Cahokia Jazz: From the prizewinning author of Golden Hill ‘the best book of the century’ Richard Osman

An intriguing What If? tale, cloaked in a cracking detective noir.
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> Francis Spufford has added a worthy and intriguing tale to the What If? section of novels, which, in recent history has mainly been populated by science fiction tales of tech and AI gone wrong or, if they dabbled in politics, they adressed the Third Reich or the power struggles of royalty.
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> Cahokia Jazz is set in the 1920s and perfectly encapsulates the era, both formally and thematically.
> The 1920s saw the birth of some of the most famous detectives in fiction: Hercule Poirot, Lord Peter Wimsey, Father Brown, Charlie Chan and, of course, Sam Spade who then inspired Chandler's Marlow. Spufford gives us Barrow, a First Nation average Joe policeman who also plays a mean piano and would neatly fit into any detective noir set in the era; straight as an arrow, loyal to fault, and unlucky in love.
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> The setting is visceral; nighttime mists, cable cars, slums, dark alleys, empty lit windows straight from a Hopper painting, factories, speakeasies, jazz clubs, protection rackets, corruption, a load of men talking the talk and walking the walk while at the peripherie is the classic array of women that tend to populated the genre: housewives, prostitutes, tragic heroines and the ubiquitous red haired femme fatal.
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> The whodunnit is, however, an athmospheric vehicle to discuss some of the political issues of the first half of the 20th century, like race, property ownership and political systems. Cahokia is a city state in the USA where neither Caucasians nor private land ownership, not even democracy reign supreme. At a time when Russia had just started to imagine a system outside of Capitalism and the USA had thrown off it's royal shackles, Spufford imagines something quite different, something rooted in First Nation principles where the land is under guardianship and cannot be owned or exploited by a single person or company or state. Intriguing and , of course, anathema to both the USA and the USSR.
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> If you are a fan of a good detective novel and intrigued by the idea of an alternate history, don't be put off by the few new racial classifications at the top. There are only a handful of new words, easily assimilated. Cahokia with it's myriad faces and the characters that inhabit it are well worth it. Play it again, Joe!

An intriguing What If? tale, cloaked in a cracking detective noir.

Francis Spufford has added a worthy and intriguing tale to the What If? section of novels, which, in recent history has mainly been populated by science fiction tales of tech and AI gone wrong or, if they dabbled in politics, they adressed the Third Reich or the power struggles of royalty.

Cahokia Jazz is set in the 1920s and perfectly encapsulates the era, both formally and thematically.
The 1920s saw the birth of some of the most famous detectives in fiction: Hercule Poirot, Lord Peter Wimsey, Father Brown, Charlie Chan and, of course, Sam Spade who then inspired Chandler's Marlow. Spufford gives us Barrow, a First Nation average Joe policeman who also plays a mean piano and would neatly fit into any detective noir set in the era; straight as an arrow, loyal to fault, and unlucky in love.

The setting is visceral; night-time mists, cable cars, slums, dark alleys, empty lit windows straight from a Hopper painting, factories, speakeasies, jazz clubs, protection rackets, corruption, a load of men talking the talk and walking the walk while at the peripherie is the classic array of women that tend to populated the genre: housewives, prostitutes, tragic heroines and the ubiquitous red haired femme fatal.

The whodunnit is, however, an atmospheric vehicle to discuss some of the political issues of the first half of the 20th century, like race, property ownership and political systems. Cahokia is a city state in the USA where neither Caucasians nor private land ownership, not even democracy reign supreme. At a time when Russia had just started to imagine a system outside of Capitalism and the USA had thrown off it's royal shackles, Spufford imagines something quite different, something rooted in First Nation principles where the land is under guardianship and cannot be owned or exploited by a single person or company or state. Intriguing and , of course, anathema to both the USA and the USSR.

If you are a fan of a good detective novel and intrigued by the idea of an alternate history, don't be put off by the few new racial classifications at the top. There are only a handful of new words, easily assimilated. Cahokia with it's myriad faces and the characters that inhabit it are well worth it. Play it again, Joe!

