Dark End of the Street

This is the third novel in the adventures of Nick Travers, who is supposed to be teaching the history of the blues at Tulane University in New Orleans, but spends his time solving mysterious deaths linked to blues musicians instead. In this escapade, Loretta, Nick's sort of foster mother, asks Nick to locate her estranged brother Clyde James, a blues singer.

Having "done" New Orleans and part of the Delta, then moved on to Chicago, Atkins takes a swing at the Memphis Blues. The complex plot involves political corruption and a teenage hitman (we've met him before) and is ultimately scattered and unsatisfying.

Nick Travers is back in Atkins' third book in the series. Going back and forth between New Orleans and Memphis, traveling the backroads - the Delta atmosphere is front and center again.