Painted Black by Greg Kihn

This book was a veritable time machine. Greg Kihn brought me back to the 60's and the last days of Rolling Stones founder Brian Jones. The atmosphere of London, Baltimore, Monterrey, and Morrocco felt genuine. Kihn adds in so many real-life cameos - Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon, Janis Joplin, The Who, etc. - that I felt like a rock and roll groupie, hanging out with the best rock acts of the 60's.

Beyond the incredible, realistic atmosphere, the story was well-written, too. Dust Bin Bob, while fictional, feels real, as if Kihn was simply writing a non-fiction account of Brian Jones' downfall. I credit that to good writing. Dust Bin Bob isn't campy or over-the-top; he seems like he simply fits into the tapestry that is the late 1960's.

My only real "problem" with Dust Bin Bob is that there is not enough of him in the book. While he is present for a good amount of the book, there are many scenes told from other characters' points of view. I would have liked Bob to be the lens through which the reader views the story. He needs to be more of a main character, not just a supporting actor.

Knowing that this is a fictional account, I do have a few problems with the content of the story, mostly with the mystical and supernatural aspects of the story. I didn't like the use of a ghost or the whole scene with the enchanted mirror. That is not to say that these parts were poorly written, because they were well-written, but I'm just not a fan of ghosts or things like that. I think the inclusion of this material was a little hokey. However, that's my peccadillo, not everyone's problem. For those readers who enjoy that sort of paranormal content, these aspects may add to the story.

I did like the conspiracy plot that underscores the story, particularly the way that the author blends Brian Jones' paranoia with an actual plot to get rid of him. Don't they say that it's not paranoia if they really are out to get you? Kihn plays on that theme nicely here.

In the 80's, Greg Kihn sang a song about not songwriters not writing them like that any more. Here, Kihn does write like that still. His novel brings you back to the late 60's in a wonderful way, filling the story with the people and places that made the 60's a monumental period in pop culture. I enjoyed the novel immensely and wonder when I'm going to see Dust Bin Bob again and which rock legend he's going to try to save.