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ajnel's review against another edition
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Celestin's ability to weave US early to mid twentieth century into crime fiction is unmatched. Dead Man's Blues tells the story of a complex whodunit intertwined with the late 1920s Chicargo gang land wars. It's a rich layered novel and one of the best US examples of historic crime fiction.
srdaine's review
3.0
A ver, la trama no está mal pero si la enrevesas de tal manera que tienes que tirar del recurso de "en capítulos anteriores..." más veces de lo necesario (que, seamos justos, debería ser una vez como mucho) pues luego no te extrañes si frunzo el ceño al ver cómo la resuelves en dos patadas, no sé, igual centrarse más en eso que en estar todo el rato demostrando lo mucho que te gusta la época habría estado mejor.
kafsmif's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
cozymysterychuck's review against another edition
5.0
Just incredible to see how much the characters have evolved since the last novel. Both this, and the first in the series had me emotionally invested in the main characters and I found myself almost moved to tears at certain points in this novel. The blossoming romance that Ida found was believable and honest, and didn’t at all feel shoehorned in.
This beautiful connection they had caused me quite the upset during a certain later scene, and I had to stop and take a few deep breaths!
I cannot rate this book highly enough, a must read.
This beautiful connection they had caused me quite the upset during a certain later scene, and I had to stop and take a few deep breaths!
I cannot rate this book highly enough, a must read.
kirstenfindlay's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
infinitysbookshelf's review against another edition
4.0
I have finally caught up with this series! The 3rd book was one of the first books that I ever reviewed on my blog after I accidentally requested an ARC of it. I am so glad that I now have read the entire story so far and am really anticipating the fourth and final book in the series.
I really enjoyed the historical aspect of this book, as it takes place in Chicago under Capone, and it was interesting the amount of research he did into the topic. There was a scene at a golf course that I was curious about and I found a real interview with one of the people there. I can really understand how each book takes 3 years to research, but I wish I didn’t have to wait that long for the final book. The writing really allowed for complete immersion into the story, which really helped to increase my enjoyment of the book.
The characters were pretty good and I really enjoyed the gang members perspective in this one. His story was so tragic but he was trying to make the best of it. It was particularly interesting to see the detective characters’ stories knowing what happens to them in the third book.
The actual mystery portion was not done to my satisfaction. It felt really confusing and it was pretty much solved by the detectives going “I know what happened”. The actual reveal felt so convoluted and I still don’t know how the clues actually led to the result. This made the book very hard to get through until the very end. Once the actual mystery was solved and even before that there were also quite a few action sequences that were pretty good and were definitely a highlight of the book.
Finally I liked the way that this book took some really dark topics: murder, suicide and racial tension, and made a really interesting comparison between those themes with music and the mob. Musicians like Louis Armstrong are slowly being accepted by the mainstream music producers and the mob is really helping them through it. This historical comparison is really what is keeping me interested in this series and why I really need to read this next book.
I definitely liked this one better than the first book in the series, which I gave 3 stars and it feels on par with the 3rd book, which I gave 4 stars. It was altogether an interesting historical fiction novel with a really confusing mystery and interesting characters. What did everyone else think of this book? Leave a comment down below and Happy Reading!
4 stars
I really enjoyed the historical aspect of this book, as it takes place in Chicago under Capone, and it was interesting the amount of research he did into the topic. There was a scene at a golf course that I was curious about and I found a real interview with one of the people there. I can really understand how each book takes 3 years to research, but I wish I didn’t have to wait that long for the final book. The writing really allowed for complete immersion into the story, which really helped to increase my enjoyment of the book.
The characters were pretty good and I really enjoyed the gang members perspective in this one. His story was so tragic but he was trying to make the best of it. It was particularly interesting to see the detective characters’ stories knowing what happens to them in the third book.
The actual mystery portion was not done to my satisfaction. It felt really confusing and it was pretty much solved by the detectives going “I know what happened”. The actual reveal felt so convoluted and I still don’t know how the clues actually led to the result. This made the book very hard to get through until the very end. Once the actual mystery was solved and even before that there were also quite a few action sequences that were pretty good and were definitely a highlight of the book.
Finally I liked the way that this book took some really dark topics: murder, suicide and racial tension, and made a really interesting comparison between those themes with music and the mob. Musicians like Louis Armstrong are slowly being accepted by the mainstream music producers and the mob is really helping them through it. This historical comparison is really what is keeping me interested in this series and why I really need to read this next book.
I definitely liked this one better than the first book in the series, which I gave 3 stars and it feels on par with the 3rd book, which I gave 4 stars. It was altogether an interesting historical fiction novel with a really confusing mystery and interesting characters. What did everyone else think of this book? Leave a comment down below and Happy Reading!
4 stars
mollie_00's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Racism, Racial slurs, and Police brutality
mistychristie's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
nosywitch's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.25
One of my absolute favourite books. Ray Celestin did a wonderful job. The characters were interesting and the plot intriguing. Each character has a different backstory and motivation. The author introduces you to a whole new world, late 1920s Chicago. Gangs, crimes, mystery, corrupted politicians, prohibition. All those element along side with Celestin's great writing illustrates intoxicating world. The book was kind of slow, but it picked up towards the end. I didn't predict the ending and was really shocked by the death of Jacob and his realation with Dante . To sup up, it was a great book, go read it :)
martinatrevelin's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0