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suze_1624's review
4.0
Another visit to Chanse, Paige, Venus and Blaine - and another storm heading for NO. Probably 3.75*
In some ways I found this one a bit bitty but did like the convoluted case Chanse got lumbered with and all it’s nuances and the back history that he had to find. Though the sort of people Cordelia is who feel they are able to manipulate the law and others so they or their family don’t look bad are so frustrating to me. It was always going to some left field who did it and it didn’t disappoint.
The Vinnie angle kinda didn’t do it for me.
Did think I’d missed something in a previous book about Chanse’s mum but we did find out in a ‘Chanse thinks back on his past’ moment which explains some of his background.
Also did think I’d missed a reference to someone tied up but don’t think I did so the cover was a bit confusing.
However, the sense of place remains, my knowledge of NO increases as I spend much time on online maps looking at lakes and channels!
In some ways I found this one a bit bitty but did like the convoluted case Chanse got lumbered with and all it’s nuances and the back history that he had to find. Though the sort of people Cordelia is who feel they are able to manipulate the law and others so they or their family don’t look bad are so frustrating to me. It was always going to some left field who did it and it didn’t disappoint.
The Vinnie angle kinda didn’t do it for me.
Did think I’d missed something in a previous book about Chanse’s mum but we did find out in a ‘Chanse thinks back on his past’ moment which explains some of his background.
Also did think I’d missed a reference to someone tied up but don’t think I did so the cover was a bit confusing.
However, the sense of place remains, my knowledge of NO increases as I spend much time on online maps looking at lakes and channels!
apostrophen's review against another edition
4.0
I fear I'm going to repeat myself quite a bit, if you've read any of my previous reviews of the Chanse MacLeod mysteries, but with that warning in mind I'll first say MURDER IN THE GARDEN DISTRICT was a fantastic, confounding mystery with real bite. If you've not read any of the previous books, you owe it to yourself to start at the beginning.
Now for the parts where I'm repeating myself.
First, if there's one single thing that drives me crazy in the mystery world, it's the lack of lasting effect. In many a mystery novel, the protagonist can be stabbed, stumble over six bodies, lose two lovers and get shot, but in the next book he's up and at 'em, with no lasting effects and a smile on his face. Greg Herren avoids this completely. Chanse MacLeod has history and scars; losses echo and reverberate with a realistic impact throughout the story. Nor is Chanse paralyzed or completely hobbled - he has a realism that I want to highlight, because it's so easy to miss, and so difficult to write. Simiarly, the other characters also grow. No one is a cardboard cut-out, and I catch myself wanting more information about Chanse's friends, as well.
Second, New Orleans is a living, breathing character in the series. Her face - pre and post Katrina - is deftly drawn, and you feel the heat right with the characters, all of whom deliver a realistic performance, right down to the patois.
Third, I never catch the bad guy before Chanse. I'll figure parts out, have suspicions turn out to be slightly correct, but I'm always left with a satisfied reading experience. Mystery to me is all about trying to figure it out along side the protagonist, and I love it when I realize the clues were all there, and I misinterpreted. I never feel swindled - nothing is the last minute absolute necessary piece of information, without which you didn't have a hope of figuring out the whodunnit.
In this particular book, Herren delves into the political machinations of the powerful in New Orleans, and a murder that lands Chanse a case where the money is too good and the motivation too sketchy. Untangling the web of the powerful is difficult, and to add to the drama, the recovering New Orleans is seeing another storm forming and bearing down upon her.
The tension is strong, the characters great, and the mystery superb. Go. Buy. Read.
Now for the parts where I'm repeating myself.
First, if there's one single thing that drives me crazy in the mystery world, it's the lack of lasting effect. In many a mystery novel, the protagonist can be stabbed, stumble over six bodies, lose two lovers and get shot, but in the next book he's up and at 'em, with no lasting effects and a smile on his face. Greg Herren avoids this completely. Chanse MacLeod has history and scars; losses echo and reverberate with a realistic impact throughout the story. Nor is Chanse paralyzed or completely hobbled - he has a realism that I want to highlight, because it's so easy to miss, and so difficult to write. Simiarly, the other characters also grow. No one is a cardboard cut-out, and I catch myself wanting more information about Chanse's friends, as well.
Second, New Orleans is a living, breathing character in the series. Her face - pre and post Katrina - is deftly drawn, and you feel the heat right with the characters, all of whom deliver a realistic performance, right down to the patois.
Third, I never catch the bad guy before Chanse. I'll figure parts out, have suspicions turn out to be slightly correct, but I'm always left with a satisfied reading experience. Mystery to me is all about trying to figure it out along side the protagonist, and I love it when I realize the clues were all there, and I misinterpreted. I never feel swindled - nothing is the last minute absolute necessary piece of information, without which you didn't have a hope of figuring out the whodunnit.
In this particular book, Herren delves into the political machinations of the powerful in New Orleans, and a murder that lands Chanse a case where the money is too good and the motivation too sketchy. Untangling the web of the powerful is difficult, and to add to the drama, the recovering New Orleans is seeing another storm forming and bearing down upon her.
The tension is strong, the characters great, and the mystery superb. Go. Buy. Read.
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