title: Blue: A Novel
author:  Denise Ohio 
description: As this masterful new novel by Ohio ( End of the Empire ) opens, Ricki Jones is at the site of the plane crash that killed her twin sister, Israellen. The book then retreats into an intricate series of flashbacks that reveal the complicated relationships of the main characters from 1945 to the 1980s. Isra,a ballet dancer, is living out their mother Liberty's aspirations--she had dreamed of dancing at Carnegie Hall. Ricki is a successful blues guitarist. Among the rich cast of characters are Siobhan, an African American woman who explains that her unusual name is "black Irish" and a cat named Tina Turner. Music and racism are the threads that bind these black women together, providing a double meaning to the book's title. Song lyrics by Bessie Smith, Little Richard and others comment on the emotions and actions of the characters. Hope for a better life forms the backdrop for this human drama, but the dream is in the end deferred once more as racism is found more persistent than hope. The story of these strong and determined women becomes a meditation on loss--loss of life and love, of innocence, of a dream. Only as these characters cling to one another can they overcome the Blues. <br />Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
zlib_text: 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  BLUE’S
  
  
  CODE...
  
  
  AND THE DEEP STATE
  
  
  JAMES E. ABEL
  
  
  ![](../images/00010.jpeg)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  This book is a work of fiction. All of the names, characters, events and
  incidents in this book are a product of the author’s imagination. Any
  resemblance to actual persons or actual events is purely coincidental and not
  intended. While certain long-standing institutions, agencies, public buildings
  and geographical locations are mentioned; the characters and events
  surrounding them are wholly imaginary.
  
  
  © 2020 by James E. Abel
  
  
  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or
  transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including
  photocopying, recording, or any other information storage and retrieval
  system, without the written permission of the publisher.
  
  
  Printed in the United States of America
  
  
  Published in Hellertown, PA
  
  
  Cover design by Joanna Williams  
  Cover photos © Shutterstock
  
  
  Library of Congress Control Number: 2020924