- Gabrielle, Hythe Remainers Group

I really enjoyed reading Francis Spufford's "Golden Hill" and wasn't disappointed by his latest novel. We get to understand what life was like in his fictitious version of an American town in the 1920's.

It is full of the details of life in a community with 3 'races' as seen by the newcomer, Barrow. He is investigating the murder of a member of the Ku Klux Klan who works as a clerk. The book does a good job of sending us down blind alleys until all is finally revealed. I would like to read more books by this author.

- David

This novel is a real page turner. The reader is thrust into a world that at times seems familiar, as the dark and dangerous underworld reminds us of other detective novels, but Spufford’s creation is much more intricate. And we learn about it through the experience of Joe Barrow, a detective new to the area. His investigations of a murder reveal to him the complicated power structure within the city. The Klu Klux Klan and other different cultural and racial groups, one of these having it’s own language, are managed by established organisations that attempt to keep order in the city. But Cahokia is full of racial and cultural tensions, and full of colourful characters who attempt to survive these tensions. Joe Barrow is the outsider who tries, against the odds, to untangle the political and cultural relationships in his search for the killer. Spufford has created an America that is full of colour, hidden corners and unexpected activities.

- Mary

On the surface this novel seems like an American- Noir or Chandler-esque tribute with the added spice of altered history. But beneath lIes another story of American values opposed to Western economic capitalism.

The plot uncovers not just a murder mystery but the opening of the eyes of the police detective Joe Barrow. Barrow is a newcomer to the city of Cahokia and it is through his eyes that we immerse ourselves in the life and history of the city and the tensions between different beliefs and cultures. As Barrow delves deeper into the world so do we. Barrow begins to understand his own history and personality through the Native American myth of the Thrown Away Boy, a compLex mix of dark dangerous mischief and open generous loyalty.

As the novel draws to an end it takes on an almost mythic status itself.as Barrow, the Thrown Away Boy, attains a mystic heroic status.

I recommend this book which is beautifully written and constructed as it moves from police procedural to a transcendental conclusion.

- Jan

I really enjoyed this exciting story set in the 1920s, in an America as it might have been if smallpox hadn’t decimated the Amerindian population and cities like Cahokia had continued until the 19th century .

We are introduced to this city by Detective Joe Barrow, who though ethnically Native American, has been brought up in an orphanage in the mid west and so knows little about his heritage or that of Cahokia.

Events take place over 6 days. Barrow and his partner Drummond are called to investigate a ritual murder of a white man and the future of the city is called into doubt as the Klan organises an uprising.

The tone reminds me of a Raymond Chandler novel. There are grey skies, biting cold and fog to create a gloomy atmosphere. The 2 hard bitten detectives who met in the War and don’t go in for too much investigating, rather look for a suspect to blame. There is an very cinematic shoot- out, that very deliberately references the classic gangster movie.

Joe is an amazing jazz pianist and works in the evenings in the Speakeasy clubs. His height and good looks are often mentioned. He comes to play a significant role in the fate of the City. Almost echoing the mythical tale of Thrown Away Boy.
The novel explores themes of heritage and how it affects ones decisions and choices. The way America was formed around racist assumptions of European superiority, the raw greed of individual capitalists and exploitation.

It took me a few pages to understand where this novel is set, but there is an exciting plot which continues to twist and turn right to the end. Joe is a likeable character to draw the reader in and read on. A complex, impressive and enjoyable novel.

This is very much a book for the boys. A detected adventure story. The hero is big, tough and attractive to women. There are lots of twists and turns in the story.

To me, this was like a story from an American comic. I didn’t find it particularly attractive. The imagining of the survival of a native American city was something I found interesting. The narrative on the racial tensions were realistic unlike the fitness of our chain-smoking hero!

Oh, and the hero happens to be an ace pianist involved with a group of sassy jazz musicians. Another boyish fantasy.

If you like cops and bad guys, cowboys and ‘Indians’ – then this is the book for you. Whilst racism is challenged, I found that the sexism in the book goes unchallenged. The book will be receiving a low score from me in our group session.

