Blackbird, Farewell

C. J. Floyd #7

by Robert Greer

Shandell “Blackbird” Bird has everything going for him, or so he thinks. Recently selected number two overall in the NBA draft, the 6'8", 250-pound superstar has a gleaming new ride and a salary and athletic shoe contract that make him an instant millionaire. What he doesn’t have is the ability to bury secrets from his past. When Shandell is found shot to death at mid-court, his best friend and college teammate Damion Madrid sets out to find the killer. Damion is well meaning but naïve; luckily his godfather is gumshoe CJ Floyd. Floyd and his partner, Flora Jean Benson, are there to watch his back as Damion stumbles down a shadowy trail that leads to Shandell’s purported peddling of steroids and big-game point shaving. When he discovers a “Blackbird” he never knew and is able to put a face on Shandell’s killer, Damion finds himself in over his head. Will CJ be there in time to prevent his godson from joining Shandell? Featuring the vivid characters and streetwise dialogue that have made the CJ Floyd series a critical and commercial success, Blackbird, Farewell is a punch-packing whodunit that exposes the dark side of the pro-athlete good life.

352 pages, Hardcover

First published October 14, 2008

About the author

Robert Greer, author of the CJ Floyd mystery series, lives in Denver, where he is a practicing surgical pathologist, research scientist, and Professor of Pathology and Medicine at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. He also edits the High Plains Literary Review, reviews books for National Public Radio, and raises Black Baldy cattle on his ranch near Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

Series:
* C. J. Floyd

Reviews

[RICK "SHAQ" GOLDSTEIN · Rating 4 out of 5]

RICK “SHAQ” GOLDSTEIN SAYS: “A “3-POINTER”.. BASKETBALL… MYSTERY… AND MURDER!”
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Shandell “Blackbird” Bird, the 6-foot-9-inch 250-pound All-American basketball player for Colorado State University (CSU) seemed to have the world on a string when he deposited 7.2 MILLION DOLLARS (which included 4 Million Dollars for a Nike shoe contract and 3.2 Million Dollars from the Denver Nuggets as the number 2 draft pick in the NBA.) in the bank. If that wasn’t enough to make the world at large envy every breath Shandell took… he also was driving a brand new $93,000.00 Range Rover… and his girlfriend Connie Eastland was a stone-cold-fox. Yet, within hours… Shandell is found shot to death by a murderer’s bullet on a basketball court of his youth.

Perhaps hardest hit by this shocking killing… in addition to Blackbird’s Mother and the basketball community at large… is Blackbird’s best friend since childhood… Damion Madrid… his CSU teammate and fellow All-American. Damion who stood 6-foot-6-inches tall and weighed 235-pounds had averaged an unmatched *TRIPLE-DOUBLE* at CSU averaging 22-points-11-rebounds-and-10-assists per game as the dynamic duo of “BLOOD” (Damion) and “BLACKBIRD” had led CSU to the NCAA National Championship game which they lost somewhat mysteriously to UCLA. Damion is so shook up from the murder of his lifelong friend and teammate, that despite warnings from all the people close to him in his life… refuses to “just-let” the police handle the investigation.

Now it so happens… that Damion’s impatience with the legal process, and refusal to just sit on the sidelines… can probably be partially explained by his bloodlines… and his upbringing. His Mother is a trial lawyer… and his Godfather C.J. Floyd is a Viet Nam vet and local longtime bail bondsman and sometime investigator… C.J’s partner is Flora Jean Benson, a six-foot-one-inch former Marine intelligence operative with war experience in the Middle East… add to that Mario Satoni a semi-retired Mafia Godfather and Pinkie Niedemeyer a Viet Nam veteran and hit-man for the mob… who both treat Damion like he’s their own flesh and blood… and you’ve got quite a cast of characters that Damion has at his disposal to call on… if the situation calls for it… and this situation “does” call for it… and Damion “does” call!

This leads to Damion turning over rocks that raise the possibilities of Blackbird and other teammates possibly being involved in point shaving and pushing drugs. In fact, the overturned rocks start an avalanche of crime that includes multiple murders… threatened murders… knife fights… kinky sex… gold-digging women… arson… revealing of secrets kept hidden for entire lifetimes… and more. This story unfolds like an all-star fast break… that culminates into a crescendo that deftly combines murder, mystery, and basketball!

