Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

What a fantastic way to start the New Year. The last of Ray Celestin’s City Blues quartet of novels is every bit as good as The Axeman’s Jazz, which I read when it was first published back in 2014.

There are some writers who seem able to create a sense of time and place that is so vivid that you can smell the air there and Celestin sits within that firmament. The feel of a noir film with a jazz soundtrack persists, although the setting is now LA and those who already love Ida, Dante and Louis will be delighted to be reunited with them.

The writing is so wonderful, the plot threads are woven together so skilfully and the characters are so engaging that you really can’t decide between reading it quickly or slowing down and savouring it. I had to keep stopping reading to Google things in any case - what did Chet Baker look and sound like? How did Bugsy Siegel look in a suit?

Most astonishing of all is that Ray Celestin is English - this sounds so authentically American. I can’t help but wonder if he really will be able to walk away from this world or whether Kerry may live to see another day, I really hope that she might.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Pan MacMillan for an arc of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

This is the final instalment of Ray Celestin’s City Blues Quarter. However it is my first Celestin book and I picked up and followed the story without having read any of the previous books (although admittedly I may have missed some of the references).

The book is a very clever interconnection of 4 different stories focussing on 4 different key characters - Ida (a retired agent), Kerry (a nurse in Vietnam), Dante (a mob fixer) and “the” Louis Armstrong. It is set against the backdrop of mob versus detective life in LA in the ‘60s. I really enjoy stories about the mob and the Mafia, and this had some excellent drama and historical references.

I particularly liked the character development - at first I lost track of who was who but it became clear once the stories started overlapping. I actually thought the references to Louis Armstrong were unnecessary since the other characters are strong enough by themselves.

I was amazed to read in the Afterword that most of the historic references are true, albeit sometimes in slightly different times and places - the book is very well researched and engaging to the end.

With thanks to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan, Mantle for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Private investigator Ida is ready to retire but when her name and number is found on the corpse of a victim of the Nightslayer, she is pulled back into another job. Army nurse Kerry is back from Vietnam, wounded but desperate to find her brother. Mob fixer Dante is also wanting to retire to Napa but he is asked to find the disappeared son of a well-connected mobster. All three find themselves pulled into something really big and complex involving government agencies who will stop at nothing, including hiring Fallon, a notorious serial assassin.

Celestin's novels are always a ready great read and this is no exception. Beautifully pitched in the late 1960s when Hollywood was at the mercy of TV and the drugs scene was about to flip from heroin to cocaine, this story seems far-fetched but there are so many parallels to know facts. It seems a really long book but is so enjoyable that I just kept on and was well-rewarded. there is less Louis Armstrong here than before and that is good, a sign that Celestin trusts his characters to lead the narrative.

This is the fourth and final book in Ray Celestin’s City Blues Quartet and it proved a suitable requiem and ending to what has been superlative body of work.

It has been wonderful and moving to see Ida, Dante and Louis gradually evolve and age a characters and they interact beautifully throughout this gorgeous yet dark novel in which perhaps the real hero is LA of the late series.

The description is so accurate that you can almost smell the joss sticks and even napalm form the Vietnam conflict.

This is a complex plot with lots of loose ends that come together beautifully at the end.

I will miss them all and loved this book.

I have recently been listening to the audiobook books of the previous 3 books in this outstanding quartet so I was overjoyed to be given a review copy of the conclusion.

Celestin has created a collection of layered stories that not only entertains but immerses the reader in the sights & smells of the era portrayed as his writing is so evocative. He takes you straight into the drama with his realistic characters, attitudes & vivid descriptions that it’s hard to step away into the present day. While Ida may be older & world-weary, in her sixties, she still has some spirit left in her and this latest case brings back that feisty resolve that we all know and love. She has quickly become one of my favourite characters. Having Louis Armstrong’s story continue to swirl around Ida’s life gave the series even more depth, and I was glad to see that this continued in Sunset Swing. Epic is a word that is thrown around too easily in reviews, but it perfectly fits this series and the resolution seems fitting for our intrepid heroes.

Fans of the series will be very impressed that the 4th book is as fulfilling & captivating as they have come to expect from such an accomplished writer. The striking cover will draw in new readers and have them dipping into the start of Ida’s with haste!

