The story of Chet Baker's fatal fall in 1988 from an Amsterdam hotel windowledge is well-known so there was not much else to be detected or discovered by jazz pianist and occasional detective Evan Horne. What he found himself looking for was his academic friend Ace Buffington, who went missing while researching a book he was writing about Chet Baker's demise. Ace had asked Horne to accompany him on a research trip to Amsterdam, a request that was declined, although Horne was going to be playing in the same city. Miffed at the rebuff Ace got out of a tight spot by mentioning Horne's name before taking off back to California, thus putting his friend in a dangerous jam with Baker's Amsterdam drug dealers.

The mystery in Moody's novels, especially this one, is not the main attraction, but the talk about jazz and jazz musicians is a big draw and is what I find most interesting and appealing. Moody is a jazz musician and music critic so knows his subject thoroughly making this series a pleasure to read. ( )

Jazz pianist and amateur sleuth Evan Horne has a few gigs in London, where he's tracked down by his friend, jazz fan and UNLV professor Ace Buffington. Ace tries to interest Evan in looking into the suspicious death of jazz trumpeter Chet Baker, which occurred in Amsterdam so many years ago that Evan sees it as pointless. Subsequent gigs in that very city have Evan expecting to meet with Ace again, but though lots of people have seen him, Ace isn't turning up. Evan has to follow Ace's research of Baker's death in order to track his missing friend.
This is the fifth in the Evan Horne series, but the first I'd heard of it. Being a Chet Baker fan, of course this is the one I started with, but I hope to find more. There's even a page written by famed pianist and frequent Baker collaborator Russ Freeman, who discusses Baker's style.
Moody is a jazz drummer and music critic, so this book is infused with discussions of the songs, musicians and descriptions of playing jazz live. ( )