Leavin' Trunk Blues by Ace Atkins (Robinson, £6.99)

HIGHLY derivative, but none the poorer for it, this is Atkins' second expedition down Highway 51 into the heart of the Delta.

We're presented on a plate already groaning with a literary fried catfish and grits with blues historian and sleuth Nick Travers' latest escapade in music and murder.

And this time, there's even more mayhem since the last spot of bother he encountered in Crossroads Blues.

So, no one will be surprised to learn that he is soon up to his neck in a swamp oozing with so much bad luck and trouble that even B B King would be lost for licks.

Prison cell

Ruby Walker, a woman who is in every way the South Side, is languishing in a prison cell where she has been for the last 40-odd years after being convicted of murdering her lover and producer, Billy Lyons, back in 1959.

As you see, Atkins steals blues monickers at will, draining the bottle marked 100 per cent proof cliche until it runs dry. However, we must forgive him, all the same, even when Stagger Lee is followed by Fast Lovin' Fannie and Butcher Knife Totin' Annie. Now what would Willie Dixon have to say about all that, hmmm?

It matters not. This yarn moves with the speed of a Mustang motorvatin' southbound and will certainly delight lovers of blues lore and lingo. For Atkins has skilfully spawned a genre here and while he may be no Steinbeck, his slickness with the pen indicates that he's going to make even more of a name for himself before long.

John Phillpott