Lady Blues by Aaron Paul Lazar

By: Unknown on Thursday, April 17, 2014

Title:  Lady Blues:  Forget-me-not

Series:  A Gus Legarde Mystery

Author:  Aaron Paul Lazar

Published:  March 4th 2014 by Createspace

Length:  286pgs

Format:  ecopy

Genre:  Mystery

Shelf:  review

Rating:  ★★★

Blurb:

Past and present collide when an Alzheimer’s patient’s fragile memory holds the key to solving mysteries dating back to World War II—including a long lost secret love affair.

Music professor Gus LeGarde is just doing a favor for a friend when he agrees to play piano for church services at a local nursing home. He doesn’t expect to be drawn into a new friendship with an elderly Alzheimer’s patient dubbed “the music man” or to stumble across a decades-old mystery locked inside the man’s mind.

Octogenarian Kip Sterling doesn’t know his own name—but he speaks Gus’s language, spouting jazz terms like “cadence” and “interlude” and “riff.” He’s also obsessed with “his Bella,” but nobody knows who she is.

When Kip is given a new drug called Memorphyl, he starts to remember bits and pieces of his life. Gus learns Bella was Kip’s first and only love, but their relationship was shrouded in scandal. Intrigued, Gus agrees to help search for her. Could she still be alive?

Horrified when the miracle drug suddenly stops working and patients begin to backslide, Gus panics. Can he help Kip find his beloved Bella before his newfound memories disappear?

My Review:

Lazar’s mellow voice carries the audience through this interesting tale. He is a visually descriptive author who lays the scene out clearly before the audience, allowing them to picture each and every aspect in detail. That said, I found this novel slightly harder to really get into than I do most of Lazar’s work. The storyline was intricately crafted and well thought out. The novel is well put together. For me, however, it was difficult to make that connection with the story and the characters.

As is the norm for Lazar’s work, the characters in this novel are larger than life. They are well yet uniquely developed to suit their roles perfectly. These individuals are developed in such a manner that they can all easily stand on their own and readers chan identify with them. They are firmly set in the time period in question. Also, for Lazar there is no such thing as a minor character. Everyone is important in their own right, even if they aren`t main characters.

As a whole, this is another uniquely captivating novel from Lazar.

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About the author:

Aaron Paul Lazar writes to soothe his soul. The author of three mystery series, Lazar enjoys the Genesee Valley countryside in upstate New York, where his characters embrace life, play with their dogs and grandkids, grow sumptuous gardens, and chase bad guys. Visit his website at lazarbooks.com.