The Blues Don't Care

Bobby Saxon lives in a world that isn’t quite ready for him. He’s the only white musician in an otherwise all-black swing band at the famous Club Alabam in Los Angeles during World War II—and that isn’t the only unique thing about him... And if that isn’t enough to deal with, in order to get a permanent gig with the band, Bobby must first solve a murder that one of the band members is falsely accused of in that racially prejudiced society. Praise for THE BLUES DON’T CARE: “Award-winning author Paul D. Marks hits it out of the park with his latest, The Blues Don’t Care. On one level it’s a mystery where a white musician, Bobby Saxon, in an all-black jazz band, works to solve a murder and clear his name under extraordinary racially-tinged circumstances. But this finely-written novel takes place in World War II-era Los Angeles, and Marks brings that long-gone era alive with memorable characters, scents, descriptions, and most of all, jazz. Highly recommended.” —Brendan DuBois, award-winning and New York Times bestselling author “Paul D. Marks finds new gold in 40’s L.A. noir while exploring prejudices in race, culture, and sexual identity. There’s sex, drugs, and jazz and an always surprising hero who navigates the worlds of gambling, music, war profiteers, Jewish mobsters, and a lonely few trying to do the right thing. Marks has an eye for the telling detail, and an ear that captures the music in the dialogue of the times. He is one helluva writer.” —Michael Sears, award-winning author of Tower of Babel, and the Jason Stafford series “In The Blues Don’t Care, Paul D. Marks deftly portrays the colors and contradictions of World War II era L.A. as navigated by unlikely sleuth Bobby Saxon whose disparate worlds collide in this impressive series debut.” —Dianne Emley, L.A. Times bestselling author of the Nan Vining mysteries “This story was a breath of fresh air, set in a familiar period, thanks to Sunday afternoon TV movies. Which means the author had to get his world-building right. The good news is—he did, and did it very well indeed.” —Discovering Diamonds Reviews “With World War II era Los Angeles as the backdrop Paul D. Marks paints a gritty picture with a tense story and takes on tough subject matters all while keeping the gas pedal to the floor of the mystery. As a drummer of forty plus years I could hear Max Roach, Gene Krupa and Art Blakey all thundering away as the soundtrack to this face paced book! Simply Superb!” —Jonathan Brown author of the Lou Crasher and Doug “Moose” McCrae series “Paul D. Marks delivers a well-told tale of jazz and murder. The Blues Don’t Care is written in a flowing style with a moving pace. Marks does a very convincing job transporting readers back in time to 1940s’ L.A., and he’s managed to pack in plenty of tension, along with some unexpected twists along the way.” —Dietrich Kalteis, award-winning author of Ride the Lightning and House of Blazes