October 1, 2021
Simon's ("Witch Cats of Cambridge") latest is a 1990s-set rock and roll mystery. Musician Gal Raver was only supposed to be in Boston for a few days to attend a memorial concert honoring her friend Aimee, who has recently passed away from cancer. But Gal's plans change when someone from her past turns up dead: her band's first roadie, Thomas Kennedy, aka T.K., has been killed behind the venue for the benefit concert. Aimee's husband is soon arrested for his murder. Gal takes a walk down memory lane to learn why someone would kill T.K. and discovers that more happened during her rock and roll days than she realized. VERDICT A mystery that explores character motivations rather than the murder itself. For fans of Alexander McCall Smith and Janet Evanovich.--Victoria Kollar, Racine P.L., WI
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October 15, 2021
Gal Raver, formerly the lead singer in a popular girl band, returns to Boston to play a memorial benefit concert for Aimee, the group's drummer. While singing the band's breakout song, "Hold Me Down," she sees a face in the audience and falters. The next day, a body is found behind the concert venue: it's TK, Thomas Kennedy, the roadie who had traveled with the band back in the day and who is the man Gal saw in the audience. Gal is helping Aimee's daughter, Camille, sort her mother's things when Camille reports that her father has been arrested for TK's murder and isn't interested in defending himself. Puzzled, Gal begins investigating. Through reminiscences with the remaining members of the band and Gal's own flashbacks, Gal revisits the group's hard, often alcohol- and drug-blurred life on the road. Simon draws on her career as a journalist, in particular her reporting on Boston's music scene in the 1990s, for the setting, concert scenes, and flashbacks, bringing a gritty reality to this dark suspense tale.
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