Such a Killing Crime

by Robert Lopresti

SUCH A KILLING CRIME, a folk noir mystery featuring Joe Talley. Greenwich Village, 1963: Hootenanny is a television hit, Bob Dylan and Joan Baez are young fresh faces, and a gifted folk singer has... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0972370633
• ISBN13: 9780972370639
• Release Date: August 2005
• Publisher: Kearney Street Books
• Length: 275 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Take note of review in Sing Out! magazine

Here are some excerpts from the review of Such a Killing Crime by Roger Deitz that appeared in the winter, 2006, edition of Sing Out! magazine: "Such a Killing Crime is a delight to read. The novel is a mixture of folk scene memorabilia juxtaposed with sharp, fast-paced mystery writing." And also: "Lopresti gives us a scenic tour of Greenwich Village as it was in 1963 adding a few of his own clever plot devices." And finally: "You'll enjoy the read and, I wager, be surprised when you get swept up in resolving the who-done-it."

A great read!

It may be hard to believe, but somewhere between the time Elvis Presley began to focus on making movies rather than music and the epochal arrival of the Beatles, folk music enjoyed a brief tenure as the preeminent genre of the American music scene. The cultural center of this great folk revival was Greenwich Village, where numerous coffeehouses showcased such emerging talents as Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, and the Kingston Trio. This improbable musical detour serves as the backdrop for Such a Killing Crime. Set in the Village in 1963, the action of this "folk noir" thriller centers on a folk music coffeehouse called the Riding Beggar. As the story unfolds, several of the regular performers become the victims of violence. An Irish poet who frequently entertains at the coffeehouse is mugged and later disappears. Another Riding Beggar regular, up-and-coming singer-songwriter Dean Coffey, is found dead on the coffeehouse stage, a homicide victim. We follow Joe Talley, the Riding Beggar's young manager, as he delves into these and subsequent mysteries, thwarted by assorted red herrings and the occasional blind corridor. The action and suspense are artfully interspersed with numerous historic references and cameo appearances by such folk music icons as Tom Paxton and Phil Ochs. The atmosphere of Greenwich Village in the early 60's is re-created with an impressive array of detail. Talley and his companions take note of the struggle for civil rights, the blacklisting that had lingered from the McCarthy era, and the emergence of popular venues for folk music such as the television show Hootenanny, then being broadcast weekly on ABC. Along the way there are additional mysteries and a charming love story, as well as a cast of engaging characters. Such a Killing Crime is both a satisfying suspense thriller and a fine evocation of that long ago era when, for a brief time, folk music reigned supreme.

Murder Most Folksy

If you could see my "Favorite Books" list for this year, or any year, you'd probably be surprised to learn how much I loved and adored Such A Killing Crime. That's because, for the most part, I'm a pretty hard core non-fiction reader. About the only kind of fiction I read is the kind of historical fiction that an author grafts, with meticulous attention to detail, onto a specific time and place. For me, that's a big part of the appeal of Such A Killing Crime. The story itself is a perfectly compelling whodunit, but, beyond that, Lopresti immerses you so thoroughly in his setting-- the Greenwich Village folk music scene of 1963-- that you feel like a detective magically transported to a long-vanished era of late night hootenannies and smoky coffeehouses filled with turtlenecked beatniks. That elaborately fleshed-out setting, that was really half the fun of the book for me. I think I came away with a whole new appreciation for that whole improbable folk music renaissance that flourished so briefly, withered so suddenly and left its subtle but pervasive influence on our culture. How pervasive? Let me tell you a little story. Must have been about 1971 I came home, and my Mom was sitting on the couch drinking Ripple out of a jelly jar and playing this Frank Sinatra song, "Love's Been Good to Me." She loved that song! Played it over and over. First time I heard "Love's Been Good to Me," I thought to myself "Sounds like Frank's gone folk music on us, and he's taken the whole Nelson Riddle Orchestra with him!" Decades later I learned that the lyrics of "Love's Been Good to Me" had been penned by poet and one-time Greenwich Village folkster Rod McKuen! As it turns out that is only one of many macabre twists and turns in the history of American folk music. Makes you wonder why there haven't been more folk music murder mysteries. We can only hope that Lopresti writes a sequel.

A note from the publisher

Of course we love Rob's book. But we also wanted to make sure that everyone knew what Tom Paxton said about it: "Spooky. If I'd known he was watching us all so carefully, I'd have behaved much better." And we also wanted everyone to know that if they enjoyed the recent Dylan documentary by Scorsese, then you'll love this book! We knew Rob had done a great job incorporating the details of the era into the story, but as we were watching the first part of the show we were again reminded of how good a job he did. It was amazing how MUCH of what Scorsese focused on is also in Such a Killing Crime. --Gary McKinney & Karen Parker, Kearney Street Books