BOOKS: David Fulmer - Another Rebel Favorite

"Unique fusion of mystery, history and music..."

"An exotic and erotic mixture of things we like -- jazz, pimps, prostitutes, murder and dirty politics." -- Nelson DeMille, from the front cover of CHASING THE DEVIL'S TAIL.

What more could I possibly say?!
(Well, since you ask...)

I don't usually read mysteries, but I recently enjoyed CHASING THE DEVIL'S TAIL for my offline Midtown (Atlanta) Book Group. David Fulmer, who lives in Atlanta, joined us at our meeting to discuss his award-winning, jazz-infused mystery series set in turn-of-the-century New Orleans' Storyville (Red Light) District. (That's 1900, not 2000.) We also talked about THE DYING CRAPSHOOTER'S BLUES, Fulmer's fourth book, set in 1920s Atlanta. The Midtown Book Group enjoyed Fulmer's books, especially the historic detail, familiar settings and vivid characters. We really enjoyed having the author as a special guest to discuss his writing process and experience.

I typically have little patience for mysteries: It's too much to have to keep track and remember who/what is important as the plot develops and to notice all the tiny, little details along the way that can prove to be so important, or not. In this genre, I generally either have to begin at the end and work my way back, or read the book/watch the movie twice to get it. I didn't have to do either with Fulmer's books. I have to admit, as a reformed genre-snob (thanks to my book group), I am a huge fan of David Fulmer.

Fulmer's mysteries transcend the genre with richly drawn characters, vivid historic detail and local flavor, all wrapped up in Fulmer's life experience and immersion in the evolution of music. His novels are a unique and fascinating mix of murder, history, great characters, dirty politics, life on the street and music, overall. In his books, we are witness to the often-chaotic beginnings of the next new thing, in transition and destined to change the music industry in a big way.

In CHASING THE DEVIL'S TAIL, it was the birth of Jass (later called Jazz) in New Orleans, with his crazy, possibly-murderous musician Billy Bolden: "He left the standard styles in the dust and stumbled onto his own sound, a crazy quilt that was sort of like ragtime, sort of like the gutbucket music that some now called "blues" ... A local newspaperman, after venturing a trip back-of-town to witness the spectacle, reported that what Bolden played was musical "chatter," using the French jaser to dramatize his distain. It stuck; and soon everybody back-of-town knew what it meant when a band went to jassing a tune."

In THE DYING CRAPSHOOTER'S BLUES, the musical backstory shifted to the emergence of Blues in Atlanta amidst racial politics, with the character of Blind Willie McTell and his big breakthrough in the up-til-then whites-only recording industry. In a historic audition in downtown Atlanta's Dixie Hotel, evocative of today's American Idol auditions, Fulmer describes Blind Willie's debut: "...a sudden chang like a passel of brash bells rang out over the roil of voices and instruments. There was a second of startled silence, and then heads turned, voices faded, and fingers went still...A twelve-string guitar echoed, now sounding like fingers slamming down on the keys of a harpsichord. A clear and high tenor voice with just a bit of a smoky edge and a familiar gospel tinge pierced the air over the assembled heads."

The musical evolution continues in Fulmer's latest book, THE BLUE DOOR, which has just this week been released (to fabulous reviews), and features a brand-new cast of compelling characters on the seamier side of life in the R&B-rich 1960s Philadelphia.

Publisher's Weekly gives readers an early glimpse of THE BLUE DOOR:
"Shamus-winner Fulmer (The Dying Crapshooter's Blues) delivers another compelling tale of music and murder. In 1962 Philadelphia, a struggling young boxer's life is changed forever when he comes to the rescue of PI Sal Giambroni during a mugging in a South Philly alley. Giambroni offers welterweight Eddie Cero a job, and after reluctantly accepting, Eddie finds he has a knack for investigative work. He turns his attention to the unsolved disappearance of Johnny Pope, lead singer of the Excels, a once-popular rock group. Eddie finds himself falling for Pope's sister, Valerie, a jazz singer at the Blue Door Club, though she fiercely resists his attempts to uncover the truth about her brother. Fulmer expertly portrays the racial tensions of the era as Eddie, a white man, navigates his relationship with Valerie, a black woman. As in previous works, Fulmer excels at capturing the feel and textures of earlier decades, even as he moves forward in time with each successive novel. Drawn in by the immensely likable characters and rich, realistic story lines, readers will be eager to see where Fulmer goes next."

Whichever historic locale, music or era you choose, you will not be disappointed by David Fulmer's unique fusion of mystery, history and music:
New Orleans' Jazz, circa 1900: Chasing the Devil's Tail: A Mystery of Storyville
Atlanta's Blues in the 1920s: The Dying Crapshooter's Blues
Philadelphia's R&B in 1962: The Blue Door

Also in David Fulmer's Storyville/Valentin St. Cyr Series: