As an old folk-music aficionado, I was disappointed when [a:Deborah Grabien|50898|Deborah Grabien|http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto/nophoto-U-50x66.jpg]'s Haunted Ballad series ended in favor of a series based on rock'n'roll. I needn't have been, since I like this series just as much. There are no ghosts in the JP Kinkaid series, but the characterization of Kinkaid, an aging but still active rock star, and Bree Godwin, the professional caterer who is his "old lady," recapitulates the protagonists of the Haunted Ballad books -- two people who love their work and each other. Ringan and Penny in the Haunted Ballad series seemed to have a charmed life in spite of their run-ins with ghosts, while JP and Bree have a complicated history as well as present-day troubles to deal with, particularly JP's multiple sclerosis. Grabien writes with knowledge and sensitivity about the effects of MS (she herself was diagnosed in 2002).
At least one other reviewer has complained about the plot in [b:While My Guitar Gently Weeps|6390230|While My Guitar Gently Weeps A JP Kinkaid Mystery|Deborah Grabien|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/417yVw7K-RL._SL75_.jpg|6578632]. I'd have to agree that if you're looking for a classic puzzle that "plays fair" with the reader, dropping clues every few pages, you won't get one here. The solution is not a deus ex machina, but rather a sort of subtle poetic justice. The mystery itself is almost an excuse to let us into the world that Grabien has created -- a world that's a pleasure to visit even in the midst of a murder investigation. I hope this series can continue for a long time.
( )

The second mystery featuring rocker J P Kincaid is another solid novel. More about the music and Kincaid's private life than about the mystery. ( )