[S. Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Robert Greer’s seventh CJ Floyd mystery takes place in the heart of Colorado, where new shining star of college basketball Shandell "Blackbird" Bird is found shot to death on a basketball court. His close friend and college roommate Damion Madrid feels that the local police aren’t going to look as deeply into the murder as they should, and so he decides to investigate the murder himself.

Blackbird’s Godfather, Denver based bail bondsman CJ Floyd, is in Hawaii on his honeymoon. To help out the investigation, he not only sends his former Marine intelligence operative partner to lend a hand, but also lends helpful guidance and suggestions over the phone. As Damion and an assortment of shady and sometimes dangerous acquaintances dig deeper into the murder, they begin to unravel a conspiracy of corruption and lies that extend farther beyond the basketball court than anyone had imagined.

Greer’s novel is a captivating, quick-paced mystery with personal conflict, local history, and underworld manipulations weaved throughout. While the story is worth reading, there are a few hurdles that keep it from being a completely smooth ride.

There are plenty of colorful and interesting characters populating the late Blackbird’s world, and this is always a plus for mystery novels. However, the drawback in this case is that they tend to overwhelm the reader by sheer number. Similar sounding names and overlapping character quirks and backgrounds can sometimes make it difficult to tell them apart, and only add to the confusion.

Another minor flaw with the narrative is the author’s unskillful way of explaining back story. Past events, character backgrounds, and expositional material are often thrust into descriptive passages and supposedly casual dialogue in big meaty fistfuls, making them tough to chew and hard to digest. Greer has a very complex and multi-layered story to tell, and there is so much needed background that he can sometimes seem desperate to unload it all.

These flaws, while unavoidable, are minor nonetheless, and are easily overlooked as Damion’s investigation draws you further into a world that neither he nor the reader ever though existed. This latest entry in the CJ Floyd series may not be the best, but it is far from the worst, and definitely worth a look.

[Clark Isaacs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Robert Greer has an uncanny ability to grab your attention within the first few pages of his novels and keep the adrenalin flowing until the very end. Blackbird, Farewell is no exception with his wonderful formula character C J Floyd, a private detective par excellence.

Just when you think this book will be different than all others by Greer, Shandell “Blackbird” Bird is murdered at the start of the story just after signing a multi-million dollar contract with the Denver Nuggets. This is a Farewell to a soon to have been basketball career and hello to a whodunit that exposes the dark side of the pro-athlete’s good life. This is the story of Damion Madrid, Bird’s best friend, and how he becomes a sleuth trying to solve the mysterious murder of his former teammate. CJ Floyd is in Hawaii on his honeymoon. He is a friend of all the players in this fast moving tale of intrigue, but decides to stay on letting the professionals solve this case.

Damion, who is supposed to be preparing to attend medical school, gets himself embroiled in the search for the killer. Set in the Denver locale, all of the action takes place in and around the city. Secrets of Blackbird’s life unfold and Damion is disillusioned as he learns more about his buddy who grew up with him from grade school through college.

Robert Greer normally tells unusual yarns, all of which are very different in his C J Floyd adventuresome books. Once again, he succeeds by keeping you constantly on edge and wondering when he will introduce his main man! If you have not read any of his novels, this would be a great time to start. It is not necessary to gather the cast of characters to become a new fan of C J Floyd; you can jump right in with this book and go back and read others like The Devil’s Hatband, The Fourth Perspective (reviewed by Clark’s Eye on Books a few months ago), or several others which star C J Floyd. A very entertaining book for mystery fans and one they will thoroughly enjoy; highly recommended.

[Mike · Rating 2 out of 5]

Seemed like an interesting premise (to me) that combined a standard crime novel story with some insight into college athletics. Unfortunately, pretty much failed on both parts. This is somewhat part of a series surrounding a PI in the Denver area, although that main character is barely mentioned in this one. Unfortunately, this novel has turned me off of the writer enough that I won't read any of his other works, that do seem to be higher rated here on GoodReads.

