Where better to set a gangster novel than big, bad, brawling Chicago during Prohibition? Celestin perfectly captures the jazzy street rhythms of this proudly pugnacious city and its peculiar characters. -- Marilyn Stasio, New York Times Book Review
In this engrossing follow-up to the award-winning The Axeman, a crime scene photographer, a gangster with a dark secret, and two Pinkerton detectives are bound together by a series of crimes that play out in 1928 Chicago. -- Library Journal
Gripping. Rich description and meticulous attention to historical detail. -- Publishers Weekly
Prohibition Chicago, early jazz, Capone and Moran-all are familiar elements in crime fiction, but Celestin gives them a fresh dusting, and what emerges sparkles with energy. His evocation of the jazz-filled South Side is particularly sharp, and his lead characters, Davis and Talbot, establish an easy, swinging rapport that will make readers want to hear more from them. -- Booklist
Celestin captures 1920s Chicago in all its grimy, roiling, teeming glory in this intricate and absorbing thriller, which is surely destined to be an instant go-to for historical crime enthusiasts. Fantastic. -- Criminal Element
Readers of hard-boiled murder mysteries will enjoy the ride to the very last page and will appreciate the honest portrait of a big city finding its way. -- Historical Novels Review
Gripping, atmospheric, and satisfyingly meaty. -- Seattle Times
This is the sequel to the prizewinning The Axeman's Jazz. Under the constant threat of bloodshed, the three stories gradually weave together into an intriguing portrait of a time and a place. The young Louis Armstrong turns up, and his powerful, searching, explosive jazz pulses through the pages, a soundtrack to Ida's increasingly dangerous investigation. -- The Spectator (U.K)
Dead Man's Blues is a magnificent crime novel, at least as good as his stunning debut. His portrait of an edgy, sexy, corrupt, dangerous, deeply racially prejudiced city, where savage violence cohabited with exciting music, is totally absorbing. -- The Times (London)