Katy – Methley Book Group

Cahokia is a real place: at its peak in the 11th and 12th centuries it was the centre of the Mississippi
culture, located as it was near the confluence of the Mississippi, Missouri and Illinois rivers. This
Cahokia – though it gives a nod to the original’s archaeological remains – is very much a product of
the author’s imagination and set in 1922. This Cahokia is a bustling city, populated by three principal
ethnic groups: the takouma, the native American, Apona-speaking group, treated with all-too familiar racist contempt by the takata or whites, and the taklousa, the black Americans.

The book opens with the discovery of the takata victim of a violent ritual murder on the roof of the
Land building, one of the ‘Three Sisters’ (which, along with Water and Power, represents the city’s
infrastructure). Two detectives from Homicide take on the case: Drummond (a white man and
amoral tough guy), who is suffering from PTSD as a result of his experiences in the Flanders trenches,
and Barrow (mixed-race takouma, non-Anopa speaking) named after the orphanage where he grew
up.

The investigation proceeds via a veritable Tarot-like list of characters: the Man/Sun, the Moon, the
Warriors, together with the sinister presence of FBI agents and the Ku Klux Klan, as the story winds
its way through the alleyways and speakeasies of the city, picking up fragments of native myth and
legend as we go. Police failures to solve the case drive a change of personnel, while racial tensions
increase. Drummond submits to his dark side and resigns, while Barrow – now hopelessly in love
with the takouma princess Moon – grows in stature. The Man/Sun (who appears to have adopted
Barrow as a useful sidekick) affirms that this is all a takata plot: “make trouble, demand outside
intervention to restore order, when you get it, make sure that the order that is restored conveniently
wipes away native power and native property rights. All in line with the great unspoken principle of
American history, Detective. Which is, if it’s worth having, the red man shall not be allowed to keep
it". As if to prove the truth of this, the barricades go up, KKK bands roam the streets, and takata
refugees stream out of the city. Barrow ploughs on with his investigation. His loyalty is tested when
the role of Drummond, his friend and former colleague, comes under scrutiny.

Clever deduction and an ability to be in just the right place at the right time turns Barrow into a hero,
but one facing difficult choices. Does he make the right ones? Does he get the girl? That would be
telling.

Vivid, imaginative descriptions suffused with the smells of cheap liquor, cigarettes and fog, some
satisfying plot twists and a nail-biting ending. All quite splendid.

- Diana Grimwood-Jones

I found it a real struggle to get hooked as I kept having to re-read the first few chapters to get to grips with the history and terms for all the different ethnic groups. I am not sure I would ever have read this had it not been for the complimentary copy and the obligation to write a review. However I am glad I persevered as Francis Spufford managed to evoke a fascinating world of speakeasies and corruption and cultural mixes in an imagined version of the USA .The twists and turns in the plot were exciting and I felt the main characters were well drawn.I am not sure I would read anymore of Spufford's work but I am glad I managed to finish it

Cahokia Jazz is an enjoyable, well-plotted and absorbing read which tells an intriguing story that has depth and is ultimately satisfying.

The narrative starts with the discovery of a gruesome murder and follows the unfolding of this puzzle over the next few days. We’re apparently on familiar territory. It’s America’s Deep South in 1922. We’re in and out of police HQ following the detectives’ deliberations and leg work, the political pressure for a result and a particularly hard-boiled cop and his partner. Beyond the precinct are smoke, smells, noise and industry. Capitalism is in full swing, trolleys (trams) on the streets, the mighty coast-to-coast railway, Prohibition, speakeasies, mobsters and jazz. The Ku Klux Klan are there too.

But Cahokia is definitely not the same as the cities we already know about. Here native Americans (takouma in the book), rather than being wiped out by European colonists, are a major element of the population, maintaining their language, philosophy, customs and monarchy, and playing a significant role in civic institutions. Worryingly, serious political, religious and racial tensions are simmering just below the surface and might be stirred up by the murder.

