As the story begins, Shandell Bird is signed to a $3.2 million dollar contract with the Denver Nuggets as the second overall pick in the NBA draft. His best friend forever, Damion Madrid, played with Bird on a CSU team which just lost to UCLA in the championship game of the Final Four. Was there point shaving involved?

Damion could also have gone pro, but has chosen to start medical school amid much criticism from many of his acquaintances. Damion is also the godson of CJ Floyd (the bailbondsman hero of six prior Greer novels) and the son of Julie Madrid, now a prominent Denver attorney who had worked for CJ while attending law school.  

"BlackBird" and "Blood" (Damion) were inseparable until Shandell meets with Pulitzer Prize winning investigative reporter Paul Grimes and both are murdered. With CJ Floyd out of town on his honeymoon, Damion turns to CJ's partner, Flora Jean Benson, a former marine intelligence officer to help him solve the case despite warnings from the police to stay away.

There are many possibilities in this character-laden procedural. Is it Connie Eastland, the 21 year old white cheerleader who was dating the African-American Bird? Is it Wordell Epps who was Grimes' partner at the Rocky Mountain News? Is it Jackie Woodson, another teammate of Bird and Blood who discloses that Bird was selling performance enhancing drugs. Rodney Sands the CSU trainer, Alicia Phillips the CSU sports psychologist, Leotis Hawkins a Denver drug dealer, and even the CSU basketball coach are possibilities. Blackbird, Farewell gives readers many potential villains.  

Rich in character development, you need not have read the prior episodes as CJ Floyd is only briefly mentioned and Flora Jean plays a minor role. Blackbird Farewell also provides vivid descriptions of the Denver area and snippets of local Denver history of interest to those who live there and those who may now want to visit the city that was recently named the most desired city to live in America. If you enjoy basketball or mysteries, you will like this book. If you enjoy them both and live in Colorado, you will love it.        

--Jerry Solot