock and roll.

He’s toured the world, had hit records, appeared on Saturday Night Live and American Bandstand, opened for the Rolling Stones, jammed with Bruce Springsteen, won the ASCAP and Midem Awards for his worldwide #1 hit JEOPARDY and THE BREAKUP SONG, was parodied by Weird Al Yankovic, lived the rock star lifestyle to the hilt, won and lost several fortunes, and lived to tell about it. But music is only part of the story.

In the 90’s Greg turned his attention to writing fiction. He published four novels, a handful of short stories in various anthologies, and edited a compilation of original fiction by famous musicians. HORROR SHOW was nominated for the prestigious Bram Stoker Award for Best First Novel.

It was also in the 90’s that he began his radio career. After a year of seven-midnight, Greg spent sixteen years hosting the top-rated morning show for KFOX radio in San Jose/San Francisco. He also hosted and performed at the annual KIHNCERT at the Shoreline Amphitheater featuring some of the most important bands of our generation.

Greg was inducted into the San Jose Rock Hall Of Fame in 2008 and the Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame in 2012.

Greg recently retained the rights to all his old recordings and is currently re-releasing his entire catalogue with the original artwork. The New Yorker recently described Greg’s music as having “a high degree of intelligence and subtlety.” The recent review of the Greg Kihn Band’s Greatest Hits by Apple iTunes called the group “a rock band of genuine consequence.” The band continues to tour with Greg’s son Ry Kihn replacing Joe Satriani on lead guitar.

Greg maintains a strong Internet presence with professional website design and social media managed by Michael Brandvold Marketing. Thousands of fans engage him daily on Facebook and Twitter. Greg also retains a cutting-edge publicist, Christopher Buttner at PrthatRocks.com, the lauded San Francisco based PR agency voted Best Publicist Of The Year by the National Association of Record Industry Professionals.

RUBBER SOUL is Greg’s most recent novel. This completely unique murder mystery features the Beatles as characters in the story. The idea came while interviewing original Beatles drummer Pete Best. Greg asked where the Beatles got those rare American R&B 45’s that constituted their early repertoire. Pete revealed that it was from Merchant Marines who carried the records back to Liverpool from America. That gave him the inspiration for the character “Dust Bin Bob” who befriends the Beatles from their penniless early days to the height of Beatlemania. The story climaxes with an assassination attempt in Manila during their world tour in 1966.

Through interviews with Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Pete Best, Geoff Emerick (engineer), Alf Bicknell (driver), Yoko Ono and Patti Harrison, Greg got invaluable insights into the inner world of the Beatles. Even though RUBBER SOUL is a work of fiction, it is 100% historically accurate.

After a lifetime of rock & roll, and decades on the road and behind the microphone, no one else but Greg Kihn could have written this story.

Customer reviews

3.9 out of 5 stars
53 global ratings

Customers say

Customers find the storyline entertaining and the writing quality really good. They also say the writing is more than acceptable.

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Writing qualityStoryline
7 customers mention "Writing quality"5 positive2 negative

Customers like the writing quality of the book. They say it's really good.

"...But Kihn does a lot right in “Painted Black”. There’s good writing such as “the heat in North Africa can be debilitating...." Read more

"Just really good writing from a former Bammies winner. Kihnsolidated! Thanks for all four books! Why not read today? U will love it!" Read more

"...Kihn is a good writer, but the book is edited abysmally, with more typos and misspellings than the reader should find...." Read more

"The story was entertaining and the writing was more than acceptable. An adventurous re-telling of a story we who love rock history enjoy hearing." Read more

6 customers mention "Storyline"6 positive0 negative

Customers find the storyline entertaining, riveting, and thrilling. They also say the writing is more than acceptable.

"...It shimmers in the afternoon like ghosts…” The plot keeps you interested and at times you’ll find yourself not wanting to stop reading." Read more

"This was overall a fun read and the author Greg Kihn captures Brian Jones's charismatic humor and increasing paranoia rather effectively." Read more

"...Still, it is riveting stuff, and for this geezer, it was thrilling to be transported to the era when the Beatles were still together and Keith Moon,..." Read more

"The story was entertaining and the writing was more than acceptable. An adventurous re-telling of a story we who love rock history enjoy hearing." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

Jim Cherry
4.0 out of 5 stars Kihn-tagious Read
Reviewed in the United States on May 26, 2015
Verified Purchase
I once reviewed Ray Manzarek’s “The Poet in Exile” saying it was a novel of lost opportunities. Manzarek was in a unique position to tell us what it was like to be a rock star in the 60’s and in a legendary band. He failed to translate that experience. Greg Kihn shares Manzarek’s unique position of having been in a band that had national recognition. In “Painted Black” Kihn delivers on those opportunities Manzarek passed up. Kihn let’s us feel what it’s like to be onstage in front of a screaming crowd, or what it’s like being hounded by fans and groupies so you can’t even walk down the street. Although Kihn’s experience was in the 80’s, being a rock star must be something like being perpetually in the 60’s.

“Painted Black” immerses Kihn’s 60’s rock ‘n’ roll hero, Dust Bin Bob in the turmoil of the Rolling Stones as Mick Jagger and Keith Richards alienate Brian Jones from the band he founded. Kihn takes us on a tour of late 60’s London, the Monterey Pop Festival and Morocco in an effort to save Jones’ life. The plot is bent around the known facts of Jones’ life and, at moments. it seems a bit shoe-horned in to fit, and the mystery takes a backseat.

