Reviewed by Donna

TITLE: Murder in the Rue St. Ann

SERIES: Chanse MacLeod Mysteries #2

AUTHOR: Greg Herren

PUBLISHER: Bold Strokes Books

LENGTH: 240 Pages

BLURB:

Chanse MacLeod is hired to find out who is trying to undermine a new nightclub opening in the French Quarter—but when the nightclub’s publicist is murdered, the prime suspect is his boyfriend, Paul—who has a sordid past he carefully hid from Chanse. And when Paul jumps bail, it’s up to Chanse to clear his boyfriend and find him, before it’s too late.

The second Chanse Macleod mystery.

REVIEW:

When we discussed splitting this series up between several reviewers at the blog I blithely offered to take “whatever book you want to send me”. So I was sent this one. The one that will leave your heart in itty bitty pieces. Be warned going in to this book, you’re in for an emotional ride.

Firstly, the beginning of this story is very well done. We’re given a glimpse into the mind of an obsessed fan who has dangerous-nutjob stamped all over. Who he is obsessed with, we can only speculate but I guarantee you’ll be immediately hooked by the need to witness how his brand of crazy is going to play out.

The remainder of this story is told from Chanse’s first person point of view, which is always my preference. What struck me while reading this story was how much I enjoyed the scenes where Chanse was doing nothing more than walking down a street or focusing on topics that weren’t central to the plot. In these moments I got to experience his internal chatter, his “voice” really came through and I loved the way the author had Chanse’s mind work. These times were also skillfully used to set a scene, something else this author excelled at.

In fact, thinking back on the story as I write this review, there was no point in this book where I felt the author dropped the ball. I particularly liked the way the relationship between Chanse and Paul was presented and then developed, or rather revealed. Chanse can say he loves Paul and Paul can say he loves Chanse (actually, I don’t think he actually does say that) but the two brief scenes the two men have together show nothing but their bad sides. Beneath the mystery and crime in this story, this is the book that is really more about the characters than the drama. Despite the secrets and jealousy between Chanse and Paul, the author still convinced me of their feelings for each other by showing me the ways they had been willing to attempt to change to keep each other. Which may not have been the smartest or best thing to do, but the author never tries to present either character as perfect. They’re both flawed, and scared of failing, but they honestly do love each other.

Which made the ending that much harder to take. Stated plainly, the ending is bad. It’s not that the author messed up and got it wrong, it’s that the author did too good of a job and the final events in this book broke me. Yes, that sounds very dramatic, but I’m not kidding. I cried like there was nobody watching, which thankfully there wasn’t. Greg Herren ripped my heart out and threw it on the ground. Then for good measure he stomped on it, set it on fire and spat on the ashes. Yet now, having recovered from my sobbing, I can acknowledge that as painful as it all was, it was also brilliantly done.

The mystery itself was almost secondary for me, for all that it was the driving force behind the whole book. This was also extremely well done and left me guessing and changing my mind again, and again. You may think you’ve got it all figured out, but I doubt you do.

Although this is a series this book can most definitely be read as a standalone. Greg Herren has an amazing talent for spinning a captivating tale and I can’t give this story anything other than 5 stars.

RATING: 

BUY LINKS:

Amazon

Bold Strokes Books