Steel Guitar

Boston-smart, ex-cop, private detective Carlotta Carlyle is up to her elbows tracking a missing person, protecting a famous rock star and investigating suspicious deaths in this latest Linda Barnes mystery. Narrator C.J. Critt does a fine job interpreting this "night life" cast of characters. Carlotta's lines are delivered with a tough edge--contrasting nicely to singer Dee Willis's seductive, silky (and yes) Southern tones. Male characters' voices are flatter, less interesting, but still credible. Overall, this is a fine rendering of a taut, R-rated detective novel. J.B. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine

September 30, 1991
Tall, red-haired private eye and part-time cab driver Carlotta Carlyle returns for her fourth, cleverly plotted and zestfully related adventure. in which she must deal with her past. Her former best friend, singer Dee Willis, in Boston to begin a tour, hires Carlotta to find a mutual friend, bass player Davey Dunrobie. Carlotta is suspicious--not, she tells herself, because Dee walked off with her husband Cal Therieux, but because Dee isn't the type to pay to have someone located for old time's sake. Dee finally admits that Davey has claimed that she stole his songs and owes him $300,000. The singer wants to talk to Davey, but when she finds the body of her current bass player in her hotel room, she begs Carlotta to stop the search. Intrigued by Dee's plea and angered by the ransacking of her own home, Carlotta decides to investigate. Barnes ( Coyote ) turns out a characteristically gripping tale, packed with taut, energy-charged images.