The year is 1940 and, as musician Katy Green notes, the Depression isn�t over everywhere. She should know: checking with union halls in California has netted her only a few jobs in the past weeks, her rent is due back home in New York, and she�s had to chew gum for lunch. When she runs into an old flame and is offered the chance to play in the Ultra Belles, an �all-girl� swing band, she figures things are looking up.

That is, until the first musician dies�

TOO DEAD TO SWING is a catchy title, but not entirely appropriate for this novel, because the action moves as briskly as the music. I�m not familiar enough with the era to judge whether Glatzer gets the details of Pullman travel and swing music right, but I completely bought into the world he�s created. I�d advise readers to dog-ear the page listing the cast of characters, because there are a lot of them: musicians, hangers-on, new acquaintances, and police. It takes a while to keep all the musicians straight, partly because they all speak a similar hep lingo, but it�s worth the effort. The Ultra Belles aren�t kids, and they aren�t na�ve, but there�s a hopefulness and a straightforwardness about them, even at their nastiest (and they can be very nasty) that�s endearing.

Katy is a cool-headed, resourceful, and unsentimental heroine. As the newcomer to the band, she finds herself encouraged to take sides in intramural politics. She�s also the target of a certain amount of suspicion � after all, nobody got murdered until she showed up! (Or so they say�) Katy finds herself suspecting the Belles in turn. As well she might: one of her band mates sees private detectives around every corner. Another is a �dipsomaniac.� A third is a �drug fiend.� There�s an outspoken Communist (�It�s not illegal!�) as well as a couple of steadfast conservatives (referred to by the Communist as �reactionary American-firsters�). The bass player is a little woman who picks fights with big people. And that�s to say nothing of the weird characters who show up at every gig � especially amusing is the band�s �biggest fan,� whose exaggerated use of hep jargon renders her speeches almost unintelligible.

The means of murder isn�t immediately obvious, and it takes some ingenuity and some luck for Katy to figure it out. I consider the method to be one of the simplest and most original I�ve read in some time. The solution is internally consistent and fair, and an alert reader may figure it out. But I bet they�ll still read this one all the way to the end.

TOO DEAD TO SWING is also available as a radio play. You might want to seek it out so you can hear the Belles swing. Or just haul out those old Glenn Miller records and enjoy them while you read. Either way, this is a keeper.