THE RED-HOT BLUES CHANTEUSE

In 1919 San Francisco, a vaudeville singer with secrets investigates the murder of her pianist and lover in this historical crime novel.

New Jersey native Viola Clark, in her late 20s, is thrilled to see her act, “Viola Vermillion—Red-Hot Blues Chanteuse,” listed on the marquee outside San Francisco’s Pantages Theater. She performs with Stu Wiley, the talented songwriter who accompanies her on piano. Stu has become her lover during their travels together as part of a 13-act vaudeville troupe touring the West Coast. But Viola is surprised to see that Stu wears her gun and has $75 in his money clip. Shortly thereafter, she is shocked to find Stu shot dead by her gun in the theater balcony and the money and “the red leather notebook I’d asked Stu to safeguard for me” gone. She learns from a local police detective that her lover is the long-thought-deceased son of Alcatraz’s lighthouse keeper, with a body identified as Stu’s having washed ashore in 1915. Viola proceeds to probe the puzzles of Stu’s past, including his entanglements with folks still on Alcatraz and the troupe’s female impersonator headliner and the flirty female half of its dance couple. Viola also deals with her rising attraction to Jimmy Harrigan, her replacement accompanist. Unbeknown to her, Jimmy, a hired missing-person’s expert, has been tracking Viola for months in the belief that she is an East Coast munitions tycoon’s runaway wife. Another troupe member’s death eventually leads to the unexpected killer getting caught in a snowballing cover-up. Later, the arrival of the tycoon via his private rail car turns into a violent showdown.

This mystery series opener from California-based author Brazil immerses readers in the bright lights and colorful world of vaudeville while shading in darker, noirlike aspects of its players, era, and setting. Vaudeville details, such as the maneuvering to secure the best time spot on stage and the inclusion of unusual acts (in this case, one featuring “French Poodle Acrobats”), prove essential to unraveling the whodunit plot. Several characters are also recovering from World War I–era trauma. Jimmy feels badly about his journalist friend, the Army medic who stepped in front of a bullet for him, since “the shot that tore through Erwin’s upper arm...probably made every keystroke on that typewriter a misery.” Viola was recently released from an East Coast sanatorium, after having nearly died of influenza. She is angry about the deadly munitions factory explosion that the police concluded was done by “Germans.” A particularly striking and touching moment is when several troupe members put their military uniforms back on for a special performance on Neptune Beach, presented as a “a thank-you to the army boys who came home last week.” Brazil also includes several effective misdirects involving the investigation of Stu’s murder. The growing bond between Viola and Jimmy is also well developed, whetting interest in their future adventures, which will certainly come with complications.

An atmospheric, red herring–strewn mystery that deftly captures an era’s angst and ambition.