Out of the Blues
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4.2 • 11 Ratings
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- $14.99
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
“A fresh, gritty debut. Boyce unveils one of the best new series characters in ages. . . A book that combines fast-paced suspense with moving insights.”—#1 New York Times-bestselling author Lisa Gardner
From an author with more than thirty years’ experience in the Atlanta Police Department comes a riveting procedural debut introducing an unforgettable heroine.
On her first day as a newly minted homicide detective, Sarah “Salt” Alt is given the cold-case murder of a blues musician whose death was originally ruled an accidental drug overdose. Now new evidence has come to light that he may have been given a hot dose intentionally. And this evidence comes from a convicted felon hoping to trade his knowledge for shortened prison time . . . a man who Salt herself put behind bars.
In a search that will take her into the depths of Atlanta’s buried wounds—among the city’s homeless, its politically powerful churches, commerce and industry, and the police department itself—Salt probes her way toward the truth in a case that has more at stake than she ever could have imagined. At once a vivid procedural and a penetrating examination of what it means to be cop, Out of the Blues is a remarkable crime debut.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Boyce draws on her experience as a retired Atlanta police officer for her uneven debut, which features Sarah "Salt" Alt, an Atlanta native and newly promoted homicide detective. Her first case is the decade-old drug overdose of blues musician Mike Anderson, reopened thanks to a tip from a convicted felon imprisoned for attacking Salt. Her investigation quickly ruffles feathers in the department as she alienates a powerful local pastor, who employs off-duty cops as security guards. A sometimes-choppy narrative, chronological inconsistencies, and a heroine too good to be true the beautiful Salt is respected by the gang in the housing project she used to patrol, haunted by her cop father's suicide, adept at aikido, and dating a fellow detective, plus she manages to solve several high-profile homicides in the course of her first case are balanced by Boyce's clear passion for Atlanta's people, culture, landscape, and history. Appreciation for the blues, along with magic realist elements related to the hellhound legend, add dimension to the plot.
Customer Reviews
Disappointing novel!
Out of the Blues by Trudy Nan Boyce is the first book in a new series. Sarah Alt (goes by Salt) has just made detective and has been assigned the Homicide Unit. Her sergeant gives her a ten-year-old case (cold case) as her first assignment. It is the death of Michael Anderson, a jazz musician, whose death was ruled accidental (due to drugs). They received new information from a man in prison (who Salt arrested) and now they are looking at the case again. Salt starts by talking to the parents and other people who knew and dealt with Mike. Will she find out the case was murder? Can Salt manage to stay out of trouble while solving the case (avoid getting shot or hurt)?
Out of the Blues is written how the various character’s talk. It makes it difficult to read and understand (they all seem to have poor grammar). It makes it difficult to read and understand (they all seem to have poor grammar). The book has no flow (it is awkwardly written). This is the first book in a new series, but it is written like a book in the middle of a series (makes it confusing). The blurb made it sound like a good book with an enjoyable mystery. I was extremely disappointed. I was never able to get into this story and I did not like the characters. I gave Out of the Blues 1 out of 5 stars. I was frustrated by this book and really did not want to finish it. Out of the Blues was just not my type of book.
I received a complimentary copy of Out of the Blues from NetGalley and First to Read in exchange for an honest review.