Blues in the dark : a novel
(Book)

"An Arcade / Crime Wise book"--Title page.

"A Herman Graf book"--Title page.

"Karissa Glover is a movie producer who moves into a decrepit but functional old mansion in the West Adams Heights area of Los Angeles, where black celebrities of yesteryear--Hattie McDaniel, Louise Beavers, and others--once resided. The former owner was a white actress, Blair Kendrick, who often starred as the "bad girl"--a femme fatale--in films noir of the 1940s. However, Blair's career was cut short when she was tragically killed by the mob after allegedly witnessing the slaying of a corrupt studio head in 1949. As Karissa and her producing partner decide to develop a modern film noir about Blair Kendrick, malevolent forces from the past attempt to stop them--first with intimidation, and then with the thread of murder. Is this because Karissa has learned that Blair was involved in a then-taboo interracial relationship with jazz musician Hank Marley? What really happened on the night that death struck in a dimly lit studio mogul's office? The consequences of Blair and Hank's doomed love affair still resonate in the present day as Karissa attempts to unravel Blair's secrets"--Book jacket.