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Shop nowThe Do-Re-Mi
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It's late summer 1972 in the redwood forests of northern California. It seems a safe and wondrous place, but some of the population of the town of Evergreen is growing pot in the trees, and others are bent on stealing it. Then there's the coming folk festival, a jamboree bringing in musicians, music fans, war protesters, hippies, the Cossacks and other biker gangs, and the law, both local and federal. Skirting the edges are shades of the Manson family and the Mexican Mafia.
Clifford Hickey is scheduled to perform at the festival in what might be his last guitar gig before heading off to law school to please his father. He arrives at the peaceful woodland campsite of his brother Alvaro, but within moments six armed men in badges crash the camp, and Alvaro runs. Clifford is arrested and roughly handcuffed. One of the sheriffs' nephews has been murdered, and Alvaro is the posse's quarry.
When Clifford's father and mother arrive on the scene, it's the beginning of a confrontation between the Hickey family and the locals, including the Cossacks, who seemingly have their own agenda for Alvaro.
Clifford, on the brink of adult life, becomes embroiled not only in a murder case but also in what becomes a battle between the Hickeys and the law and, ultimately, the Hickeys and their own past.
Ken Kuhlken earned degrees in literature and writing and has been a columnist for the San Diego Reader. His stories have appeared in Esquire and Best American Short Stories, and he won the St. Martin’s Press / PWA Best First PI Novel Contest.
Ray Porter is an AudioFile Earphones Award–winning narrator and fifteen-year veteran of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. He has appeared in numerous films and television shows, including Almost Famous, ER, and Frasier.
Reviews
“Thoughtful and exciting...It captures summer 1972 and its motley crew—outlaw bikers, war protestors, marijuana growers and users—to understated perfection.”
“Music, marijuana, and murder…An entertaining farrago for the reader.”
“Set in 1972, Kuhlken’s fourth mystery to feature the endearing Hickey clan follows twenty-two-year-old Clifford Hickey, an aspiring folk singer, as he takes one last stab at a music career before heading to USC law school at the urging of his father, former cop and PI Tom Hickey, the eccentric protagonist of the first three books in the series…Clifford must try to prove his brother’s innocence in a town filled with vengeful bikers, suspicious locals, crooked cops, rogue federal agents, and pot-growing hippies. Kuhlken brings the social and cultural scene of the period vividly to life.”
“Kuhlken revisits the Hickey family in a tale as sensitive and heartfelt as it is action-packed. The often violent, paradoxically principled Tom Hickey debuted in 1991, when Kuhlken won St. Martin’s Best First Private Eye Novel award for The Loud Adios…Crime, punishment, and redemption. Kuhlken’s sixth is by far his best.
“Kuhlken draws colorful characters—biker gang members, hippies, and small-town law enforcement—in a world where marijuana profits and music rule. A compelling storyline with the right amount of suspense will keep readers guessing. Recommended for all collections.”
“Kuhlken is back with another tale of the Hickey family…Trapped in a battle between the law, rival biker gangs, the locals, and his own family, Clifford has an intricate puzzle to solve. Readers will enjoy this tale, which captures the history and atmosphere of 1970s California as well as the complex dynamics of a fascinating family.”
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