The crime is the murder of a top NBA draft pick. The mystery surrounds his best friend working with some other characters to solve that murder, plus another shooting that happens a bit later. The college athletic tie-in went in way too many directions and included point shaving, steroid use and abuse and gays in athletics, but barely actually delved into any of them beyond using as plot devices for the mystery. Then the "mystery" part was the equivalent of a combined Scooby-Doo episode where old man Smith pulls off his mask and complains about "those young-uns were going to spoil all my ill-gotten gains" and Sling-Blade....just all in all a waste of a few hours of my life that I could have been using watching sports on TV. More like a 1.5001 with the slight round up.

[Becky · Rating 2 out of 5]

Damion Madrid chose a different path than that of his best friend, Shandell “Blackbird” Bird. The two were all-stars on their college basketball team and Shandell has been drafted for the NBA. Damion turned that life down in lieu of medical school. When Shandell is gunned down just days before his new career is to begin, though, Damion vows to unmask his killer at any cost. What Damion uncovers about his friend’s hidden life is something he never expected. Shandell is being accused of everything from point shaving and possible mob links to selling performance-enhancing drugs on the side. Damion enlists the help of a friend and ex-marine bailbonds-woman, Flora Jean Benson, in the investigation. Blackbird is a traditional whodunit wrapped up in the dirty side of professional sports. Although this is technically being considered the 7th title in Greer’s CJ Floyd series, Floyd is actually only a peripheral character. As such, Blackbird can be read as a stand-alone or as the latest in the series.

[Jackie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I haven't previously read the earlier books in the CJ Floyd series. In this new installment, CJ Floyd very briefly appears...most of the legwork is completed by his Godson Damion Madrid.

The story flows fairly well but there are some parts that could be cut and keep the story intact (note that I was reading an uncorrected gallery copy). Also, some of the comments made in the book about certain characters seemed gratuitous and didn't really add anything to the character development.

The ending of the story...the reveal of the murderer was satsifying but there were many other parts that felt unfinished. There were only a few sentences exploring Shandell's secrecy which seemed to be the core of the story. I would have liked to have seen this flushed out a bit more...maybe some flashbacks to Shandell.

A decent read for a rainy day.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

[Janice · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this book through LibraryThing and at first had some problems getting into it. I researched and found out this was the 7th C J Floyd book. However, CJ is hardly mentioned until about 3/4's through. There are a lot of characters that I wish were described a little more for the beginner reader in the series. This book does do a good job with Damion who is trying to solve the murder of his best friend. I liked him and was rooting for him.
This book was also more gritty than I care for and since CJ played such a minor part I don't know whether I will read another. I didn't get attached to him and the series is supposedly centered on him.

[Michele Shimp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Robert Greer's latest book, Blackbird, Farewell, is a good one. I have not read any of Mr. Greer's work before this one, but I will be checking out his other books. Blackbird, Farewell is listed as the 7th CJ Floyd mystery but centers more on Damion Madrid, who apparently has worked with CJ on other mysteries.[return][return]Here's the summary (from the author's website): [return]---------------------------------------------------------------------------------[return]BLACKBIRD, FAREWELL is Damion Madrid's story, and with this novel, he takes his rightful place as CJ's prot

[Lkelly6 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I especially enjoyed the true-to-life, as I know life, characters in the book. My favorite books to read have 1. some characters I like and admire; 2. a strong sense of place and the unique ambiance of that place (this book was Denver and Fort Collins); 3. a plot that interests and delights. Greer offered all of these qualities.

I just read the other reviews here, including a couple rather critical of writing style. This is not great and complex or world-changing literature ---- but entertaining all the way. I will read Greer's other books.

[Michael Bell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the fact that the novel was based in Colorado. I need to know more about this part of the country. A college athlete is murdered. There are many ideas about what cpuld have caused.his death. For me, it was sad that the character had to repress his sexuality. He was gay and the macho athlete image did not match with an attraction to a man. It was a great read.

[Jamie Eberle]

Great Book! This book was an excellent page turner. The character development was outstanding, and the story was a truly intriguing! Can't wait to read the other books in the series. I recommend this book.

[Kristin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not one I'd re-read but not too bad.

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting who-done-it mystery that keeps you guessing.

[Anne Almquist · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too convoluted ending. Unlike this author's usual good work.

[Caterina Fava · Rating 2 out of 5]

Shallow plot, not extremely well written, but good for rainy afternoon!

[Mike Gowan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good thriller, set in Denver and environs.

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

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