Out of the Blues

Combining crime and the blues makes for a great launching point for this new series.

Most authors have a clear, natural strength, and for me Trudy Nan Boyce shines with setting. I don't mean that she simply paints us a portrait of a particular area, though she does that well. More importantly, Boyce makes sure we feel what it's like to live there. The roots and rhythm of the setting feels like a fully developed character in its own right, essential to the heart of the story.

The plot moves at a good pace. The investigation is a smaller aspect of a larger journey. The author touches upon some compelling topics, such as homelessness, the political power of church officials, and the history of slavery in the south. The author handles this show more well, showing us the uncomfortable truth without interfering with the natural flow of the story.

The stumbling point, for me, came with character development. I liked Alt's character, but I felt I didn't really know her. It was as if I'd jumped into the middle of a series with her character, rather than starting fresh. Her interactions with friends was often playful and fun, if not a little superficial, but I had no honest sense of her feelings for her boyfriend. I wanted more of a connection with her character.

This book does offer a memorable experience, and certainly makes me see Atlanta through a different viewpoint.

*I was provided with a free copy by the publisher, via Amazon Vine, in exchange for my honest review.* show less

It's so refreshing to read a murder mystery set in Atlanta! Like Karin Slaughter and Kathy Hogan Trocheck, Trudy Nan Boyce's newly minted detective travels streets that have a long and strange history. And these streets in this novel lead into the seedy underbelly of drug deals and strip clubs, with some blues players added for a strong emotional pull.

The details of a cop's life, especially a woman cop are tough; fortunately in Sarah Alt's world, she has enough of a reputation and enough contacts from her beat cop days to at least start to get some stories told to help lead her to a suspect. But the information does not come easy and Sarah "Salt" Alt has to deal with the ghosts of her past as well as demons in the present. Great show more detecting, great details, and a gritty crime drama. show less

I fell in love with Sandy Salt aka "Alt"! I sure hope this is the start of a new series. I loved everything about this novel. The characters were so believable, the way the guys treated her until she had proved herself in the male-dominated homicide division. She knew the detectives from working on patrol and was a very capable officer and they knew that but she still had to prove that she belonged in "coveted" homicide division.
Her first day in Homicide the Sgt. shows her to a desk, without a PC and then hands her a 10-year-old cold case to work on. Typical fare for a newly minted female detective, Ms. Boyce really hits home on that one.
I also loved the way she incorporated the rich historical facts of Atlanta and it's racial history show more into the novel as well. Not to mention the Blues, did I already state how much I loved this novel.
This was a great debut novel for Ms. Boyce and I hope it does become a series, I would love to find out what else she has in store for "Alt".
If you like a no-nonsense true police procedural, think of a female Ed McBain with a twist then you'll love this novel as much as I did.
I would like to thank GP Putman and Netgalley for providing me with an e-galley of this novel for my honest review. show less

Assigned to the cold case murder of Michael Richard Anderson, newly-promoted Atlanta homicide detective Sarah Alt, known in the department at “Salt,” learns that the blues musician’s drug overdose may not have been accidental, after all. A convicted felon Salt helped put behind bars is now claiming Anderson’s death was murder and he hopes to trade his information for a shortened sentence. Salt’s investigation of the cold case takes her back to her old beat in a search for the truth.

In this gritty tale, the author provides a strong sense of place in her vivid descriptions of Atlanta, the result of which is that oftentimes Atlanta itself seems to be the main character. The nuanced, in-depth look at the city is a highlight of the show more narrative and the day-to-day grind of being a member of the police force is another well-depicted highlight of the story.

The infusion of the blues into the telling of the tale provides another story layer for readers; unfortunately, there are times when the songs impede the flow of the narrative.

Driven by memories of her father, who served on the force and, suffering from severe depression, committed suicide on her tenth birthday, Salt is an interesting, faceted character; however, the improbability of Salt continually being placed in so many implausible situations [and always emerging victorious] may strain readers’ credibility.

