Dirty South
A Nick Travers mystery
By Ace Atkins

    Nick Travers is a former professional football player who now is a teacher of blues history at Tulane University. During his off-time, he tours the country looking for blues. He is a sometime amateur sleuth, too, and a former New Orleans Saints teammate, Friday Paris, has asked him to find a million dollars, which was conned from a 15-year-old rap prodigy named Alias.

      Nick meets Alias and tries to win his confidence, hoping to find a way to those who swindled him. Nick's search involves rival record producers, old athletic friends, street urchins, and wealthy agents who are only anxious to separate their entertainment stars from their money. He makes a few enemies along the way, which culminates with a confrontation in a delta swamp.

    This is the fourth Nick Travers mystery. The plot is well-constructed, with a tense story. The descriptions of the area, particularly the bayou country is very realistic. Much focus is on the true meaning of friendship and commitment. There is a wealth of music knowledge, particularly of the blues scene. This is a story which keeps the reader absorbed, eagerly turning the pages.