Crossroad Blues

<p>Nick Travers is back where it all began.</p><p><br></p><p>25 years after The Philadelphia Inquirer proclaimed Crossroad Blues "an impressive debut by a promising new talent," the acclaimed crime novel is back in print.</p><p><br></p><p>A modern, Southern re-invention of The Maltese Falcon, Crossroad Blues won noir fans with its nod to the masters and thrilled readers with a wild ride along Highway 61. It's here that we first meet Nick Travers, an ex-New Orleans Saint turned Tulane University blues historian. Nick searches for the lost recordings of 1930s bluesman Robert Johnson-and a missing colleague-and finds trouble at every turn.</p><p><br></p><p>The cast of characters includes a red-headed siren, an Elvis-worshipping hitman, Johnson's ghost, and the Mississippi Delta itself. Crossroad Blues still sings.</p><p><br></p><p>Critical Praise</p><p>"In Atkins' hands, the characters are as substantial as a down home breakfast of biscuits and ham with red-eye gravy." -Entertainment Weekly</p><p><br></p><p>"When (Atkins) old guys open up, you can really hear the music everybody talks about so reverently." -The New York Times</p><p><br></p><p>"Atkins' research into blues history adds depth and context to the always entertaining story, which whizzes by like an old, familiar song heard on the car radio late at night." -The Chicago Tribune</p>