 
|
|
Paperback
Publisher: Alyson Books
For gay New Orleans private eye Chanse MacLeod, it seemed like a simple case: find out who was blackmailing his pretty-boy client's rich, closeted boyfriend, collect a nice check, and take some time off. But then the pretty boy turns up dead in what looks like a hate crime and the gay community of New Orleans is up in arms, demanding justice. In the stifling heat of a New Orleans summer, Chanse searches for an extremely clever killer on a trail leading to a gay rights organization, boys for hire, and New Orleans society, knowing he has to find the killer before the entire city explodes. Greg Herren has been a freelance journalist, personal trainer, and book critic. He is currently the editor in chief of the Lambda Book Report.
| Customer Reviews: |
|
| |
| How Did I Miss This? |
| Customer Rating: 4 out of 5 |
 |
|
Herren, Greg. "Murder in the Rue Dauphine", Alyson, 2002.
How Did I Miss This?
Amos Lassen
I've been a Greg Herren fan for a long time and I do not know how I didn't read this book. Chanse McLeod and I have been through a lot but I guess I missed Dauphine Street (and I used to live near it). If you remember McLeod, he had once been a policeman in the Big Easy but later became a private detective. Mike Hansen hires him on behalf of a rich, closeted gay man who is being blackmailed and before Chance can even get started on the case, Hansen is murdered. Of course Chanse McLeod solves the case. There is not a great deal of mystery here and the book is more a look at gay New Orleans.
Herren gives us some fascinating characters as is one of his trademarks and the plot, although thin, is fun. The two main characters, Chanse and Paige Tourneur, Chanse's best friend and crime reporter are beautifully fleshed out. Herren's McLeod is to become a friend in gay novels with the follow-ups to this book and a new one is due out this October, 2008. Herren writes well and holds interest even though this is not his best work. The atmosphere of New Orleans pervades the book and that is enough for me.
|
| Greg Herren does not fail with another great book |
| Customer Rating: 5 out of 5 |
 |
|
This is the first book in the series that Greg Herren created for Murder in the Rue. I have read his other series completely and now have started this one. He is one of the best of giving readers an entertaining, easy and enjoyable read.
This book series centers around PI, Chanse MacLeod. Chanse was a former New Orleans cop that left the force because he could not handle "MURDERS". Throughout the book he kept saying, "I don't do murders". It was funny because everytime he said it he dove deeper in to the case.
Chanse had a chance encounter with someone at the gym after leaving his new steward boyfriend at the airport for a long trip. The guy at the gym wanted to hire Chanse to find out who was blackmailing his boyfriend. When he went to meet with the guy at his house Chanse found him MURDERED. Chanse continued to track the leads to clear his own name of murder.
This is a great book to curl up with on a winter weekend or to read on the beach for the summer. Can not wait until the next book arrives from Amazon.
|
| A Weak Murder Mystery |
| Customer Rating: 2 out of 5 |
 |
|
While working out at the local gym, New Orleans private detective Chanse MacLeod meets a good-looking young man with a problem. It seems that someone's been threatening to reveal his rich, closeted boyfriend's identity to the public unless he comes up with $50,000. Seems like a simple case of blackmail until Chanse finds the young man dead. Against his better judgement -- and that of the police -- Chanse sets out to find out who killed his client, following a winding trail through New Orleans high society and the world of gay rights.
The story itself is ripe with possibilities, but the execution of it leaves much to be desired. Chanse MacLeod comes across as arrogant, boring and very much into the looks-oriented stereotyping that plagues gay culture. He summarizes each man he meets by referencing his height, his build and his relative attractiveness, at one point even stating that one character would be attractive if he lost weight. For a mystery to have a chance, shouldn't the reader like the detective even a little bit?
Most of the male characters have no problem removing their shirts at the drop of a hat to show off just how muscular and toned they are, even if it doesn't have anything to do with the plot. The writing style is very monotonous, wanting to explain every little action in short, passive sentences that drone, almost as if the author were trying to imitate the speech of the old hardboiled gumshoes à la Dashiell Hammett. I found it very difficult to get into the story and to like any of the characters, making this - for me, anyway - a very weak murder mystery.
|
| Big Easy Gay |
| Customer Rating: 3 out of 5 |
 |
|
This review is for the Alyson Publications trade paperback first edition, January 2002.
Chanse MacLeod was a New Orleans cop for a couple years, but in the narrative present, he is a private detective without much experience. The story begins when Mike Hansen hires Chanse on behalf of Mike's wealthy, in-the-closet partner who is being blackmailed. But before Chanse can get the particulars, Mike is murdered. Although Chanse "doesn't do murders," he eventually untangles a conspiracy and solves the case.
The plot is murder mystery light. There are no convoluted twists, embedded clues or clever deductions. Indeed, this story is mostly a look inside the New Orleans' gay community where muscles bulge, stomachs ripple and all shirts are one size too small. Of the twenty-nine named males in this book, twenty-five are gay. The seven named females, however, appear to be straight.
Greg Herren tends to write in short, choppy sentences, which although not annoying, I did wish for some rhythm and variety. And there are some startling inconsistencies. Chanse leaves the airport at 7:00 AM and drives straight to the gym, then goes home and tosses his gym bag on the bed, happy that he had turned on the air conditioner that morning. Later he bemoans the unpacked suitcases on his bed. Paul, Chanse's partner, leaves a phone message that he will call from Dallas that night, but later we learn his last flight that night ends in Chicago. Interesting that one-half of all three inconsistencies occurs on page 14.
Although I am hopelessly heterosexual, I found the story interesting. New Orleans is one of my favorite cities, I visit there frequently, and it is perhaps useful to have an apparently authoritative insight into Big Easy Gay.
|
| Summertime, and New Orleans is SULTRY ! |
| Customer Rating: 5 out of 5 |
|
|
Greg Herren has put together an interesting cast of characters in MURDER IN THE RUE DAUPHINE. A former New Orleans cop, who just happens to be gay, is now a private detective who repeatedly states, "I don't do murders." Chanse MacLeod is the P.I. in question, and he is hired by a young "body beautiful" to find a blackmailer. The pretty-boy is having an affair with a very rich and prominent married man. Their sexual escapades have been captured on videotape...and there, as they say...the plot thickens.
Set in New Orleans during the summer, one can almost feel the sultry nature of the weather described, which in fact, set the entire tone of the novel. The budding love interest of Chanse spices up the story, as he struggles to determine if he is in love or simply in lust and having incredibly hot sex with his newfound partner Paul. This is an extremely easy book to read, is faced paced, and is sure to satisfy those who are seeking a quick murder mystery. Mr. Herren has demonstrated he can create interesting characters and fascinating plot lines. I am eagerly anticipating reading his newest Chanse MacLeod novel, MURDER IN THE RUE ST. ANN : A NOVEL. It is sitting on my bookshelf as I complete this review, and I know it will be the next thing I read.
|
|
