Review of Crescent City Requiem
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[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Crescent City Requiem" by Brian Kaufman.]
At the beginning of Crescent City Requiem, readers meet Mallory, a private investigator. His secretary quits, and the next day, he hires Grace, who has a very Gothic vibe and is dating a musician named Rod. Soon, a client, Meyer Grant, comes in and hires Mallory to find a record by Ike Zimmerman. While paleontologists often look for a new fossil that can link two life forms, Zimmerman's record would be an intermediate step in the development of the blues. The client warns Mallory not to listen to the music if he finds it because legend records that those who hear the music die within 24 hours. Can Mallory find the recording?
As you might have guessed from the title, this book is set in New Orleans, and the French Quarter plays a major role. I have visited the Crescent City on several occasions, and it was easy to picture the scenes unfolding. There are also apparitions and Voodoo in this story.
There is a brief scene in this story where the Bible is mentioned. It occurs between a barhop, Melinda, and Mallory. The only comment is that all suffering is due to sin, and people get what they deserve. Later the author discusses corruption in humans and has Mallory describe briefly why he thinks Christians and Islamic believers both get it wrong. Mallory clearly believes that each individual has the right to believe the religion they want to believe or none at all. The author starts each chapter with a quote. One of my favorites is "Original sin is that thing about man which makes him capable of conceiving of his own perfection and incapable of achieving it." It is by Reinhold Niebuhr, a mainline Protestant theologian.
This book also contains relationship and domestic violence. It also has a suicide.
I had never heard of brown bag parties, and I found the idea fascinating. This is just one example of the amount of research that Brian Kaufman has done while writing this book.
I gladly rate this literary horror story a 5 out of 5. I loved the New Orleans food mentions and the local history woven into this engaging book. The characters are well developed. The story flows very smoothly. In fact, I can't think of anything that the author should have done differently.
******
Crescent City Requiem
View: on Bookshelves
At the beginning of Crescent City Requiem, readers meet Mallory, a private investigator. His secretary quits, and the next day, he hires Grace, who has a very Gothic vibe and is dating a musician named Rod. Soon, a client, Meyer Grant, comes in and hires Mallory to find a record by Ike Zimmerman. While paleontologists often look for a new fossil that can link two life forms, Zimmerman's record would be an intermediate step in the development of the blues. The client warns Mallory not to listen to the music if he finds it because legend records that those who hear the music die within 24 hours. Can Mallory find the recording?
As you might have guessed from the title, this book is set in New Orleans, and the French Quarter plays a major role. I have visited the Crescent City on several occasions, and it was easy to picture the scenes unfolding. There are also apparitions and Voodoo in this story.
There is a brief scene in this story where the Bible is mentioned. It occurs between a barhop, Melinda, and Mallory. The only comment is that all suffering is due to sin, and people get what they deserve. Later the author discusses corruption in humans and has Mallory describe briefly why he thinks Christians and Islamic believers both get it wrong. Mallory clearly believes that each individual has the right to believe the religion they want to believe or none at all. The author starts each chapter with a quote. One of my favorites is "Original sin is that thing about man which makes him capable of conceiving of his own perfection and incapable of achieving it." It is by Reinhold Niebuhr, a mainline Protestant theologian.
This book also contains relationship and domestic violence. It also has a suicide.
I had never heard of brown bag parties, and I found the idea fascinating. This is just one example of the amount of research that Brian Kaufman has done while writing this book.
I gladly rate this literary horror story a 5 out of 5. I loved the New Orleans food mentions and the local history woven into this engaging book. The characters are well developed. The story flows very smoothly. In fact, I can't think of anything that the author should have done differently.
******
Crescent City Requiem
View: on Bookshelves
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