Robert Greer’s seventh CJ Floyd mystery takes place in the heart of Colorado, where new shining star of college basketball Shandell "Blackbird" Bird is found shot to death on a basketball court. His close friend and college roommate Damion Madrid feels that the local police aren’t going to look as deeply into the murder as they should, and so he decides to investigate the murder himself.

Blackbird’s Godfather, Denver based bail bondsman CJ Floyd, is in Hawaii on his honeymoon. To help out the investigation, he not only sends his former Marine intelligence operative partner to lend a hand, but also lends helpful guidance and suggestions over the phone. As Damion and an assortment of shady and sometimes dangerous acquaintances dig deeper into the murder, they begin to unravel a conspiracy of corruption and lies that extend farther beyond the basketball court than anyone had imagined.

Greer’s novel is a captivating, quick-paced mystery with personal conflict, local history, and underworld manipulations weaved throughout. While the story is worth reading, there are a few hurdles that keep it from being a completely smooth ride.

There are plenty of colorful and interesting characters populating the late Blackbird’s world, and this is always a plus for mystery novels. However, the drawback in this case is that they tend to overwhelm the reader by sheer number. Similar sounding names and overlapping character quirks and backgrounds can sometimes make it difficult to tell them apart, and only add to the confusion.

Another minor flaw with the narrative is the author’s unskillful way of explaining back story. Past events, character backgrounds, and expositional material are often thrust into descriptive passages and supposedly casual dialogue in big meaty fistfuls, making them tough to chew and hard to digest. Greer has a very complex and multi-layered story to tell, and there is so much needed background that he can sometimes seem desperate to unload it all.

These flaws, while unavoidable, are minor nonetheless, and are easily overlooked as Damion’s investigation draws you further into a world that neither he nor the reader ever though existed. This latest entry in the CJ Floyd series may not be the best, but it is far from the worst, and definitely worth a look. ( )

Didn't finish. Didn't care. Got around 80 pages in and just couldn't go further. CJ Floyd, who I really liked in The Fourth Perspective, still hasn't appeared and I've read way too much about basketball. Reading other reviews, it appears that Floyd is a minor character in this one, which disappoints me. Sports mysteries aren't my favorite, but I'm fine if there's more mystery than sport - not this one. Might recommend it to someone who liked basketball, but my main reason for requesting it was to read more CJ Floyd. ( )

Great Book! This book was an excellent page turner. The character development was outstanding, and the story was a truly intriguing! Can't wait to read the other books in the series. I recommend this book.

Blackbird, Farewell is the seventh and latest in the series of CJ Floyd novels. CJ is only a minor character in this story, however. Shandell “BlackBird” Bird is a talented basketball player who's recently been drafted into the NBA. When he is found murdered, his best friend Damion vows to track down his killer, even though it means digging deep into Shandell's private life. It is painful for Damion to discover that his best friend was not who he pretended to be.
This book was an easy read that has the potential to be a movie. It has a bit of everything – action, suspense, violence, romance, and a screenplay-like epilogue. This is my first CJ Floyd novel, so I was at a disadvantage because I did not know the regular characters, but I was still able to follow the plot. Normally I prefer cozy mysteries, and this is not a cozy. There is some profanity and violence, and a sex scene which were a little graphic for my tastes, but it would be mild to most readers. I was easily able to skim over any parts that bothered me and continue with the plot. So this book would appeal to a wide audience. I would recommend this book to modern day mystery fans – and also basketball fans. Greer does a good job of portraying the dark side of professional sports while weaving his mystery. ( )

"Blackbird Farewell" is part of a series of novels that involve a bounty hunter by the name of CJ Floyd. All of these novels
take place amidst the African-American community of
Denver, Colorado. In this particular novel, CJ is absent for most of the novel as he is off on his honeymoon.
The novel concerns a soon to be major league basketball player by the name of Shandell "Blackbird" Bird. Having received his first contract with an NBA team
and a major sponsorship, Blackbird is set to live a very
charmed life, having been raised by a single mother
in dire poverty. Early on in the novel Blackbird is murdered while meeting with an investigative reporter. The rest of
the novel concerns the actions of his best friend, also a star basketball player by the name of Damion Madrid
who attempts to solve the mystery of who murdered his best friend. Damion grew up in the same environment as Blackbird but instead of pursuing a career as a professional basketball player he has decided to attend medical school in the coming month.
There are numerous suspects as to who performed the murder in this book (and a third murder is added as the
story unfolds).Most of the suspects are mob types with
names that became so similar to me that I was confused as the reader to try and figure out who was who.Through
the course of the story, there is the growing suspicion that
Blackbird wasn't as virtuous a player as his family and
fans thought he was. Much of the novel takes place where
people discuss the possiblity of Blackbird 'fixing' his last
games. For me there was far too much discussion of this arising. I also found the novel too long.
To whom do I think this novel would appeal? It was interesting to read a mystery that had characters from the
African-American community because this is something I haven't encountered before. Also if you are a sports fan,
and more specifically a fan of professional and college
basketball, this novel will probably have a great appeal.
Overall I found the book to be too long. Perhaps a shorter
visit with these characters would have made it a more
enjoyable stay for me. There are as of the publication of this novel, six in the series. I don't plan to spend anymore time with this series as it had little appeal to me. ( )