Rating: 
Summary: Great Series of Blues Mysteries
Review: "Crossroad Blues" is a fascinating & engaging read because it contains many elements that keeps the reader interested - short chapters, punchy dialogue, intriguing character development & rich descriptions of the Mississippi Delta. The author seamlessly weaves the musical essence of the 1930s blues scene with a complete immersion into present day New Orleans culture. We are treated to a glimpse of life behind the facade erected for tourist consumption, & see gritty realism. We blues fans applaud this mystery series!
Rating:
Summary: Great Series of Blues Mysteries
Review: "Crossroad Blues" is a fascinating & engaging read because it contains many elements that keeps the reader interested - short chapters, punchy dialogue, intriguing character development & rich descriptions of the Mississippi Delta. The author seamlessly weaves the musical essence of the 1930s blues scene with a complete immersion into present day New Orleans culture. We are treated to a glimpse of life behind the facade erected for tourist consumption, & see gritty realism. We blues fans applaud this mystery series!
Rating:
Summary: There is a new and refreshing mystery writer out there.
Review: Ace Atkin's Crossroad Blues finds a new voice in a crowded genre. Every author and character in a series, and this, although the first, will be a series, has a catch to his character. They are clergy, rabbis, psychologists, gay, cat lovers, drunks, gourmets, now we have a football player turned blues critic ,now detective. The only thing is, it definitely works.Atkins has not only created an excellent suspenseful story, he also educates his audience about the blues. I have heard, and heard of, many of the musicians that he discusses, but you get much of the history of an almost lost art as Atkins entertains at a fast suspenseful pace. I looked at the jacket cover and saw that he is only 27 years old and thought; oh boy we could really be in for something down the road. I have been mystery writing binge reading lately, and this one is amongst the best. If you love mysteries and have ever had, sung ,or loved the blues, pick this one up.
Rating:
Summary: Finally, an intelligent mystery with a sense of humor!
Review: After reading the galleys, my first thought was, what a talented young writer. Ace Atkins' clever use of dialect, humor, and detail does more than unravel a mystery. He creates characters who are worth reading. Nick Travers is smart enough to make you think,interesting enough to make you want more, and funny enough that you'd want to have a beer with him. Atkins also manages weave together the past and present worlds of Blues, the Delta and New Orleans into a story that really makes you wonder about the world of Robert Johnson and what really happened. And, Jesse is the hippest, funkiest villan I've read in years! Crossroad Blues is well worth reading.
Rating: 
Summary: "Crossroad Blues": A Hell of a Book
Review: All the reviews I've read of "Crossroad Blues" have been positive, and this one will be no different. Ace Atkins uses the death of enigmatic bluesman Robert Johnson's death as a starting point for "Crossroad Blues", a mystery starring Nick Travers (whose name, Atkins thoughtfully points out in a pre-novel note, means "dweller at a crossroads"), a former New Orleans Saint who is now a semi-drunk teacher and musician. When one of Travers' colleagues disappears while researching a set of nine mythical recordings possible laid down by Johnson, Travers tries to track him down, only to become embroiled in a search for the recordings and the answer to Johnson's untimely murder. Here's the lowdown: Robert Johnson recorded only 29 songs in his life. While he lived, he cultivated rumors about himself that suggested he had earned his musical skill by trading guitars with the devil. He died in 1938 under mysterious circumstances (various rumors had it he was either stabbed or poisoned). It's a credit to Atkins' skill as a storyteller that his fictional characters blend seamlessly into the blues mythology. His retelling of Johnson's life made me wish I had grown up black and impoverished in the 30's. The mystery was, if implausible, engaging and entertaining. I'm a sucker for stories of this type - found manuscripts, new recordings of old musicians, old paintings found under repaintings - so the story kept me going. But the novel did not hit the high point I was expecting from previous raves. Instead of simply telling his story, Atkins at times tries too hard for literary strokes, producing these clunkers: "Daniel Rose's dusty Oldsmobile was parked next to a mound of rich upchurned soil that resembled a spilled chocolate ice-cream scoop." "Looked like Superman's badassed twin from the Bizarro Planet." "Dawn broke over Jesse Garon's head like a spilled blue milkshake." This book would have benefited from a few well-placed commas. Most of Travers' internal dialog is written in sentence fragments, a device I find tiresome. Most of the fragments would have fit neatly onto the preceding sentence, but Atkins' insistence on maintaining a "realistic" internal voice apparently prevents him from obeying the rules of grammar. A few reviewers have mentioned the character Jesse Garon, the hitman who looks like a young Elvis ("The one from the postage stamp," says another character), as one of the more intriguing villains to come along in a while. Frankly, I thought Sarah Shankman wrote him better in "The King is Dead". Yep. That's right. Someone else wrote an Elvis-obsessed killer who may or may not be Elvis' lost twin brother Jesse Garon fully five years before this novel (in reality, Jesse died at birth). Overall, this was a remarkable book, notable for its knowledge of the early greats and for the creation of a likeable anti-hero. I look forward to reading Ace Atkins' next Nick Travers book.
