Blackbird, Farewell

August 18, 2008
Damion Madrid, the godson of Denver bail bondsman CJ Floyd, takes center stage in Greer's solid eighth CJ Floyd novel (after 2007's The Mongoose Deception
). Best friends Madrid and Shandell Bird led Colorado State's basketball team to the NCAA finals, where they lost to UCLA. When Bird, the NBA's second overall draft choice, is gunned down along with a Pulitzer Prize–winning reporter, Madrid determines to find out who and why. With advice from CJ's partner, Flora Jean Benson, and protection (at CJ's request) from hit man Pinkie Niedemeyer and old mobster Mario Satoni, Madrid discovers much he never knew about Bird. Bird's incipient wealth attracted plenty of hangers-on, including a noted sports psychologist, bookies, fixers and pushers. Madrid stumbles a bit, but acquits himself well after entering a dangerous world where sportsmanship plays no part and you better be able to trust the person who's covering your back. Author tour.

Starred review from October 1, 2008
After signing a multimillion-dollar contract to play basketball for the Denver Nuggets, Shandell "Blackbird" Bird is shot to death. His best friend, Damion Madrid, decides to investigate since his godfather, CJ Floyd, is in Hawaii on his honeymoon. Damion gets help from Flora Jean Benson, the former military intelligence agent now running the bail bond company started by Floyd. Damion has two weeks before medical school starts, and he is determined to discover who killed his friend. Every entry in the versatile Greer's CJ Floyd series ("The Mongoose Deception") is different in scope and theme. Here, he takes on professional and college basketball, the pressures placed on young men to perform, the media hype, and the organized crime possibilities of point shaving and drug dealing. Much like Les Roberts's mysteries about Cleveland, Greer's books in this series also give readers a strong sense of place (the Denver area) and a rare look at a diverse community that works together regardless of racial and economic barriers. Highly recommended for mystery and African American fiction collections.

Copyright 2008 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 1, 2008
Adult/High School-Damion Madrid is a 22-year-old college basketball player freshly graduated from Colorado State University, and the last summer vacation before he becomes a medical student is no bed of roses. His best friend and teammate, Shandell Bird, aka Blackbird, a first-round NBA draft pick by the Denver Nuggets, is found dead on a neighborhood court beside a Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper reporter. The son of a defense attorney, Damion decides to take up the case himself and begins investigating parts of Blackbirds life he never knew existed. Although this is a murder mystery, it is also a coming-of-age story, as Damion realizes that he can never possibly know everything about the people in his life. He discovers that people he trusted, including the college basketball teams trainer and Connie Eastland, Blackbirds girlfriend, may have more knowledge about the murder than Damion would like to admit. While teens looking for pure sports stories may prefer Tim Tharps "Knights of the Hill Country" (Knopf, 2006) or John Foleys "Hoops of Steel" (Flux, 2007), those transitioning into more complex novels would respond well to this titles sports references and the discussion of what it means to be another mans friend. Readers who are enthusiastic about this book may be interested in the novels in Greers C J Floyd series (Frog), although Damion plays a much smaller role in them."Sarah Krygier, Solano County Library, Fairfield, CA"

Copyright 2008 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2008
Shandell Blackbird Bird is the number-two pick in the NBA draft. He has a multimillion-dollar sneaker-endorsement deal and will start drawing on his lucrative rookie salary soon. But to Damion Madrid, his lifelong friend and college teammate, Bird seems distracted and unhappy. Madrids suspicions are tragically confirmed when Bird and an investigative reporter are killed by a sniper. Madrid, who has family connections to Denver bail bondsman and investigator CJ Floyd, initiates his own investigation of the killings with the assistance of Floyd and his street-smart network. A local gambler claims he lost a fortune betting on CSU in the NCAA championship game and had accused Bird of purposely missing a potential game-winning shot at the buzzer. There are also rumors of Birds involvement in the distribution of performance-enhancing drugs. Greer, who places series-hero Floyd in a secondary role for this one, always explores larger issues in his mysteries. His last, The Mongoose Deception (2007), explored the JFK assassination, and here he looks at the distasteful, often exploitive nature of college and professional basketball. Another fine entry in a rewarding series.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)