On this Sunday, V chats with Norman Woolworth about his book series "A Bruneau Abellard Novel"

latest book

"The Bolden Cylinder: A Bruneau Abellard Novel"

When Buddy Bolden died in a Louisiana insane asylum in 1931, a quarter century after his reign as the undisputed first “king” of jazz, he left behind no known recordings. But when quirky New Orleans antiques dealer Bruneau Abellard listens to a vintage phonograph cylinder he found in the secret compartment of a sideboard, he wonders if he has stumbled upon an important piece of musical history. In researching his discovery, Bruneau runs headlong into an arson investigation led by his childhood friend, NOPD Detective Bo Duplessis, which in turn may hold the key to a 50-year-old unsolved missing person’s case.

To untangle their present-day mysteries, Bruneau and Bo must first piece together a perplexing string of puzzles from the distant past. Their parallel investigations immerse them in the rhythm-and-blues subculture of 1960s New Orleans, and transport them to the dawn of the 20th Century, when a brash young musician introduced a new sound to the city, forever changing the course of music history.

Fast-paced and vividly drawn, The Bolden Cylinder introduces a memorable cast of eccentric characters, including a malodorous collector of early R&B memorabilia, a sultry nightclub singer, a reputed mob boss, a 12-year-old tap dancer, and an inscrutable peddler of voodoo paraphernalia. Together, they serve up a savory gumbo of suspenseful intrigue set against the seductive backdrop of a city in which past and present are forever interwoven.

On this special Thursday episode, V chats with Alice K Boatwright about her "Ellie Kent mystery series"

latest available in the series "In the Life Ever After: Ellie Kent mystery (Book 3)"

The cold, dark winter in the Cotswolds is finally coming to an end, so Ellie and Graham Kent celebrate with a belated honeymoon in Paris. But news from Little Beecham casts a shadow over their holiday: convicted murderer Corinna Matthews has been released from prison and turns up in the village asking for Mrs. Kent. As Ellie soon discovers, it was Louise Kent, Graham's late wife, Corinna wanted to see, but she steps in to help and finds herself not only coping with villagers who still want "an eye for an eye," but also with baffling questions surrounding what really happened on the night Corinna murdered her brother Pindar and why.

On this special Tuesday episode, V chats with Monté Hill about her book "Catbird Winter".

A battle within and without. When dreams collide with desperation, can a wounded soul find a path to truth, fulfillment, and redemption?

1916. Trevor Middleton is crushed. After a freak accident shatters his leg, the American Great War ambulance driver fears he’ll never be able to climb into the cockpit of a French bi-plane to fight the Germans. Convalescing in Hickory Nut Gorge, North Carolina, the disconsolate veteran can hardly believe it when he catches the eye of a Bible-thumping minister’s daughter.

Moved by the disappearance of the young woman’s brother, Trevor agrees to help her search for him in a nearby cave. But after their efforts turn up only a hidden still, a night of drunken passion may alter his destiny irrevocably.

Still longing to take to the skies, can this would-be pilot outrun a fate that seems determined to ground him?

Digging deep into the forgotten past, Monté Hill renders an eye-opening tale of ordinary people trapped by geography, tradition, and the fickle whims of chance. Her compassionate prose and intimate character development will transport readers to another time and place, immersing them in the fascinating life of early 20th-century Appalachia.