Book Review: Austin Blues

Reviewed by Josie Prado

Blues, love, and litigation in 1970s Austin

 Sandy is a temperamental, music-loving lawyer who has traded in physical fights for epigrammatic debates in the courtroom. He’s a Vietnam veteran who has found peace in his civilian life being surrounded by the bustling music scene in Austin. 

While attending a music club, he meets his best friend, Dude, a bassist who can measure up to the best players. After a failed relationship, he meets his soulmate, Beverly, an English professor. His relatively calm life is interrupted when Sandy is launched into stardom after taking on a big settlement case. His firm is inundated with requests, but one particular case stands out amongst the rest: a history-making, whistleblower case. 

Dean Keaton, an accountant, is unlawfully terminated after trying to expose the comptroller and lieutenant governor for mishandling funds. Luckily, Sandy takes on the case. This is the messiest yet most exciting litigation battle you’ll read this year.

Austin Blues is a smooth, enjoyable read akin to a sonorous jazz track. Readers are going to love Sandy’s vibrant personality. His voice is biting and fun, but he’s got some nice moments of vulnerability mixed in too. He’s still dealing with triggering memories from the war and his previous relationships, and he depends on the bottle to soothe them. Beneath the bravado, Sandy is someone who works hard to get where he wants to be and who works even harder to stay there. 

Beyond Sandy, we’re also given a couple different perspectives like Beverly and Dude. Author Gary A. Keith does a great job of introducing us to other characters when the point of view changes without making us overwhelmed with just how much we are learning about them. A skilled hand like that is important. The novel feels realistic and immersive in the time period. There’s real knowledge and research here. Every detail is included with thought and care.

While the other characters are given adequate time and space to develop, I mostly just wanted to spend more time with Sandy and his explosive character. Beverly and Dude do add things to the story, but some of their chapters can feel like deviations and not nearly as satisfying.

Fresh, exciting, and musical—Austin Blues is a great time in Old Austin. Follow along with a group of Austinites as they fight to protect their city from corruption in a truly engaging novel.

Thank you for reading Josie Prado’s book review of Austin Blues by Gary A. Keith! If you liked what you read, please spend some more time with us at the links below.

The post Book Review: Austin Blues appeared first on Independent Book Review.