ANOTHER SPIKE BERENGER ROCK ‘N’ ROLL HIT

It is with great pleasure that I’ve been given the opportunity to bring back my character Spike Berenger in another “rock ‘n’ roll hit”—DARK SIDE OF THE MORGUE.  Spike and his Rockin’ Security team made their debut appearance in last year’s A HARD DAY’S DEATH (also published by Leisure Books).  For readers unfamiliar with that book, Rockin’ Security is a major security firm for rock ‘n’ roll acts worldwide.  Spike Berenger, a man in his early fifties, is the head of the operation.  A more clandestine part of his duties involves acting as a private investigator in the music industry, which in these books has been skewed to be a very dangerous place!  (For more information about Spike and his world, see my previous article on A HARD DAY’S DEATH.

DARK SIDE OF THE MORGUE, like A HARD DAY’S DEATH, is another thrill ride that this time takes Spike and Suzanne to Chicago to investigate a series of murders involving musicians.  These victims make up a long line of progressive rock acts that have been kicking around Chi-town since the 60s.  Loosely inspired by the “Canterbury” school of progressive rock that began in England in the mid-sixties (e.g. Soft Machine, Caravan, Gong, Hatfield and the North, Kevin Ayers, Robert Wyatt, etc.), these “Chicago Prog Bands” are entirely fictitious.  At the beginning of the book, readers will see a three-page family tree diagram.  This was inspired by the work of Pete Frame, an artist who drew rock band family trees for various music publications in the UK, as well as publishing his own books of music family trees in the 70s.  Any reader who appreciates the intricacies of rock genealogy, underground music, and prog rock in general will certainly get a nudge-nudge, wink-wink kick out of this book.  Everyone else will no doubt simply enjoy the story and characters. 

This one really is about “sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll.”  The killer may or may not have some serious sexual issues.  Mind-altering drugs are definitely a motivating factor in the villain’s actions.  I wanted to have a psychedelic trip sequence in the book, so it was a challenge to try and recreate in prose an LSD experience.  Another psychedelic herb called salvia divinorum plays heavily into the plot.  Salvia was actually legal in many states and sold in head shops until recently.  (And in my opinion, it’s a good thing salvia is no longer legal—this was seriously dangerous stuff!) 

I’ve used a lot of real Chicago locations, mostly music clubs like Reggie’s, the Kinetic Playground, Schubas Tavern, the Abbey Pub…all landmark spots for music lovers in the city. 

The book is a thriller and a murder mystery and a P.I. procedural—and it’s a bit darker than its predecessor.  But tongue-in-cheek humor still abounds (again, there is a “Track Listing” instead of a “Table of Contents,” and “Liner Notes” instead of “Acknowledgments”), and there are plenty of references to rock trivia and cameo appearances by real rock stars. 

DARK SIDE OF THE MORGUE was tremendous fun to write…and I hope you’ll have a rockin’ good time reading it.

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