The Supremes Sing the Happy Heartache Blues

Following on from 'The Supremes at Earl's All-You-Can-Eat,' best friends Odette, Clarice and Barbara Jean continue about their small-town lives as old blues singer, El Walker comes to town.

The three main characters are vividly drawn and you immediately feel a sense of being in amongst the community in Plainview, Indiana. If you enjoyed Edward Kelsey Moore's debut novel, then you are sure to like this one too.

I read and thoroughly enjoyed the first Supremes book and this second outing for the group of friends continues the excellent story telling intertwined with superb characterisation. One to be recommended.

This is an absolute joy of a book to read, set in the close knit community of Plainview, Indiana, where everyone knows everyone and there is plenty of gossip. A trio of black grandmothers in their sixties, who have known each other long time, are the Supremes. They have seen each other through the ups and downs that life has thrown at them, always there for each other when needed. It begins with the wedding of the unlikely couple of Miss Beatrice, the hell, fire and damnation mother of Clarice, to Forrest, the owner of the Slippers Nightclub, once seen as a racy establishment. Playing the Happy Heartache Blues at the wedding is bluesman El Walker, a man whose return to Plainview lays him low after a traumatic history that resulted in leaving his beloved son and wife, Ruthie, behind.

The Supremes are facing difficult and stressful times as they sing the Happy Heartache Blues. Clarice is living on her own after a series of infidelities by Richmond, her husband, although they are still seeing other regularly. She has at long last achieved some success in her lifelong dream to be a singer, but is falling apart over her upcoming concert in the Park in Chicago. Richmond is serving as her physical stressbuster but this is not without its complications. Odette is happily married to a state trooper, James, was born up a Sycamore tree, attracts every cat in the area, and can see the ghosts of dead people, most particularly her mother who is often in the company of Eleanor Roosevelt. She has had to face serious health issues, supported the troubled young Terry Robinson when his family threw him out and tries to support James when he falls apart. Barbara Jean's life has gone well in terms of money but she is plagued by the horrors of her childhood with her promiscuous mother, Loretta. She finds that the company of El helps her come to terms with this background as she comes to understand her mother better.

This is a novel that has so much warmth and humour in it. The Supremes have faced the slings and arrows that life throws, but their friendship is the bedrock which allows them to survive them. El Walker, a talented blues guitarist, hits rock bottom but finds himself succumbing to the support offered by Barbara Jean. The real strengths of this novel are the characters, from Veronica, with her extravagant line in fashion and faith in Miss Minnie's fortunetelling to the absolutely gorgeous, fabulous, and stunning Audrey Crawford. A lovely book that made me laugh out loud and which I highly recommend. Thanks to Hodder and Stoughton for an ARC.