World Enough

This intriguing series launch from Simon, best known for her cozy Dulcie Schwartz mysteries (Into the Grey, etc.), introduces Boston journalist Tara Winton, who back in the 1980s covered local punk rock bands for fanzines that paid little but gave her access to the musicians and the music that remain central to her life. Now divorced and employed writing banal corporate reports, Tara is still holding on to what is left of the live music scene in Boston. After friend and former musician Frank Turcotte dies, Tara’s ex-boss offers her a chance to write a story about Boston-based bands for a glossy magazine. Soon Tara’s stable life begins to unravel as she revisits the past. Was Frank’s death accidental or was it murder? Is it tied to the long-ago death of singer Chris Crack, who blazed onto the stage eclipsing another band and destroying their shot at a record deal? Vibrant descriptions of Boston’s former music scene overshadow the plot, but readers with a taste for noir are sure to want to see more of the edgy Tara. [em]Agent: Colleen Mohyde, Doe Coover Agency. (Nov.) [/em]