“Here there be magic.”

Hoing and Hileman always deliver.

Character development is spot-on, even in the most minor players.

The ending is sad in so many ways, yet uplifting and gratifying.

Poignant, tragic, maddening, horrifying events, usually taken straight from real life, make all their stories unforgettable.

Hard-hitting prose, lean, economical, lyrical…

Timely, relevant, brutal, yet inspiring…

Historical fiction with a welcome hint of magic realism.

This story matters.

A thoroughly researched, nuanced, well-written novel, packed full of meaning and metaphor and themes that could occupy a classroom of students for hours.

…so relevant in these turbulent times.

Magic. Bring it on!

“In the Blood” is a 20th Century fairy tale.

I’ve been pulled into the story, and this fictional world is so real, I can no more leave the story than I could go jump off a bridge.

This book has the power to leave me angry and outraged, disillusioned, and disappointed in human nature, but in the end, something beautiful shines through all the sordid reality, and I’m left feeling there is hope for humanity.

…an interesting, engaging storyline.

The characters are intriguing, believable.

The passages describing the music itself struck a nice balance between the impressionistic, emotional response of a lay-person’s sensibilities with exceptionally drawn insiders’ POVs.

…a nice command of technical terms and convincing feel for the actual creation of improvisational music.

The push-pull vis a vis swing versus bop rings true.

I loved the book.

Just spent most of the day finishing it because I couldn’t put it down.

I think it’s wonderful.

…an amazing mosaic of the times.