We become painlessly immersed in this strange, pungent, multi-layered world. Aided by a map, we quickly get to know our way round the city streets as the police go about their business. The beliefs and values of different ethnicities are revealed through the thoughts, conversations and actions of a wide cast of players. The compassion and wisdom of some make us really care about what happens to them. Perhaps the best parts of the writing, though, are the creation of almost palpable atmosphere (such as the disturbing journey through the fog, or inside the salon for takouma intellectuals) and way dialogue coveys mood.

There is perhaps too much detail in the ‘fight scenes’ which seem over-long, and necessarily the start is a little slow as we are initiated into what Cahokia is about. After that the story moves at pace, scene-by-scene. Apart from these minor quibbles, readers should buckle up, immerse themselves in the colourful world of Cahokia and its week of intense drama and enjoy the ride!

Cahokia Jazz had been likened to a classic film noir, so I was really looking forward to it
Unfortunately I found it very two dimensional and formulaic
I didn’t connect with the main character Joe, and I found that, what could have been some interesting characters , disappointingly lacked depth. It just didn’t come alive for me. The jazz parts were just basically lists of songs and artists, without creation of atmosphere.
Despite the length it just seemed like too much was trying to be packed in, and yet skimmed over.

Imagine a plot spawned from an amalgamation of Dashiell Hammett and Philip K Dick - hard-boiled detectives and alternate reality. An intriguing concept but, to my mind, what Francis Spufford comes up with is less than the sum of its more illustrious antecedents. There were things I really liked: the way the reader is thrown into the alternate USA; (some of) the writing and language, including some wit as dry as a good martini; the created communities and mystical folklore. But that didn't balance out what I didn't like. I didn't believe in any of the characters, or their supposed emotional interactions, (and, oh dear, oh my, one of the most stilted, un-sexy 'sex' scenes I've read in literary fiction), and none of the 'big reveals' were much of a surprise. On the other hand, I was still carried along by the story to read it in two massive gulps. Spufford is a clever writer, and the recurring themes of masks and symbols were engaging and provocative.

The eventual protagonist, Joe Barrow, was too flat and uninteresting in his Cahokia Police Department persona. He - and very often the language - only really came alive when he was playing the piano. If Francis Spufford isn't a jazz aficionado, he must nevertheless have steeped himself in it to write this book. The joy of playing, and the longing for, music just sang through those pages.

The Latin word that Barrow sees over the Ballcourt - 'Ludere' - means 'to play, mimic, mock and deceive'. Spufford attempts all of these in Cahokia Jazz - not all of them successfully.

Thanks to the Whitley Bay Book Group for arranging for us to review this book.

It’s like Raymond Chandler with Native Americans!
Having been underwhelmed by Light Perpetual – which we read at Whitley Bay Book Club – I admit to approaching this pretty weighty book with caution; I had low expectations. And, at first, that was borne out as I struggled to get to grips with what was going on; indeed, I nearly gave up. However, I persevered and ultimately came to enjoy the journey of Detective Joe Barrow. It helps that he is accompanied by an engaging and often eccentric cast of characters, none of whom I would trust an inch – even the ‘goodies’.
I won’t pretend to understand all of the mystical/historical stuff underpinning what is the gumshoe crime thriller; at first, I resented having to repeatedly go back to the first page to remind myself which ethnic group was which. Once I got over that, I was able to enjoy the book. Spufford’s descriptive writing is fantastic and he conjures up an exotic melting pot of a city with his descriptions of people, clothes, speakeasies, music and musicians. I’m no lover of jazz in any of its formats, but the writing did make me want to seek out some of the tunes referenced. I also really hoped that Joe would end up being able to pursue his musical ambitions…
In the edition I had, the chapter beginnings had great black and white photos evocative of the roaring 20s and – while I probably shouldn’t – I laughed out load at that of a bunch of KKK clowns enjoying a ride on the Ferris Wheel at a (presumably) all-white funfair. How the hell do you eat candyfloss while wearing that pointy hood!?
To summarise: I really enjoyed this book, particularly – as I say above – the cast of characters. Would I recommend it to friends? Probably not, I suspect it’ll be a bit ‘Marmite’. And I know that I won’t read it again, so it’ll find its way to the charity shop. That said, it has made me determined to read Golden Hill, so that’s a positive outcome.

