SUMMARY
The first in a series, Bound by Blood is set amongst the bayous, great
houses, and old ghosts of Louisiana and features a Jewish homicide cop as
driven by the chase as he is by duty.
Jack Brenner, New Orleans homicide detective, hopes to repair his faltering
marriage while his daughters are away at summer camp. Then he receives
word that Emmett Floyd Graves, a man on death row, has some information
about his cousin David's unsolved murder. Like a brother to Jack during his
troubled childhood, David was one of two civil rights workers killed the
summer of 1972.
Before he can figure out whether Graves is conning him, Jack's Lieutenant
puts him on another murder case; the victim, Steven Bowen, broke David's
high school record in the mile before being shot to death at a pay phone. With
the encouragement of his partner, Keisha Lundy, Jack juggles the Bowen
case with his own secret investigation of Graves's claim. Willow Ashe, a
television reporter and old flame, complicates matters by breaking the story
on national news. Jack is upset at first, but the publicity gets him what he
wants, a chance to solve his cousin's murder.
The mystery is a fine balance of humor, violence, and sorrow. Integrated into
this police procedural are Jack's problems with family, his struggles between
logic and emotion, and his unorthodox Judaism. The novel also features
strong female characters.
Readers of Michael Connelly, James Lee Burke, and Faye Kellerman will
enjoy this series. Jack Brenner is less visceral and more analytical than Harry
Bosch or Dave Robicheaux, but equally vulnerable to rumination and
self-doubt. While Jack is more cynical than Peter Decker, at least on the
surface, they share the same religious faith, stubbornness, and passion for
justice.
The first in a series, Bound by Blood is set amongst the bayous, great
houses, and old ghosts of Louisiana and features a Jewish homicide cop as
driven by the chase as he is by duty.
Jack Brenner, New Orleans homicide detective, hopes to repair his faltering
marriage while his daughters are away at summer camp. Then he receives
word that Emmett Floyd Graves, a man on death row, has some information
about his cousin David's unsolved murder. Like a brother to Jack during his
troubled childhood, David was one of two civil rights workers killed the
summer of 1972.
Before he can figure out whether Graves is conning him, Jack's Lieutenant
puts him on another murder case; the victim, Steven Bowen, broke David's
high school record in the mile before being shot to death at a pay phone. With
the encouragement of his partner, Keisha Lundy, Jack juggles the Bowen
case with his own secret investigation of Graves's claim. Willow Ashe, a
television reporter and old flame, complicates matters by breaking the story
on national news. Jack is upset at first, but the publicity gets him what he
wants, a chance to solve his cousin's murder.
The mystery is a fine balance of humor, violence, and sorrow. Integrated into
this police procedural are Jack's problems with family, his struggles between
logic and emotion, and his unorthodox Judaism. The novel also features
strong female characters.
Readers of Michael Connelly, James Lee Burke, and Faye Kellerman will
enjoy this series. Jack Brenner is less visceral and more analytical than Harry
Bosch or Dave Robicheaux, but equally vulnerable to rumination and
self-doubt. While Jack is more cynical than Peter Decker, at least on the
surface, they share the same religious faith, stubbornness, and passion for
justice.
St. Martin's Minotaur (February 19, 2008)
| Copyright © 2008 |
NELSON
RICK
CRIME FICTION WRITER
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