Rating:
Summary: "Crossroad Blues" is all that and a bag of Zapp's
Review: All the reviews I've read of "Crossroad Blues" have so far been positive. This one will be no different. They share one other trait - all of the reviewers pretend they knew who Robert Johnson was before they read this book. That's where this one will differ. I had to go look him up online to make sure he was a real person. Here's the lowdown: Robert Johnson did exist, and is considered a "legendary" bluesman, though he recorded only 29 songs in his life. While he lived, he cultivated rumors about himself that suggested he had earned his musical skill by trading guitars with the devil. He died in 1938 under mysterious circumstances (various rumors had it he was either stabbed or poisoned). Ace Atkins uses this enigmatic musician's death as a starting point for "Crossroad Blues", a mystery starring Nick Travers (whose name, Atkins thoughtfully points out in a pre-novel note, means "dweller at a crossroads"), a former New Orleans Saint who is now a semi-drunk teacher and musician. When one of Travers' colleagues disappears while researching a set of nine mythical recordings possible laid down by Johnson, Travers tries to track him down, only to become embroiled in a search for the recordings and the answer to Johnson's untimely murder. It's a credit to Atkins' skill as a storyteller that his fictional characters blend seamlessly into the blues mythology. His retelling of Johnson's life made me wish I had grown up black and impoverished in the 30's. The mystery was, if implausible, engaging and entertaining. I'm a sucker for stories of this type - found manuscripts, new recordings of old musicians, old paintings found under repaintings - so the story kept me going. But the novel did not hit the high point I was expecting from previous raves. Instead of simply telling his story, Atkins at times tries too hard for literary strokes, producing these clunkers: "Daniel Rose's dusty Oldsmobile was parked next to a mound of rich upchurned soil that resembled a spilled chocolate ice-cream scoop." "Looked like Superman's badassed twin from the Bizarro Planet." "Dawn broke over Jesse Garon's head like a spilled blue milkshake." This book would have benefited from a few well-placed commas. Most of Travers' internal dialog is written in sentence fragments, a device I find tiresome. Most of the fragments would have fit neatly onto the preceding sentence, but Atkins' insistence on maintaining a "realistic" internal voice apparently prevents him from obeying the rules of grammar. A few reviewers have mentioned the character Jesse Garon, the hitman who looks like a young Elvis ("The one from the postage stamp," says another character), as one of the more intriguing villains to come along in a while. Frankly, I thought Sarah Shankman wrote him better in "The King is Dead". Yep. That's right. Someone else wrote an Elvis-obsessed killer who may or may not be Elvis' lost twin brother Jesse Garon fully five years before this novel (in reality, Jesse died at birth). Overall, this was a remarkable book, notable for its knowledge of the early greats and for the creation of a likeable anti-hero. I look forward to Ace Atkins' next Nick Travers book.
Rating:
Summary: "Crossroad Blues" is all that and a bag of Zapp's
Review: All the reviews I've read of "Crossroad Blues" have so far been positive. This one will be no different. They share one other trait - all of the reviewers pretend they knew who Robert Johnson was before they read this book. That's where this one will differ. I had to go look him up online to make sure he was a real person. Here's the lowdown: Robert Johnson did exist, and is considered a "legendary" bluesman, though he recorded only 29 songs in his life. While he lived, he cultivated rumors about himself that suggested he had earned his musical skill by trading guitars with the devil. He died in 1938 under mysterious circumstances (various rumors had it he was either stabbed or poisoned). Ace Atkins uses this enigmatic musician's death as a starting point for "Crossroad Blues", a mystery starring Nick Travers (whose name, Atkins thoughtfully points out in a pre-novel note, means "dweller at a crossroads"), a former New Orleans Saint who is now a semi-drunk teacher and musician. When one of Travers' colleagues disappears while researching a set of nine mythical recordings possible laid down by Johnson, Travers tries to track him down, only to become embroiled in a search for the recordings and the answer to Johnson's untimely murder. It's a credit to Atkins' skill as a storyteller that his fictional characters blend seamlessly into the blues mythology. His retelling of Johnson's life made me wish I had grown up black and impoverished in the 30's. The mystery was, if implausible, engaging and entertaining. I'm a sucker for stories of this type - found manuscripts, new recordings of old musicians, old paintings found under repaintings - so the story kept me going. But the novel did not hit the high point I was expecting from previous raves. Instead of simply telling his story, Atkins at times tries too hard for literary strokes, producing these clunkers: "Daniel Rose's dusty Oldsmobile was parked next to a mound of rich upchurned soil that resembled a spilled chocolate ice-cream scoop." "Looked like Superman's badassed twin from the Bizarro Planet." "Dawn broke over Jesse Garon's head like a spilled blue milkshake." This book would have benefited from a few well-placed commas. Most of Travers' internal dialog is written in sentence fragments, a device I find tiresome. Most of the fragments would have fit neatly onto the preceding sentence, but Atkins' insistence on maintaining a "realistic" internal voice apparently prevents him from obeying the rules of grammar. A few reviewers have mentioned the character Jesse Garon, the hitman who looks like a young Elvis ("The one from the postage stamp," says another character), as one of the more intriguing villains to come along in a while. Frankly, I thought Sarah Shankman wrote him better in "The King is Dead". Yep. That's right. Someone else wrote an Elvis-obsessed killer who may or may not be Elvis' lost twin brother Jesse Garon fully five years before this novel (in reality, Jesse died at birth). Overall, this was a remarkable book, notable for its knowledge of the early greats and for the creation of a likeable anti-hero. I look forward to Ace Atkins' next Nick Travers book.
