"Zantz lives behind the wheel, dreaming up lyrics as he drives strangers through the city maze." "Even on the job, with complete strangers in the back, new lyrics seized [him] like a kidnapper...". Addy Zanz, 37 years old, failed songwriter...Lyft driver.

Annie Linden, 73 year old music icon, listened to Addy's tunes. Bonding after the first ride, they were now off app. "My Lyft driver is a real songwriter....those are incredible tunes...It's just a little bag of diamonds in the rough...". Annie often sent cryptic messages when requesting a pick-up. "AZ beach house 8 PM come to my arms." Recently, Annie requested help from her trusted Lyft driver. "I need to find out about someone, some people from my past-I'm getting old. And I want...need to 'close some circles', look into some people." Addy, formerly dabbling in detective work as an amateur, had an expired license. He had only done repos and served papers.

Two time Grammy nominee, Annie Linden, had an adoring fan base but she also had enemies. When her body was discovered under the pier at Hermosa Beach in LA, the police would investigate her death as a homicide. Annie's entanglements would come to light. Who was the true Annie hiding behind the curtain of fame?

Addy and Annie had an 'unspoken bargain". Addy had agreed to track down random items on her short list. Was it really his business?...yes...seemingly so. He needed to clear his name after being implicated and charged with being an accessory after the fact. The suspected killer, Bix Gelden, was being held without bail for the murders of Annie and her security guard, Troy Banks. Bix, Annie's PA had been hired and fired multiple times. Bix hoped Addy would help find his angrily penned letters. "Bix looked guilty, smelled guilty, on some cosmic level was guilty...but...[Addy] didn't believe he was actually guilty of murder." Addy was obsessed with finding answers.

At what cost, fame? So called friends...would they support you or use you? Could your past actions and secrets stay buried or come back to bite you? This intriguing mystery novel explores Annie's fame and its widespread web of inner circle secrets. Highly recommended.

Thank you Melville House Publishing and Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

They say you should never meet your heroes. Adam Zantz, the protagonist of this novel not only meet one of his but he gets to drive his. Well, technically he meets her through his LYFT driving but soon becomes his hero’s exclusive set of wheels.
Adam is a failed musician, a thirty-seven-year-old man with no plan. Annie Linden is a seventy-three-year-old musical legend on par with other ‘70s famous songstresses; her fame has declined over the years, but that only gave her a sort of cult status. An early feminist icon, etc.
For Adam she quickly becomes a mother-figure, sort of girlfriend replacement, plus, someone with connections who can potentially make all his music dreams come true.
And then, Annie is found dead. Murdered. And Adam, in his grief and his anguish, falls back onto his former experience as an investigator to try and figure out just what happened.
He begins poking around and, before he knows it, his journey is taking him right behind the curtain of Annie’s life (fraught, complicated, messy) and music business (much the same) itself.
Like many people, Annie Linden was more likeable and admirable when shrouded in mystery, but Adam can’t stop, won’t stop. Not until he finds out who killed the last songbird.
A very solid debut from Daniel Weizmann. Well-written, character driven, exciting. The author writes music like someone who really knows music, the way it stays with you, lives with you, defines you. A very LA story–drive all night, bright lights, outsized personalities sort of thing. A very solid neoNoir tone to the narrative. A very solid suspense thriller that has you guessing until the very end. This one works on all levels and entertains plenty. Recommended. Thanks Netgalley.