Overview

A potentially momentous discovery. A suspicious fire. A 50-year-old missing person's case. Are they connected? When Buddy Bolden died in a Louisiana insane asylum in 1931, a quarter century after his reign as the undisputed first ""king"" of jazz, he left behind no known recordings. But when quirky New Orleans antiques dealer Bruneau Abellard listens to a vintage phonograph cylinder he found in the secret compartment of a sideboard, he wonders if he has stumbled upon an important piece of musical history. In researching his discovery, Bruneau runs headlong into an arson investigation led by his childhood friend, NOPD Detective Bo Duplessis, which in turn may hold the key to a 50-year-old unsolved missing person's case. To untangle their present-day mysteries, Bruneau and Bo must first piece together a perplexing string of puzzles from the distant past. Their parallel investigations immerse them in the rhythm-and-blues subculture of 1960s New Orleans, and transport them to the dawn of the 20th Century, when a brash young musician introduced a new sound to the city, forever changing the course of music history. Fast-paced and vividly drawn, The Bolden Cylinder introduces a memorable cast of eccentric characters, including a malodorous collector of early R&B memorabilia, a sultry nightclub singer, a reputed mob boss, a 12-year-old tap dancer, and an inscrutable peddler of voodoo paraphernalia. Together, they serve up a savory gumbo of suspenseful intrigue set against the seductive backdrop of a city in which past and present are forever interwoven.

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Reviews

Norman Woolworth delivers another beautifully crafted, well-researched story featuring unlikely hero Bruneau Abellard-antiques-dealer, lover of the finer things in life, and accidental detective. What a pleasure it is to once again spend time with this growing cast of colorful, eccentric characters that includes New Orleans itself, which Woolworth masterfully evokes in a plot steeped in the city's rich musical tradition.- Laura Buchwald, The Coat Check Girl and the upcoming The Book of Reservations ""In his latest novel, The Bolden Cylinder, Norman Woolworth delivers a perfect blend of New Orleans culture, jazz history, unique characters, and intertwined mysteries. Bruneau Abellard, New Orleans antique store owner, finds a hidden compartment in a newly acquired piece of furniture that contains a relic of the earliest days of phonographs and recorded music-a ""Edison Cylinder."" When it looks like the cylinder may contain a heretofore unknown recording by jazz legend Charles ""Buddy"" Bolden, the cylinder disappears in a house fire. The owner of the house goes missing. Authorities discover a dead body in the walls. And that's just the beginning. Join Bruneau as he works to unravel the mystery behind the so-called ""Bolden Cylinder""-and the secrets of the people he encounters along the way. You won't be disappointed."" Michael Rigg, Voices of the Elysian Fields, A Jonathan Gray, M. D. Mystery Praise for The Lafitte Affair, Book One in the Bruneau Abellard series: A 2024 Best of Indie Selection: ""Woolworth's novel is a well-crafted mystery that is beautifully written, educational, and all-around entertaining."" -- Kirkus Reviews ""A savory jambalaya that tempts you to take another bite and keep turning pages."" -- BookTrib

Author Information

The Bolden Cylinder is the second novel in author Norman Woolworth's Bruneau Abellard series. His first book, The Lafitte Affair, was a Kirkus Reviews 2024 ""Best of Indie"" selection. Woolworth is a retired corporate executive who lives in Charlottesville, Virginia, with his wife Lori and their dog Nola. A father of three grown children and now a grandfather, Woolworth is a graduate of Tulane University and holds a M.A. in English Literature from the University of Virginia.

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