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Tommy Cuda Walks into a Bar…

Tommy Cuda loves the blues. He plays the blues. He’s on the road trip of his life to live the blues closer to a reality he knows is out there, but cannot find. So it’s no surprise that he took a detour to swing by Nashville to hear the music of this most impressive music city.

101 Broadway. A place called Acme Feed and Seed promised 28 beers on tap and a Nashville atmosphere. It had a menu taped in the window. The menu had an Acme burger.

Two steps inside the door the aroma of beer and seared meat met him first. Then the finger picking groove of a guitar player in a plaid shirt drew his attention. Precision. The man was all precision. The groove from the upright bass was as wide and deep as the Ohio river he had just crossed

She stepped on stage.

He dropped into a chair at the nearest table, his eyes glued to a woman who could have sat next to him in Latin class. Except for the tattoos on her forearms. And calves. And the way she moved with the music, as if they were one. A waitress took his order. The guitar glistened clean and biting, syncopating, droning.

She started to sing.

A deep, raw, passionate alto intoned ‘I smell a rat.’ Someone was surely in trouble with this woman and there were no two ways about it. Her voice rattled his insides. The guitarist soloed, clean and fast over bass and drums.

He looked around. The Hi-Jivers: Dawna Zahn. Austin John. Hank Miles. Dawna started singing, “I’m gonna miss you like the devil,” and Tommy knew he was going to miss her the moment he walked out of Acme Feed and Seed.

If you love the blues, do yourself a small favor and check them out at www.thehijivers.com. Tommy has been looping them non-stop.

Categories
Novels

Missing Mona

Tommy has boomeranged back to his parents residence and a dead-end job after too many years in college. As he looks squarely at his next decade of life his smartphone convinces him the time is ripe for a change. A gift from his grandfather provides the means, so he embarks on the path of blues artists and beatniks before him—and hits the road.

He immediately meets a damsel in hitchhiking distress who says her name is Mona. Her presence persuades him that the bright lights and dark clubs of Chicago might be his kind of town. So on a summer Saturday night they settle into a fancy hotel overlooking the beaches of Lake Michigan.

On Sunday…Mona disappears.

But she leaves behind more than a sweet memory that involves Tommy in a brand new cash flow problem he never imagined. While trying to sort out how to stay on the right side of the law and get back on the road, he meets a young criminologist who helps him, a DJ who doesn’t, and a librarian who teaches him about the city, women, and the art of the makeover. After truth and lies are stirred like a blue martini, being assaulted by a pink monkey, and witnessing a drive-by shooting that drowns a Ferrari—Tommy is desperate to help Mona.

If he can find her.

“Missing Mona has twists and turns that will keep you guessing until the very end. What is even more appealing is Klingler’s ability to write a private investigator novel reminiscent of one from years ago and bring it into the present day… making this book unique and a must-read.”

San Francisco Book Review (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)

“This engaging and romantic story is packed with action and intrigue.”

—Foreword Reviews (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)

“Here’s hoping that Tommy Cuda continues with his new profession.”

—San Francisco Book Review
  • London Book Festival Winner
  • INDIEFAB Book of the Year Award—Mystery Finalist