When the lifeless body of one of his former students tumbles out of a coffin in the middle of a funeral, Hashea Paris knows one thing for sure?something is terribly wrong. A jazz musician by trade and the charismatic leader of The Excelsior Band, Hashea has no business playing detective. And yet, with questions swirling and the whispers of murder in the air, he can't help but be drawn into the mystery.

This shouldn't work. A jazzman solving a crime? Ridiculous. But with the unwavering support of his bandmates, a few well-placed allies, and a sharp intuition that's as finely tuned as his music, Hashea dives headfirst into the chaos. What he finds is a tangled web of secrets, roadblocks, and unexpected betrayals, all leading back to one chilling question?who killed Bernard Williams?

The search for answers won't be easy. It will be messy. Dangerous, even. But some mysteries refuse to stay buried, and Hashea is about to learn that sometimes, solving a murder is just like playing jazz?improvisation is everything.