SONG OF THE CHIMNEY SWEEP

In Cain’s debut mystery, a pair of podcasters investigate an unsolved crime involving a once-famous singer.

The action of this Florida-set novel is divided between the modern world of podcasts and social media and the world of working musicians in 1969. In 2019, Jacksonville-based Melody Hinterson and her producer, Dorian Santos, are the creators of the Tabs and Blanks Podcast, dedicated to piecing together the facts of cold cases. As the story opens, the case in question is that of Betty Van Disson, who disappeared in Northeast Florida in 2001 without a trace. Her husband, Randell, refused to cooperate with authorities, and she was never seen again. When the team learns of the existence of Betty’s diaries, the narrative splits to dramatize the tale of her romance with charismatic R&B musician Dominicus Owen and his band, the Downtown Sound. Cain does a deft job of balancing the past and present threads of her narrative, investing each with its own drama, whether it’s the escalating romantic tension between Melody and Dorian in the present or the story of Betty, starting when she was 17-year-old Betty Langdon at a concert on the Florida/Georgia line, back in 1969, and following her life through the ensuing years. Throughout, Cain effectively evokes the atmosphere of rural Florida and Jacksonville (“It has its problems, people hate its name, progress sometimes gets buried in a quagmire murky as any Florida swamp”), as well as the local R&B and rock music scene. This latter is embodied in the tale of the rise of the Downtown Sound and the early days of Dominicus’ stardom, and Cain ably and steadily ratchets up the suspense as more revelations come to light. Overall, the novel manages to get across the flavor of Florida’s music and the grimness of Betty’s life with smooth skill.

A compulsively readable story of a long-buried disappearance.