Solo Hand

After an accident has rendered his left hand--his solo hand--unfit for playing the jazz piano that's been his livelihood, Evan Horne is reluctantly recruited as a bag-man in an elaborate blackmail scheme involving his ex-wife and former employer and a host of colorful characters ranging from an ex-NFL-player-turned-bodyguard to a strangely-erudite country singer. But what at first seems a straightforward money-drop becomes a convoluted and constricting tangle of circumstance with Evan at its center, struggling against an unknown schemer who seems to know all-too-much about this musician-turned-detective. Soon the police are involved and Evan Horne learns just how cut-throat the music business can be. But this is no prissy tickler of the ivories; this is a man who uses the discipline and perserverance that made him a musician make him a detective. Moody plays out an intricate plot at a masterful pace, creating authentic characters and an atmosphere deeply informed with Moody's experiences as musician, DJ, and historian. Evan Horne is a likeable and resourceful hero who narrates but doesn't preach, who informs as he entertains. Solo Hand is a must-read for anyone interested in those two American pastimes: Jazz and murder.

After an accident has rendered his left hand--his solo hand--unfit for playing the jazz piano that's been his livelihood, Evan Horne is reluctantly recruited as a bag-man in an elaborate blackmail scheme involving his ex-wife and former employer and a host of colorful characters ranging from an ex-NFL-player-turned-bodyguard to a strangely-erudite country singer. But what at first seems a straightforward money-drop becomes a convoluted and constricting tangle of circumstance with Evan at its center, struggling against an unknown schemer who seems to know all-too-much about this musician-turned-detective. Soon the police are involved and Evan Horne learns just how cut-throat the music business can be. But this is no prissy tickler of the ivories; this is a man who uses the discipline and perserverance that made him a musician make him a detective. Moody plays out an intricate plot at a masterful pace, creating authentic characters and an atmosphere deeply informed with Moody's experiences as musician, DJ, and historian. Evan Horne is a likeable and resourceful hero who narrates but doesn't preach, who informs as he entertains. Solo Hand is a must-read for anyone interested in those two American pastimes: Jazz and murder.