175 pages. Octavo (8 1/2" x 5 1/2") bound in original publisher's black cloth with gilt lettering to spine in original pictorial jacket. First edition. St. Louis shamus Alt Nudger (Nightlines, Buyer Beware) heads down to New Orleans--where jazz great Fat Jack McGee, clarinetist and club-owner, requires the services of a jazz-savvy private eye. The problem? Well, Fat Jack fears that the club's gifted piano-man Willy Hollister, an unstable sort, is in the process of seducing young singer Ineida Collins. . .who just happens to be the beloved daughter of a major mobster! So, supposedly to protect Fat Jack from David Collins' potential wrath, Nudger sets out to get the lowdown on the Willy/Ineida relationship--and on Willy's faintly creepy personality. Right from the start, then, this case seems less than entirely plausible. Then the improbability escalates--when Nudger's multi-city sleuthing quickly suggests that pianist Willy is a multiple psycho-killer: he falls in love, then always murders his beloved. (All his previous girlfriends have disappeared!) Why? Because, ""like a vampire,"" Willy periodically needs the pain of lost love to feed his soulful music-making. And, when Ineida disappears, it seems that she's about to become Willy's next victim. . .until Nudger realizes that maniac Willy is just a pawn in another villain's feebly contrived kidnapping scheme. Nudger remains a modestly likable hero, aging and downbeat and no superman. Condition: Previous owner's name on front end paper else better than very good in a near fine jacket.

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Bookseller: The Book Collector ABAA, ILAB, TBA (US)
Bookseller's Inventory #: BOOKS005618
Title: The Right to Sing the Blues
Author: John Lutz (1939- )
Format/Binding: Hardcover
Book Condition: Used - Better than very good
Jacket Condition: Near Fine
Quantity Available: 1
Edition: First
ISBN 10: 0312682352
ISBN 13: 9780312682354
Publisher: St Martin's Press
Place of Publication: New York
Date Published: 1986
Keywords: MYSTERY
Bookseller catalogs: Literature;
Size: Octavo

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The Book Collector ABAA, ILAB, TBA

All items are guaranteed as described. If an item is not as described, it is returnable within seven days of receipt, unless other arrangements are made. Full refunds given only when items are received in the same condition in which they were sent. We require new customers to send payment with their order. Customers known to us will be invoiced with payment due in thirty days, unless prior arrangements are made. Institutions will be billed to meet their requirements. All items subject to prior sale. We accept Visa, Mastercard, and American Express Please be advised that we can only ship to your billing address. We accept checks, but may require that the check clears before we ship an order. Prices of books do not include shipping. We use UPS domestically and internationally. Other shipping arrangements can be made. Shipping is always charged at cost. Texas residents must add 8.25% sales tax.

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The Book Collector ABAA, ILAB, TBA

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About The Book Collector ABAA, ILAB, TBA

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Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:

Jacket: Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...
Octavo: Another of the terms referring to page or book size, octavo refers to a standard printer's sheet folded four times, producing...
Spine: The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
First Edition: In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
Cloth: "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
New: A new book is a book previously not circulated to a buyer. Although a new book is typically free of any faults or defects, "new"...
Gilt: The decorative application of gold or gold coloring to a portion of a book on the spine, edges of the text block, or an inlay in...
Fine: A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...