Song of the Chimney Sweep - by Tamatha Cain (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

Love is a song played on repeat...

A cryptic blog post leads cold case podcasters Melody and Dorian on a twisty journey back in time to uncover the mysterious story of a forgotten missing woman.

In 1969 near the Florida/Georgia Line, idealistic young Betty Langdon and fast-rising R&B singer Dominicus Owens begin an irresistible but dangerous interracial romance that ends under mysterious, heartbreaking circumstances. Betty is forced to return to her rural home to care for her manipulative mother, while Dominicus goes on to mega-stardom with his band The Downtown Sound. She follows his skyrocketing career from behind the front desk of a dying highway motel--until one day decades later, she disappears.

Now, a popular true crime podcast produced by college friends Melody Hinterson and Dorian Santos takes on the cold case of a missing local woman. The duo's carefully-balanced workplace dynamic is weirdly off-kilter lately, but they can't take their eyes off the investigation as the intriguing new story suddenly boosts the show into the national spotlight. When the investigation uncovers the missing woman's diaries full of family secrets and the century-old legend of a fortune hidden in an old chimney somewhere in town, the truth behind the podcast's mystery suddenly becomes personal, and Melody must make life-changing choices before the final episode airs.

But who owns the rights to a secret?

Review Quotes

Kirkus Reviews:

In Cain's debut mystery, a pair of podcasters investigate an unsolved crime involving a once-famous singer.

The action of this Florida-set novel is divided between the modern world of podcasts and social media and the world of working musicians in 1969. In 2019, Jacksonville-based Melody Hinterson and her producer, Dorian Santos, are the creators of the Tabs and Blanks Podcast, dedicated to piecing together the facts of cold cases. As the story opens, the case in question is that of Betty Van Disson, who disappeared in Northeast Florida in 2001 without a trace. Her husband, Randell, refused to cooperate with authorities, and she was never seen again. When the team learns of the existence of Betty's diaries, the narrative splits to dramatize the tale of her romance with charismatic R&B musician Dominicus Owen and his band, the Downtown Sound. Cain does a deft job of balancing the past and present threads of her narrative, investing each with its own drama, whether it's the escalating romantic tension between Melody and Dorian in the present or the story of Betty, starting when she was 17-year-old Betty Langdon at a concert on the Florida/Georgia line, back in 1969, and following her life through the ensuing years. Throughout, Cain effectively evokes the atmosphere of rural Florida and Jacksonville ("It has its problems, people hate its name, progress sometimes gets buried in a quagmire murky as any Florida swamp"), as well as the local R&B and rock music scene. This latter is embodied in the tale of the rise of the Downtown Sound and the early days of Dominicus' stardom, and Cain ably and steadily ratchets up the suspense as more revelations come to light. Overall, the novel manages to get across the flavor of Florida's music and the grimness of Betty's life with smooth skill.

A compulsively readable story of a long-buried disappearance.

Southern Literary Review:

If you like music, you'll want to grab a copy of this novel and ride down memory lane with some fine musicians-and you'll learn some fascinating facts about Jacksonville, which Cain expertly develops as a vibrant character in its own right.

Read the full review at https: //southernlitreview.com/reviews/song-of-the-chimney-sweep-by-tamatha-cain.htm

"Attempting to solve a forgotten cold case, Melody finds more answers than she's looking for. SONG OF THE CHIMNEY SWEEP captures a city in time, with a well-researched, atmospheric story of love, sacrifice, family, and loss, told against the backdrop of the sixties music scene in Florida. Tamatha Cain's deftly woven dual-timeline novel poignantly combines mystery, romance, and a search for identity."

-Liza Nash Taylor