This was a strong sequel in the Bruneau Abellard series, it had that element that I was looking for and enjoyed from the previous book. The overall storyline worked well and was glad I got to read this. The characters were everything that I was hoping for and enjoyed about the first book. Norman Woolworth has a strong writing style and was glad I read this.

This is a very interesting story that had me engaged and
enjoying the people, places, and, of course, the cylinder.
Once you start, you won’t want to put the book down.
It is not often I read a book I can honestly say is
Absolutely Unlike Any Book I have EVER read !
What a wonderful book!
My thanks to Level Best Books via NetGalley
for the download copy of this book for review
purposes.

The Bolden Cylinder by Norman Woolworth is a real treat for anyone who loves a good story told with care. Woolworth gives you just enough pieces at a time to keep you guessing and imagining what’s coming next. It never feels rushed, he lets the story unfold naturally.

It’s got that old-school charm, the kind you’d find in classic books and shows where the storytelling had grit and heart. An enjoyable, well-paced read that reminds you what great storytelling really feels like.

I was excited to read The Bolden Cylinder because of its promise of jazz and its New Orleans setting—two of my favorite things. What I got was so much more: a richly layered mystery involving arson, unrequited love, and a decades-old disappearance that ties the past and present together in unexpected ways.

Bruneau “Bru” Abellard, who lives above his antique shop in modern-day New Orleans, came across an interesting piece of furniture-a sidebar, probably from the 19th century. After hearing some rattling, he and some employees discover a hidden compartment. Upon opening it, they make an astonishing discovery—an Edison cylinder, one of the earliest forms of recorded sound. With the help of an eccentric music collector named Izzy who had a phonograph to play it, they listened to a recording of a raw and unbridled cornet. With the help of some local music professors, they realized that it could have been the music of jazz legend Charles “Buddy” Bolden, who died in a Louisiana insane asylum in 1931. No known recordings of his music have ever surfaced.

What begins as a thrilling musical discovery quickly spirals into something darker. The cylinder goes missing in a fire and Bru finds himself involved in an arson investigation and a possible murder case. With the help of Bo, his friend and NOPD detective, Bru uncovers long-buried secrets that force him to confront both the haunted past and the hidden motives of those closest to him.

One of the novel’s greatest strengths lies in its structure. The narrative alternates between Bru’s and Bo’s perspectives, interwoven with glimpses into Buddy Bolden’s life and music. This layered storytelling builds toward revelations that are as emotional as they are surprising.

The cast of quirky, memorable characters adds warmth and texture to the mystery, each one playing a meaningful role in the unfolding drama.

I couldn’t put The Bolden Cylinder down. This fast-paced novel is more than a mystery—it’s jazz history, secrets, friendship, and New Orleans.

(This review will be posted on UnderratedReads on oct, 21, 2025)

Honestly, I just want to step inside Bruneau’s antique shop and bend his ear—he’s the kind of character you could listen to all day.

In The Bolden Cylinder, Norman Woolworth once again drops readers into the fascinating world of antiques dealer Bruneau Abellard—this time in the heart of New Orleans. When a hidden phonograph cylinder turns up inside an old piece of furniture, it sparks a mystery that winds through decades of jazz, missing persons, and a haunting arson investigation. The premise is fresh and inventive, blending historical intrigue with modern-day tension in a way that feels utterly original.

I love this series, and having just been to New Orleans myself, the setting felt so real I could practically hear the music drifting from Frenchmen Street. The writing is atmospheric and almost lyrical, capturing the city’s rhythm, decay, and magic without losing sight of the mystery at its core. Woolworth ties the past to the present perfectly, weaving the echoes of Buddy Bolden’s lost jazz legacy into a well-researched and deeply human story

The Bolden Cylinder is a fast-paced historical mystery that interweaves past and present day New Orleans. It begins with an antiques dealer named Bruneau, who discovers a mysterious phonograph cylinder in a secret compartment of a sideboard that he purchased from an auction. He becomes curious about this cylinder and plays the recording to a few people in order to discover the origin of the recording. One of the people he shows it to is Izzy, a collector of New Orleans music memorabilia. After further research, Bruneau comes to the realization that he may have stumbled upon a legendary discovery of Buddy Bolden, who played a huge role in jazz but did not leave behind any known recordings. As Bruneau continues to get further into figuring this out, Izzy’s house goes up into flames alone with the cylinder that Bruneau lent him. He gets caught up in an arson case led by his best friend Bo. The arson case soon turns into a homicide/missing person’s case when they discover a corpse hidden inside Izzy’s house. Bruneau and Bo work together to piece all the information to solve this case and find out how the cylinder is involved in it.

I normally do not read historical books, but found myself devouring this book! I can tell the author did so much research, and he incorporated the history so seamlessly into his novel, so it didn’t feel like a history lesson in school. I felt like I learned so much about New Orleans and the history of jazz. I also enjoyed the characters and their banter with one another as they all work together to solve this mystery. Thank you to Get Red PR for an arc of The Bolden Cylinder ✨

This was a fun historical mystery read. An antiques dealer Bo, finds a phonograph cylinder in a piece of furniture, and tracks down someone who can play this mysterious piece of music. After hearing what is on the tube, they can hardly believe it. Is this a recording of the king of jazz, Buddy Bolden? This would be an astonishing piece of history, but as they continue to figure out if this really is Buddy's recording, it seems that there is quite a mystery that needs untangling. What happened to Buddy after he went into the asylum, who recorded this, why and how did it end up in a piece of furniture? I enjoyed the various quirky characters that were written through out this story, Izzy was probably my favorite of them all. Thank you to the author, publisher and Get Red PR for the complementary novel. This review is of my own opinion and accord.