Deuce's Wild: The Shango Mysteries

John Shannon's son J. J. is a huge fan of hip-hop artist Yousef al-Salaam, formerly Deuce F., who recently converted to Sufism, a mystical order of Islam. The popular musician also happens to be on a terrorist watch list. When al-Salaam is shot outside a Manhattan nightclub, Shannon agrees to investigate the murder as a favor to J. J. Was al-Salaam entangled in a feud with East Coast gangsta rapper T-Mo? Or was he caught on the wrong side of Islam extremism?

The NYPD has given up on the case and, after a close call with T-Mo's thugs, so has Shannon. But something-curiosity, ego, anger?-drives him to penetrate the murky mystery surrounding al-Salaam, whose search for enlightenment reminds Shannon of his own quest for personal growth.

Kirkus Reviews

A straight-arrow African-American cop is caught in the middle when the worlds of gangsta rap and Islamic fundamentalism collide. As he gears up for his second adventure (after The Long Mile, not reviewed), John Shannon finds himself a stranger to both Islam and rap. His music, for instance, is jazz. His religion defies easy labeling, but it definitely isn't Muslim-derived. There's no way he should be running his present investigation, and he knows it, but a loving dad has no choice once he's made a commitment to JJ, his 14-year-old son. Heartbroken by the murder of Yousef al-Salaam, the charismatic, enormously popular rapper, JJ has begged his father to catch the killer. It's a mission impossible for Shannon to refuse, who earns the ultimate filial accolade by accepting it: "You're cool, dad." A quicksand of complications swiftly opens beneath Shannon's feet. To begin with, he's moved from the NYPD to the city's Office of Municipal Security, which doesn't do murder, as his boss is quick to point out. Moreover, Shannon is dazzled by the inexhaustible list of usual suspects, a rich and varied population of rival performers and Islamic extremists, all hell-bent on springing the rapper trap and on keeping their sinister reasons secret. Earnest and well-intentioned, but Shannon, a thoroughly nice guy, lacks the page-turning edginess of Easy Rawlins.

Clyde W. Ford is a media-savvy author and in-demand public speaker. A native of New York City, he graduated from Wesleyan University in Connecticut, then Western States Chiropractic College. He is the author of four books: Where Healing Waters Meet: Touching Mind and Emotion Through the Body (1989, Station Hill Press); Compassionate Touch: The Body's Role in Healing and Recovery (1991, Simon & Schuster; reprinted 1999, NorthAtlantic Press); We CAN All Get Along: 50 Steps You Can Take to Help End Racism (1993, Dell); The Hero With an African Face: Mythic Wisdom of Traditional Africa (1999, Bantam). For his groundbreaking work in mythology, Jonathan Young, Founding Curator of the Joseph Campbell Library described Clyde as "picking up where Joseph Campbell left off."

As a featured guest, Clyde has appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show to discuss his writing and his work in human rights; on New Dimensions, the National Public Radio program hosted by Michael Toms; and on more than 150 radio and television programs across the nation. His numerous articles and interviews have appeared in professional journals, newspapers, magazines, and on the Internet.

Clyde has taught a wide variety of subjects at institutions around the country and in Europe including Swahili at Columbia University, Mathematics at the State University of New York, African American History at Western Washington University, and Somatic Psychology at the Instit|t f|r Angewandte Kinesiologie in Frieburg, Germany.

Clyde has traveled widely throughout sub-Saharan Africa. He currently lives in Bellingham, Washington where he maintains a private practice as a chiropractor and psychotherapist specializing in somatic psychology and the therapeutic use of myth. He enjoys his time aboard Mystic Voyager, his 30-foot trawler, writing, and cruising the waters of the Pacific Northwest and the Inside Passage.