Phil
Whitley Bay Book Club

I have read “Cahokia Jazz” with Methley Book Club. Thanks go to the Reading Agency in conjunction with the publisher for the complimentary copies.
Having enjoyed “Light Perpetual” I was looking forward to this read but unfortunately it was not the book for me. I do enjoy crime fiction but in my opinion, the storyline surrounding the murder got rather lost.
So many of the book’s descriptive passages were beautifully written but I did feel that there were whole sections where nothing much seemed to happen. The very wordy descriptions of the setting and explanation of the ‘alternative history’ just seemed to distract me from my focus on the plot. There was a good story in there trying to get out, but it was struggling at times, I thought, at least during the first three quarters of the novel!
In the final quarter, the pace of the story did pick up considerably and I enjoyed it. A romantic liaison and a ‘final showdown’ in the murder investigation made for good and exciting reading.
However, overall, the parts of the book I did enjoy were heavily outweighed by long sections which I didn’t.

I found the idea of a crime novel set in a different timeline interesting, but this book seemed slow in parts with lengthy descriptions that didn't hold my attention. I know others are very keen on Francis Spuford's writing style, but he's not my cup of tea. Each to their own, I suppose.
With thanks to Whitley Bay book group for the opportunity to review

I have read a dew of Francis Spufford’s books- some I Like, some I don’t. And this is one I liked. I found the relationship between the 2 main characters Barrow and Drummond reminiscient of the best crime fighting duos. The plot was visually brought out and the characters brought to life. I was there. 4 stars because one or 2 gory scenes .
(Book courtesy of the @readingagency @FaberBooks to review)

What a disappointment. I was really looking forward to reading this crime /thriller. However I felt it was like ploughing my way through treacle.

Although the beginning started appealing, with a murder in the first few pages, I felt the book was really drawn out. The overall plot and story was interesting, but the lengthy explanations and slow moving parts drove me to frustration. I think it needs far more editing as it could have been a really good read.

What if the majority of America’s indigenous population had survived their encounter with European diseases? This novel sets a murder investigation in a counterfactual 1920s America where some things are the same (corruption, prohibition, racism, jazz), but some are quite different (prominence of Native American civilisation, culture and influence, and some other changes to the course of history).

I found the book initially quite difficult to get into as I was puzzled by the unfamiliar and underexplained elements, and didn’t at first engage with the characters. But as the book progressed I found it much more absorbing and it has stayed with me since I finished it. I liked the way that the police officer Joe Barrow starts off by being portrayed as the strong silent sidekick of the more assertive and proactive Drummond, but turns out to be himself the main protagonist, with one strand of the story being about his journey, change of allegiance, and decisions about his vocation and the course of his life. And the way the author combines cinematic action sequences such as the shootout in Couma’s house with reflections on history, politics, race, gender, and the nature and compromises of power.

I like Francis Spufford’s writing style and his imagination, and how he uses genre fiction set in the year 1922 to examine facets of American society in 2022 when he was writing. He writes particularly well about music and what it feels like to play – Barrow should have been a jazz pianist rather than a cop.

There are some real people from our timeline in Cahokia Jazz, one of them being the anthropologist Alfred Kroeber who is known for his work on the Native Americans of California. His daughter was the science fiction writer Ursula Le Guin, who is one of my favourites, and clearly Francis Spufford is a fan too, as the dedication of his book is to Professor Kroeber’s daughter.

Like Linda, I loved the black and white photos at the beginning of each day of Barrow’s week which included jazz musicians, the actual mound at the historic Cahokia site in our timeline, and a particularly disturbing photo of members of the Ku Klux Klan in their white robes enjoying a day out at a funfair.

Whitley Bay Book Group would like to thank Chris Moore at the Reading Agency and Faber for copies of the book.