I would like to thank Netgalley and Pan Macmillan for an advance copy of Sunset Swing, the fourth novel in the City Blues Quartet, featuring PI Ida Young with cameos from her childhood friend Louis Armstrong.

Los Angeles, 1967. Ida has retired from her PI agency but is dragged back into the investigative business by the police when a young woman is found dead in a motel room with Ida’s name on a newspaper clipping. Elsewhere in the city Kerry Gaudet has flown in from Vietnam to find her missing teenage brother and Dante “the gent” Sanfelippo is strong armed into one last job for the Mob before retiring to a vineyard in the Nappa Valley.

Wow, just wow. What a read with so many layers and intricacies, I’m not quite sure where to start. I think, perhaps, the best place is the atmosphere, because that sets the scene and covers the entire novel. It is intense with the City of Angels being not quite as angelic as it would like you to think. The author is more interested in the seedy underbelly of corruption and the links between the various factions. It’s pervasive and fascinating, especially as much of it is rooted in fact. On a more physical level the Santa Ana winds and forest fires add to the sense of unease, tension and helplessness. The symbolism is everywhere.

I’m not getting into how all the various strands come together, because that would spoil the novel. Each character has their own investigation and story to tell and the narrative switches between them. It works very well with each character taking a different approach and adding to the reader’s store of knowledge and understanding. Ida is the link to the others, but not necessarily the driving force as they all have their own agendas.

The plot is a bit of a masterpiece. The answers are not difficult to understand when exposed, but getting there is complex and intricate. It seems like a conspiracy theory with rogue government agents, murder, drugs and a serial killer and difficult to believe, but, unfortunately, it is grounded in reality and not at all as far fetched as would appear. I didn’t find it easy at times to keep up with who did what and why, but I still felt constantly rewarded by this novel.

There is a strong sense of what Ida calls pessimism, but saw more as uncertainty in the novel. She, Louis and Dante are no longer young and life is catching up with them. I didn’t see regret in them, more acceptance that their best days are behind them. This could have taken a dark turn, but they choose to fight and the novel ends with a surprising optimism.

Sunset Swing is one of the best novels I have read this year, so I have no hesitation in recommending it as a good read.

I struggled with this book but mainly because I didnt realise that this was the final installment in a series and so having not read the first 3 i found this really hard to get into. That was completely my issue and nothing to do with the quality of the book

It’s here! "Sunset Swing". The fourth and final book in Ray Celestin’s City Blues Quartet. Fans have been waiting, but finally we get the final chapter in Ida and Louis’ journey. It’s a new city, a new time, we’ve got a new song and a new killer (or do we?)

This time we’re in Los Angeles. It’s December 1967 and a young army nurse travels there to find her missing brother. A serial killer is terrorising the city and she fears he is the next victim.

Ida, now 67, has retired from her PI job but is dragged back to work when a young woman is found murdered in her motel room, with Ida’s name in her possessions. Louis Armstrong, flies into the city just as her investigations uncover mysterious clues to the killer's identity.

And so we launch into another gorgeous tale of murder, conspiracy and madness. As usual, the pace is frantic, racing against the clock to find the killer. We meet old friends, catch up with events, mess with The Mob, and also possibly come face to face with old enemies. The various threads of the story are nicely interwoven and as they all come together, the whole series comes into focus.

One of the best things about this series has been the attention to detail – whether it’s 1900’s New Orleans, Chicago 1928, or 1960’s Los Angeles, the author manages to capture the sounds, sights and smells of the period. This is America in the sixties so there’s the Vietnam War, riots, gangsters scrabbling to survive, conspiracies and hippies and sit-ins. Ray Celestin perfectly weaves real-life events into the story, and we get some heart-wrenching scenes with Louis Armstrong that will live in my memory for a long time.

It’s also been lovely to follow Ida, Louis and friends as they age and move through the decades, and this final story perfectly ends their journey. While probably of most interest to fans of the series, this will also appeal to newcomers. Highly recommended. I was lucky to score a NetGalley ARC, but rest assured I’ll be first in the queue when the book hits the shelves.