Despite the intriguing plot, readers are likely to be frustrated with the often-arising “thrown into the middle of a series” feeling that creates confusion; references to past events would seem to assume the reader is already familiar with these events. show less

An interesting first novel written by a retired police detective. Gritty and realistic, often complex, I appreciated the experience Boyce brings to the table. However, I sometimes had difficulty following the plot of the story. There were a LOT of characters. Cops, friends, suspects, random people on the street, some with similar names, so many that I lost track of where they fit into the plot.

This is a very good crime novel.

As a police procedural, it is an exceptional book. The book involves newly appointed homicide detective Sarah Alt investigating what first appears to be a cold case drug overdose, that quickly turns into a much deeper and darker tale.

The novel is written by a retired police officer and leaves the reader anxiously awaiting her future novels.

One thing I enjoyed about the novel is how well done it was while avoiding that feeling of a "cookie cutter" like assemblage of a novel. While reading the novel, I never had the experience of the flow of the novel being predictable because that is just how procedurals are supposed to be. And because it was written by a former police officer, the typical errors that show more non-police officers make when writing novels were non-existent. On top of that, in too many other novels involving complex linkage, the story becomes implausible and far reaching, while the plot of this novel was delivered in a very believable way.

Boyce also added layers and textures of life throughout the novel, similarly as to how James Lee Burke does in his writing. Her description of flowers, plants and trees in Atlanta, as well as food and casual conversations between characters, added to the feel of the novel.

While reading this novel, though, I did have two main issues. The first was the lack of police officer gallows humor. Boyce is very sparse in her usage of gallows humor. While it is possible a writer can be gratuitous in the usage of gallows humor, thus rendering it impotent, too little of it, to me, can have a similarly impact.

The other issue dealt the main character missing obvious cues to danger ahead, when through her development, we are led to believe she is an exceptional police officer. These were probably just ways to move the story forward, however, when reading the novel it did not bode well during these times when in my mind I'm hearing the robot from Lost In Space chanting, "Danger, Will Robinson."

Still, this was an exceptional police novel and highly recommended. show less

Sarah Alt (aka Salt) has just been promoted to Detective-Atlanta Homicide Squad. As the only female on the day shift, and known to typically work alone, almost as a hazing ceremony she is given the 10 year old cold case of blues singer Mike Armstrong’s death. Originally ruled an accidental drug overdose, there is new evidence, in the form of convicted felon Dwayne Stone’s testimony, that Armstrong was intentionally given a ‘hot dose’ of heroin. However, it is Stone who shot Salt a year ago, from which she still carries the physical and emotional scars. Stone will be trading his information for a reduced sentence and Salt will be working towards that goal when corroborating his testimony…another emotional scar.OutOfTheBlues

Salt show more carries other emotional scars as well, especially that of finding her policeman father’s body after his shotgun suicide when she was nine years old.

When Salt’s cold case intersects with a recent high profile murder, everyone gets involved, from detectives to narcotics to SWAT and the action builds up.

Out of the Blues by Trudy Nan Boyce attracted my attention because of its blues orientation and apparently Atlanta was a hot spot of early blues activity. In an era when hip hop and rap are at the top of the charts, the popularity of the blues seems to be declining and the plight of the old bluesmen is going virtually unnoticed, Boyce brings it to the forefront. Readers can visualize the dusty, dirty clubs that the book’s rag tag blues band is forced to play in. One of the characters is a down on her luck, homeless former blues singer.

Boyce’s (a former police officer) debut novel is a great start for a series, which I hope this is. She’s has a great set of characters in Salt, her detective boyfriend Wills and their dogs, the transgender desk sergeant, Rosie, Thing One and Thing Two, etc. There is an adequate split between police procedural and action. All the characters are believable. The book has an evangelical bent to it, which is not one of my favorite subjects, but it wasn’t an overpowering slant to the book.

While Boyce’s prose are a little hard to follow/read at times, Out of the Blues is still quite readable, maybe a little slower read, but readable. Her descriptions, especially blues related sounds or feelings, are a little over the top, kind of like she went to writing school and this is what they taught her…not naturally flowing is probably a better way to describe it.

While I don’t normally give star ratings, I’d probably give Out of the Blues three and a half stars. Boyce has the characters and plot down, now she just has to make the words flow more smoothly. I’d definitely read her next book and am actually looking forward to it. show less