Standing nearly seven feet tall, Bill Walton was one of the tallest Deadheads ever to dance at a show. In James Kirkland’s Friend of the Devil, he may also be the tallest detective in crime fiction. The premise is gloriously absurd: Bill Walton as a detective in a mystery threading the basketball acumen of the high pick and roll, bathtub kombucha and the chaotic comedy of the Grateful Dead. The gimmick turns the knobs up to eleven, sets the controls for the heart of the sun

Lindsay Rice’s debut novel Birdenwheel is a braided narrative of characters trying to outrun their inner demons. Set in the Vince-era Grateful Dead scene of the 1990s, its universe rings true, especially for readers who traveled “on tour.” But, Rice is after more than capturing the familiar icons of lot life. Her characters navigate complex family dynamics, broken promises, grief and regret, the slow erosion of failed relationships and the weight of consequences that do not e