I was immediately impressed with the high design standards evidenced by the presentation of the hardback copy of this book. A series of black and white photos are used to set the scene each day as the epic narrative plays out over the course of one week. A strong sense of time and place is established as the reader is drawn into what transpires to be an alternative history of the city of Cahokia . I enjoyed the visually stunning descriptive writing which had a cinematic quality. The multiple plot twists were engaging. However there were times when I felt the pace of the story arc dipped. I grew impatient with the additional historic document transcripts dropped in as ‘authentic’ background information. This became a distraction from the murder mystery at the heart of this novel .
Linda M
Whitley Bay Book Club

Wow very mixed feelings about this book : basically it's well written enough and pretentious enough to win the Booker and I really didn't like it. For me it didn't work as an alternative history and was OK but nothing more as a crime story. Great writing poor plot.

Good things first: the writing is excellent and the basic idea, that the smallpox epidemic that destroyed the civilisation of the Native American people was actually not a devastating killer disease but a comparatively mild illness, is fascinating. Also I normally love alternative histories just not this one.
Not so good things: once you get past that original fascinating idea I don't think he does much with it and it raises lots of questions; these people are not Aztecs so who are they? Why not just say? Is it believable that they are so powerful and integrated but no-one knows anything about them? The whole thing seems to be much more complex and show off clever than it needs to be. The plot is ridiculous in places: let's defeat the KKK by dressing up as characters from their favourite film! Really? If only the black community had thought of that it would have saved a lot of burning crosses and some lynchings.
So, three stars for the writing. Like I said it's a good bet for the Booker shortlist.

This is a very long book! Setting it in an alternative history is an intriguing concept but the price paid is that there need to be large chunks of explanation to the reader which interrupts the flow of the story. Having finished it I think I would have found it helpful to have read the Notes and Acknowledgements first.
Having said that there is also a lot going on in this novel. It starts off with a gruesome murder with ritual overtones and develops themes of comradership, police corruption, betrayal, racism, gender issues - matriarchy/patriarchy, misuse of political power, cultural traditions, a love story and not forgetting jazz. The list goes on!
It’s lovely writing and very evocative of that era. The main character, detective Joe Barrow is well developed as we journey with him over the course of a week as he tries to make sense of what is happening around him.
I mostly enjoyed the book, and Francis Spufford obviously has a very fertile imagination but because if the length of it I will give it three stars.

Cahokia Jazz is, in some respects, a fairly straightforward crime novel set in the USA in the 1920s. Two city detectives, their comradeship forged by their experiences in the First World War, track the city attempting, without the benefit of modern forensic techniques, to solve a brutal and baffling murder which appears to have ritualistic elements. The city seems to function as almost any American city of that era; there are jazz clubs and speakeasy drinking dens as well as references to the rapid expansion of the city and assembly line working. This apparent historical accuracy is, however, set within the context of an historical fiction: Cahokia’s existence is based on the premise that the great smallpox epidemics which destroyed the indigenous populations of the USA were in fact relatively minor and, consequently, Cahokia is a city where the hereditary dynasty of the Hashi family, apparently direct descendants of those in power when the Europeans arrived, still rule. It is a fascinating premise and Francis Spufford is a brilliant novelist but the idea does present some challenges for the reader.

The city is home to three racially separate groups living in relative harmony - although not without some tension and this is the landscape the detectives have to traverse. The detectives, and the readers, need to be given a lot of explanation about traditions, culture and, particularly, language. Spufford uses the device of casting one of the detectives, Joe Barrow, as a Native American who knows nothing of his history or culture but, even so, there are times when it feels rather artificial and even, occasionally, tedious to be constantly informed about the Anopa language. It also seems somehow basically unlikely that there would be so little understanding, or such widespread misunderstanding, of the powerful ruling culture. This factor, together with the inclusion of real historical figures, I found quite distracting and disruptive to the narrative on occasions. Having said that Spufford’s writing is fluid and powerful enough most of the time to carry the reader through those passages.

It seems strange to give a novel four stars and then express some disappointment, especially as this is undoubtedly a powerful, imaginative, original and extremely well written book, and I would have had no hesitation in giving it five stars if it had only been edited a bit more ruthlessly to remove some of the, to my mind, unnecessary complexity. Well worth a read and it rewards the effort but at times it is an effort.

