‘1 Guitar, 4 Cases’
Four Short Sets with Jason Davey: A Jason Davey Mystery Collection
by Winona Kent
New Westminster: Blue Devil Books, 2026
$14.99 / 9781739046163
Reviewed by Valerie Green
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If you are looking for a light summer read, pick up a copy of New Westminster-based Winona Kent’s latest book Four Short Sets with Jason Davey: A Jason Davey Mystery Collection. You won’t be disappointed.
The four short stories (referred to as musical sets) show Kent’s popular character Jason Davey at various stages in his career as both a musician and a private investigator.
Initially Jason only wanted to be a musician looking for gigs to support himself, but mysteries always seem to follow him; mysteries he feels he needs to investigate and solve. He never intended to become a sleuth, states Kent. He simply enjoys playing his guitar at gigs or occasionally going to sea as a cruise entertainer. Music was in his blood.
Kent inserts little background history here. Davey is the son of famous musician parents whose name was Figgis. Their group, Figgis Green, was very popular in the late 1960s, but Jason decided to change his name to Davey and find his own way as a musician. After his wife Emma died, he became a single parent to his son, Dom. He loved him dearly and decided that a musician’s life was not conducive to raising a son. To her credit his mother, Mandy, has helped him in that role.
The first of Kent’s sets, at sea, is titled “Salty Dog Blues,” and takes place in 2012 on the cruise ship the Star Sapphire travelling to Alaska. It is described by the author as containing “a pampered pooch, a colour allergic diva, and a cruise ship entertainer who didn’t sign up to solve crimes.” Kent has written other books with Jason Davey as her protagonist, such as Bad Boy, but chronologically, this short story (initially published like the other three in different places) is Jason’s first departure from musician to investigator. It is a spirited story full of humour and colourful characters.
For instance, on board the cruise ship on that opening set is an overly dramatic passenger, Abigail Ferryman, who insists on bringing her small, pampered dog, Lord Fothergill, on board with her as her service dog. She says he is with her for emotional support, so she carries him around with her everywhere. Unfortunately, he is an aggressive animal with his own agenda. Every time he is put down on the floor, he refuses to relieve himself where all the other service dogs do their business. Instead, he will raise his leg on anything nearby including table legs and other passengers’ legs. Even on one occasion on Jason’s amplifier which causes a short.
When Lord Fothergill goes missing, Abigail Ferryman insists that her dog appears to like Jason, so she wants him to find who took him. Thus begins a process of suspect eliminations set in motion by Jason. Kent’s easy conversational prose is amusing to read as she describes vignettes such as Abigail’s strange ‘allergy’ to the colour blue, which means her whole blue cabin has to be stripped down. There are also intriguing side stories of the other characters involved in the mystery until the annoying little dog is returned to his owner.
The second set (with Soho After Dark as a theme) is titled “Blue Devil Blues” and begins in a Soho nightclub in London where Jason goes for an audition—where things turn out to be a little different for him. He soon finds himself embroiled in a murder investigation. Kent describes this story as “a mystery laced with ambition, family secrets, and vintage rock ‘n roll.” The worse part for Jason is the fact that his late father’s prized Fender Strat goes missing. This mystery also includes tales of London’s Underground and one abandoned station, Romilly Square, as well as a wannabe girl singer obsessed with trains, and Soho’s legendary past of popular groups in the 1960s like the Beatles. The plot is fascinating..
Next, to the frozen north, and “Disturbing the Peace,” which is perhaps my personal favourite of the four.
Jason’s son, Dom, is now a film student, and when he calls his father to help track down a missing musician (Ben Quigley) who was once part of Figgis Green. Jason wants to help. He does, however, finally have a regular gig at a Jazz Club in London, but hearing the name Ben Quigley again after so many years, causes him to reminisce about when Quigley spent time with him when he was a child. Even though Quigley was once an alcoholic with a murky past, he had tried to become sober and was basically a good man. Apparently, Quigley had disappeared about five years before and no one knows what happened to him or where he is. Dom wants to write about him and would like his father’s skills as an investigator to find him.
Jason’s journey to find Quigley ultimately takes him to Peace River, Alberta, three hundred miles from Edmonton, where temperatures are many degrees below zero. The plot becomes intense with many twists and turns. What Jason finally discovers is both alarming and distressing and involves jealousy and the obsession of a tormented fan.
The fourth and final set—with Online and Out of Control for a theme—is titled “On the Internet, Nobody Knows You’re a Dog.” The most current of the four, it shows Jason as a professional investigator. This is a somewhat depressing story of an online scammer taking advantage of an obsessed fan and a West End Musical that has failed miserably. Jason tries to help the daughter of a friend come to terms with her obsession and to beware of scammers, especially those posing as someone else. Seriousness aside, Kent has chosen an exciting finale for her musical sets of Davey tales.
The author’s vast knowledge of music and mystery shines through in every story that she includes here and that’s a tribute to her meticulous research.
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Valerie Green was born and educated in England, where she studied journalism and law. Her passion was always for writing from the moment she first held a pen. After working at the world-famous Foyles Books in London (followed by a stint with MI5 and legal firms), she moved to Canada and embarked on a long career as a freelance writer, columnist, and author of over twenty nonfiction historical and true-crime books. Valerie’s latest book From Primitive Shack to Premier’s Wife was reviewed by Vanessa Winn. [Editor’s note: Valerie reviewed recent books by Carole Gerson, Jane Bow, Betty Baxter, William Wodhams, The Pen Pals Writers’ Collective, Evelyn Kahn with Hodie Kahn, and John D’Eathe for BCR.]
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The British Columbia Review
Interim Editors: Trevor Marc Hughes (nonfiction), Brett Josef Grubisic (fiction and poetry)
Publisher: Richard Mackie
Formerly The Ormsby Review, The British Columbia Review is an online book review and journal service for BC writers and readers. The Advisory Board now consists of Jean Barman, Wade Davis, Robin Fisher, Barry Gough, Hugh Johnston, Kathy Mezei, Patricia Roy, and Graeme Wynn. Provincial Government Patron (since September 2018): Creative BC. Honorary Patron: Yosef Wosk. Scholarly Patron: SFU Graduate Liberal Studies. The British Columbia Review was founded in 2016 by Richard Mackie and Alan Twigg.
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