Product Description

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #426439 in Books
• Published on: 2005-05-03
• Released on: 2005-05-03
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 272 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Tall, red-haired private eye and part-time cab driver Carlotta Carlyle returns for her fourth, cleverly plotted and zestfully related adventure. in which she must deal with her past. Her former best friend, singer Dee Willis, in Boston to begin a tour, hires Carlotta to find a mutual friend, bass player Davey Dunrobie. Carlotta is suspicious--not, she tells herself, because Dee walked off with her husband Cal Therieux, but because Dee isn't the type to pay to have someone located for old time's sake. Dee finally admits that Davey has claimed that she stole his songs and owes him $300,000. The singer wants to talk to Davey, but when she finds the body of her current bass player in her hotel room, she begs Carlotta to stop the search. Intrigued by Dee's plea and angered by the ransacking of her own home, Carlotta decides to investigate. Barnes ( Coyote ) turns out a characteristically gripping tale, packed with taut, energy-charged images.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
With short, sparkling paragraphs and an excited emotional demeanor, Barnes dives into her newest Boston diversion. After the cab-driving Carlotta saves old friend, now blues star, Dee Willis from publicity and prosecution in a dangerous park incident, Dee hires her to find their long-ago mutual heartthrob Davey Dunrobie. Davey claims that Dee has plagiarized several of his songs. When Dee discovers a murdered band member in her bed, she realizes Davey means business. Carlotta--tall, vivacious, sensitive--unravels all the knots with breathtaking verve, leaving the reader gasping for more. Super.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews
Boston's p.i. Carlotta Carlyle, a six-foot, redheaded ex-cop, still drives a cab when business is slow (Coyote, etc.). Her passenger one night is singer-guitarist Dee Willis, once a close friend in a turbulent period of Carlotta's life and the woman with whom Carlotta's ex-husband Cal had decamped. Dee, after years of career ups and downs, has had a blockbuster record, is in Boston for a sellout concert, and is about to sign with media mega-giant MGA. She's also in trouble. Davey Dunrobie, another figure from the past, is claiming, with a lawyer's letter, that Dee's songs were written by him, and he's demanding big bucks. Dee hires Carlotta to find Davey, but the death of Brenda, her bass player, puts everything else on hold. Is it suicide or murder? Other questions need answers too. What is mobster Mickey Mangenero doing at the fancy MGA bash for Dee? Who trashed Carlotta's house, leaving a ``Back Off'' message on the bathroom mirror? And how does she really feel about Cal, no longer a druggie, who's discovered in her search for Davey while he's playing his bass in a seedy club? All of Carlotta's energies and resources are needed to find the answers, Davey Dunrobie, and a murderer to boot. Another of Barnes's superb mixes of warmth, enthusiasm, clever plotting, vivid characters, and overall brio. -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Customer Reviews

Deserves a Reprint!
If you can find this book, grab it. Number four in the Carlotta Carlyle mystery series, it offers a great deal of interesting background into Carlotta's life, none of which has been discussed in any depth in the previous three books.

The plot centers around an old friend/enemy, Dee Willis, now a blues/rock superstar. In Boston for a major gig, Dee looks up her old pal Carlotta, not for old times' sake, but to help find a missing mutual friend from long ago, a fine blues guitarist who fell into a life of drugs and booze. There's a serious reason why Dee wants Carlotta to find Davey--but doing so unlocks emotions for Carlotta that she'd rather keep buried. Emotions due to the fact that, way back when she and Dee were in the same band, Dee stole Carlotta's husband, bass guitarist Cal.

Carlotta agrees to find Davey, but in doing so, she has to slog through old business and old feelings--and confront Cal, something she has never been able to do since he left her. A good mystery, a good story, and a real key into Carlotta. I don't know why it's out of print!

Carlotta confronts her past
Carlotta Carlyle gets a surprise customer in her taxi one night. It's Dee Willis, a famous singer, who used to be Carlotta's best friend until she stole Carlotta's husband from her. Dee now needs Carlotta's help in finding Davey, a mutual friend of theirs. Davey is accusing Dee of stealing songs which he wrote and passing them off as her own. Carlotta's investigation brings her in contact with several old friends, including her ex-husband. As usual, she is conflicted about her love life, which in this book includes three different men. As in her other books, Linda Barnes writes an interesting tale with a good plot and well-defined characters.

Fun Read with Female Sleuth
I'll make this review short and sweet.

This is another book in the 'Carlotta' series. I found it fast-moving with a likeable female private eye. The novel deals with rock and roll, plagiarism, the blues, blackmail and past secrets. It is juicy and fun.

I recommend for the beach or plane. It's a good page-turner.