Larry Karp

The Ragtime Traveler is a continuation of the Ragtime Trilogy from Larry Karp. This book brings the trilogy to the current times and is a collaboration of Larry and his son Casey.

It’s been some sixty years since readers have met Alan Chandler and today Chandler is suffering from cancer and is focused on passing his love of Ragtime music onto his grandson Tom.

One day a package arrives for Chandler from an old time friend Mickey Potash. In the package is four sheets of music that appear to be an unpublished song by Scott Joplin also included is a note that says: call me. When Chandler calls Potash reveals that he has a gym bag that is nearly full of music apparently written by Scott Joplin and some never before published. The next day Chandler and Tom are on their way to Sedalia, MO to look at this potentially valuable and historic music. Upon arriving they visit with Potash and look[ng over the contents of the gym bag Chandler is fairly certain that there are a number of unpublished songs. Potash explains that he got the gym bag from an antique dealer who claims to have gotten it at a yard sale.

Chandler and Ton take some of the music back to their hotel to study. The next morning when Tom gets up, Chandler is nowhere to be found. He guesses that he has gone back to Potash’s house. Tom heads over to Potash’s house, but instead of finding his grandfather and Potash, he finds the brutally murdered body of Potash. Tom decides to look around and finds that the room where the music had been hidden no longer contained the gym bag. When Tom returns to the hotel he finds that Chandler has returned and has an amazing tale to tell. The previous evening, after Ton has gone to sleep, Chandler had concentrated on an invitation that belonged to Joplin and soon found himself transported back to Maple Leaf Club and was able to talk with Joplin.

Chandler and Tom know that they have to track down the murderer and recovery the missing music. Tom sets out to find Jackson, who used to stop by Potash’s house to check on him. On the way to Jackson’s home, he comes across Saramae Blackwell who helps him find Jackson. Their investigation leads around Sedalia and off to Kansas City where some of the family members have been arguing what to do with the music.

A very enjoyable book with an interesting cast of characters. Whether one believes or not in time travel, it was a very important and interesting part of this exciting book.… (mere)