In August 1938 outside a Greenwood, Mississippi jukejoint, the most celebrated figure in blues history, Robert Johnson, was murdered. Some say he was poisoned by a jealous woman shortly after selling his soul to the devil at the crossroads. Sixty years later, a college professor, following rumors of nine unknown Johnson recordings, goes missing in the Delta. Nick Travers, a blues historian at Tulane, is sent to find him. Clues point to everyone from a eccentric albino named Cracker to a 17-year-old hitman who believes he is the second coming of Elvis Presley. From the neon-slicked streets of New Orleans to the pine wood floors of modern Mississippi, join Travers as he unravels the greatest mystery in all blues lore.
"Whizzes by like favorite song heard on the radio late at night" - The Chicago Tribune
"When Atkins' characters open up you can really hear the music" - The New York Times
"Atkins' characters are substantial as a breakfast of biscuits and ham with red eye gravy" - Entertainment Weekly
"Every book about Robert Johnson should contain a dream as fine as this" - Interview Magazine
"Crossroad Blues is like a classic song. The right note, the feeling, at the right time" - B.B. King
"Crossroad Blues sings" - Robert B. Parker
