The City Blues Quartet is a series of novels plotting the intertwined history of Jazz and the Mob through six decades in the 20th century.
I’ve written three of the books so far (links below), with the final instalment on its way.
In an Oulipo-inspired writing constraint, each of the four parts will be based around a different city, decade, season, weather, song and theme. These (excluding the theme) are outlined below…
| Book | City | Decade | Season | Weather | Song |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Axeman's Jazz | New Orleans | 1910s | Spring | Rain | The Mysterious Axeman's Jazz |
| Dead Man's Blues | Chicago | 1920s | Summer | Sunshine | West End Blues |
| The Mobster's Lament | New York | 1940s | Autumn | Snow | Relaxin' At Camarillo |
| ? | Los Angeles | 1960s | Winter | Wind | ? |
Winner of the CWA John Creasey Dagger for Best Debut Crime Novel of the Year — Winner of the Swedish Crime Writers’ Academy Best Crime Novel of the Year Translated into Swedish — The Independent Newspaper Crime Book of the Year — Shortlisted for the Theakston’s Crime Novel of the Year Award — Shortlisted for […]The Axeman’s Jazz
Winner of the Historia Magazine Best Historical Crime Thriller of the Year — The Daily Mail Books of The Year — Shortlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger for Best Crime Novel of The Year — Finalist for the Académie du Jazz’s Prix Du Meilleur Livre De Jazz — Shortlisted for the Swedish Crime Writers’ Academy Best […]Dead Man’s Blues
The Mobster’s Lament