Maureen
Whitley Bay Book Group

I highly recommend this book as it is a splendid read of an alternative history of the ‘good ole US of A’ and set in the roaring 20s of alcohol prohibition and the attendant sleaze and criminality of police in the pockets of the crime syndicates but there is more going on... A brutal ritualistic murder catapults two police officers (ex WW1 military colleagues) into the centre of a struggle of opposing political forces for the future of the city of Cahokia.
Cahokia is a First Nation city which has survived the influx of the European immigrants and their associated religions and politics and navigated it's way to being a US State with a multicultural mix of races apparently coexisting harmoniously with one another. But the hereditary monarchy of the Hashi Family is under threat from the Ku Klux Klan and big business. The story encompasses how symbolism is important to people and how it represents them to the wider world.
The macro story is the hatred of religion against religion, race against race and how that is manipulated by the aggressors with the murder styled in an Aztec ritualistic style to inflame white against red and Protestant against Catholic with profit in mind. The author covers the subject of how hiding behind masks allows otherwise peaceful folk to go along with violence towards those of another race and think it is ok and reasonable behaviour. Another strand is how those that govern must sometime make decisions that are morally wrong but for the greater good.
Within this wider background is how Joe Barrow (one of the cops) is forced into finding his cultural self and identity and how that fits in with the history and future of Cahokia and impacts his friendships.

Oh and jazz figures too!

Francis Spufford has the amazing magic of stringing words together to create magnificent scenes of place and character so that the reader can visualise them as real people and places, The city, the weather and the characters all jump out of the pages and can almost be felt and touched.
I was there and fully absorbed in the book - but sorry I still don’t like jazz!

I was well impressed by the descriptive talent of the author, situations, scenes of action, the built and wider environs were easy to picture and this created a three dimensional appreciation of where the story takes place. The characters were equally well described and the whole hung together in a coherent fashion.
I felt that was quite an achievement when the city of Cahokia had declined and fallen away in the 1300s - yet Spufford recreates it in the 1920s and it works.
Two ex-servicemen (WW1) are hired by the Cahokia police department and find themselves investigating an apparent ritual murder which has been deliberately manufactured to spark tension and riot between the racial groups living in the city. Ultimately greed and racial intolerance are exposed as the motives. Within this almost fantasy setting, racial discrimination, religious idolatry, drug misuse and corruption, which are so much of the present time are woven into a very readable story.
I would like to thank Chris Moore @ Reading Agency for the opportunity to read & review this book for Methley Book Club
Jacqui Smith

I really enjoyed this exciting story set in the 1920s, in an America as it might have been if smallpox hadn’t decimated the Amerindian population and cities like Cahokia had continued until the 19th century .
We are introduced to this city by Detective Joe Barrow, who though ethnically Native American, has been brought up in an orphanage in the mid west and so knows little about his heritage or that of Cahokia.
Events take place over 6 days. Barrow and his partner Drummond are called to investigate a ritual murder of a white man and the future of the city is called into doubt as the Klan organises an uprising.
The tone reminds me of a Raymond Chandler novel. There are grey skies, biting cold and fog to create a gloomy atmosphere. The 2 hard bitten detectives who met in the War and don’t go in for too much investigating, rather look for a suspect to blame. There is an very cinematic shoot- out, that very deliberately references the classic gangster movie.
Joe is an amazing jazz pianist and works in the evenings in the Speakeasy clubs. His height and good looks are often mentioned. He comes to play a significant role in the fate of the City. Almost echoing the mythical tale of Thrown Away Boy.
The novel explores themes of heritage and how it affects ones decisions and choices. The way America was formed around racist assumptions of European superiority, the raw greed of individual capitalists and exploitation.
It took me a few pages to understand where this novel is set, but there is an exciting plot which continues to twist and turn right to the end. Joe is a likeable character to draw the reader in and read on. A complex, impressive and enjoyable novel.
Methley Bookgroup thank Reading Agency for copies. @methleybkgroup @readingagency