Rating: 
Summary: I gotta differ....woof, woof
Review: Crossroad Blues is a pretty good book. If you like mysteries you will probably find this book OK. However, if you really like blues music you will get much more out of the book. I am a fan of both and I enjoyed this book. Its not the best I have read, but I certainly enjoyed reading it. Robert Johnson is considered one of the greatest blues musicians ever. Just look at his influence on blues and rock. Led Zepplin, Eric Clapton are all heavly influenced by Johnson. The legend is that Johnson made a deal with the devil for his talent. And many blame his early death on the devil. I liked how the book dealt with the legend of RJ's death as well as what might have really happened. Personally, what I think holds this book back is the lack of character development. Perhaps that will come. I enjoyed the whole Robert Johnson aspect of the book but after this first book I still do not know enough about Nick Travers the main character and I actually cared less about him than I did some of the other characters. Hopefully as the series grows we will learn more about Nick and care for him more. Putting a mystery series in the New Orleans area presents another problem. James Lee Burke's awesome series of books featuring Dave Robicheaux has a similiar setting. Atkins should take a lesson from Burke. Burke is in my opinion one of the best novelists out there and his books are hands down the best mystery books out there. Plus Dave Robicheaux is a very very complex character. So again, blues fans will enjoy this book. But for this series to work Atkins needs a little more work. I look forward to reading the next one and seeing if he is up to the challenge.
Rating: 
Summary: A Good Mixture of Blues and Mystery
Review: Crossroad Blues is a pretty good book. If you like mysteries you will probably find this book OK. However, if you really like blues music you will get much more out of the book. I am a fan of both and I enjoyed this book. Its not the best I have read, but I certainly enjoyed reading it. Robert Johnson is considered one of the greatest blues musicians ever. Just look at his influence on blues and rock. Led Zepplin, Eric Clapton are all heavly influenced by Johnson. The legend is that Johnson made a deal with the devil for his talent. And many blame his early death on the devil. I liked how the book dealt with the legend of RJ's death as well as what might have really happened. Personally, what I think holds this book back is the lack of character development. Perhaps that will come. I enjoyed the whole Robert Johnson aspect of the book but after this first book I still do not know enough about Nick Travers the main character and I actually cared less about him than I did some of the other characters. Hopefully as the series grows we will learn more about Nick and care for him more. Putting a mystery series in the New Orleans area presents another problem. James Lee Burke's awesome series of books featuring Dave Robicheaux has a similiar setting. Atkins should take a lesson from Burke. Burke is in my opinion one of the best novelists out there and his books are hands down the best mystery books out there. Plus Dave Robicheaux is a very very complex character. So again, blues fans will enjoy this book. But for this series to work Atkins needs a little more work. I look forward to reading the next one and seeing if he is up to the challenge.
Rating:
Summary: The Blues and a Mystery too!
Review: Do you like the Blues? Do you like Robert Johnson? Do you like a good mystery novel? Than pickup a copy of "CROSSROAD BLUES (A NICK TRAVERS MYSTERY)" by Ace Atkins. Atkins is a twenty-seven-year-old staff writer for the Tampa Tribune and this is his first novel. The story takes place in New Orleans and introduces Nick Tarvers; an ex-New Orleans Saint turned blues historian. Tarvers is asked to track down another professor who has disappeared in the Delta while following a rumor of nine unknown Robert Johnson songs. Along the way, Tarvers meets some really strange characters, which includes a nineteen-year-old hitman who believes he is the second coming of Elvis. Atkins combines the supposed details of Robert Johnson death, by flashback, with the search of the missing professor and this concludes with finding the answer to the greatest mystery in all of blues history.
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