But Kihn does a lot right in “Painted Black”. There’s good writing such as “the heat in North Africa can be debilitating. It shimmers in the afternoon like ghosts…” The plot keeps you interested and at times you’ll find yourself not wanting to stop reading.
2 people found this helpful
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Tinkerbellerules!
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Read
Reviewed in the United States on May 19, 2023
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Just really good writing from a former Bammies winner. Kihnsolidated! Thanks for all four books! Why not read today? U will love it!
One person found this helpful
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paul jude
3.0 out of 5 stars This was overall a fun read and the author Greg Kihn captures Brian Jones's ...
Reviewed in the United States on May 23, 2015
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This was overall a fun read and the author Greg Kihn captures Brian Jones's charismatic humor and increasing paranoia rather effectively.
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Kindle Customer
2.0 out of 5 stars Reads like a first draft
Reviewed in the United States on January 3, 2022
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Lots of typos, erratic pacing, erratic grammar and wording,many loose ends, and Dust Bin Bob dwindled to a gratuitous sidekick who was not really necessary to the story. The story arc is a classic tragedy, the charismatic golden boy falls from grace, then finds redemption, then dies. Dear authors, everyone needs an editor. Some actual editing, and bit of polish would have made this a really good story.
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Herodotus
4.0 out of 5 stars A Blues for Brian Jones
Reviewed in the United States on December 9, 2016
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Greg Kihn has put together an interesting plot and a group of timeless characters--rock stars from the Sixties. This is a milieu I know, and Kihn draws on his experience in that world to capture the poignant story of Brian Jones, the founder of the Rolling Stones who flew too close to the sun. The story parallels the known facts: that Jones was feuding with Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, that his addiction to sex, drugs, and alcohol was destroying him, that he was a golden boy in a world of gold. I won't betray the ending, though it follows a well-known path.

Kihn is a good writer, but the book is edited abysmally, with more typos and misspellings than the reader should find. Still, it is riveting stuff, and for this geezer, it was thrilling to be transported to the era when the Beatles were still together and Keith Moon, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Cass Elliott, and Jones were still alive and inventing the music that still entertains us today.
2 people found this helpful
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JKL
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent reinvention of a rock legend.
Reviewed in the United States on May 21, 2015
Verified Purchase
The story was entertaining and the writing was more than acceptable. An adventurous re-telling of a story we who love rock history enjoy hearing.
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Michelle Collins
4.0 out of 5 stars Smooth, easy flow.
Reviewed in the United States on November 3, 2015
Verified Purchase
If you want a fun, easy flowing read, then this is it. Love the back drop of the legendary Rolling Stones early days and seemingly being on the inside of rock and roll. The added injection of the paranormal is very real to the 1960's and gives a twist to the tragic death of an unsung Stone great!
Highly recommended!
One person found this helpful
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Rose DelParto
3.0 out of 5 stars A rock and roll story through fiction
Reviewed in the United States on June 25, 2015
Vine Customer Review of Free Product( What's this? )
Cleverly written Musician and Writer Greg Kihn retells a part of rock and roll history in the form of fiction for the sequel to his previous novel Rubber Soul, Painted Black takes a page from The Rolling Stones and founding members Brian Jones. The cover of the book vividly shows what the story is about, the events surrounded by the death of Jones and possible individuals that may have played a role. And Kihn specifically revisits the so-called rock and roll circus that he was a part of during the mid to late 1960s and before his demise in 1969.

Painted Black is a story that is twofold. First the life and times of Brian Jones, one of the most eclectic and somewhat diverse members of the group, and may be compared to the George Harrison of the Rolling Stones because of his unpredictable swagger be it through extravagant and off the wall dress or his musical vision that leaned on the exotic; the book traces the ongoing parties and tour schedules of the group as well as individual trips that Jones took to places India and Morocco. And second, the mystery associated with his death in a swimming pool that has been linked with a laborer Frank Thorogood that he hired and later fired due to the unruliness that occurred within his estate. Indeed, Kihn as a musician and one who saw groups such as the Rolling Stones and The Beatles as icons and an influence, and no doubt, it shows in this novel of his immense knowledge in the history of the band and of Jones. Chapter after chapter, which are named after well known rock and roll references and songs, the circle of friends and acquaintances as well as foes are included as the cast of characters of the story from each member of the group, Clovis who was their engineer and technician, Dust Bin Bob who was in the previous novel, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and characters such as Eleanor Rigby that comes to life out of the Beatles songbook and engages with the numerous individuals. For readers that may not have extensively read of the history of rock and roll, the storyline may be fresh and new. However, for readers that have much knowledge of the time and place and people that Kihn writes of, there may appear to be something new missing, and one thing comes to mind, the story comes from the old adage of fiction imitating art and vice versa.

And by the end of the novel, the final outcome did not quite end with a final resolve but more questions, possibly that was Kihn’s intent. For this reader, during the beginning of the book, it appeared to allude as a murder mystery, but by the last chapter, what it boiled down to -- a better understanding of whom Brian Jones was a man and musician of one of the most legendary groups in rock and roll history. Overall, a highly recommended book that may be read for sheer pleasure on a summer day or free time and for the sake of fun.
2 people found this helpful
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