Customer Rating:  
Summary: Lots of drama on Ursulines
Comment: Generally, I like Greg Herren's work. In this piece, there were a lot of twists and, for the first time, I figured out who the "villain" was before Greg revealed him/her. However, there is too much Hollywood drama in the book for my tastes. I found myself skipping over pointless (in my opinion) paragraphs. If you're an Entertainment Tonight or People magazine fan, you'll love those paragraphs. Me? Too much drama that was not integral to the plot. Otherwise, a good read.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Good Book Great Series
Comment: The book was a really good read. I enjoy the mystery series that Greg Herren has put out and look forward to the next one.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Take a "Chanse" on a great read by the master of gay mystery!
Comment: Like many residents in post-Katrina New Orleans, Chanse MacLeod is still a bit "shell shocked" by the experience, but keeping up his private investigations business, with help from friends and referrals.
One such referral, to track down the source of some threatening e-mails, develops into a murder investigation. The target of the e-mails is Freddy Bliss, the male half of a Hollywood A-list couple, who had relocated to New Orleans to help with the rebuilding. When his ex-wife ends up murdered, bludgeoned to death with her Emmy statuette, suspicion turns initially to Chanse, who had interviewed her earlier that day and actually handled the murder weapon, and then to Freddy, when Chanse testifies that he spotted someone resembling the actor leaving his ex's home shortly after when the murder likely took place.
It's a case of mistaken identities, deceptions, expendable pawns, delusions and grudges, which involve Chanse, his best friend Paige, as well as Venus and Blaine, his friends from the New Orleans police department, in a twisted, well-written story from one of the masters of the gay mystery genre. Herren's words and style expertly and realistically paint the characters, locations and circumstances, using wit and suspense to keep us turning the pages, until he reveals how it all comes together for a realistic and satisfying ending. Bravo! Five spicy Cajun stars out of five!!
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Summary: Chanse is Back
Comment: Herren, Greg. "Murder in the rue Ursulines: A Chanse MacLeod Mystery", Alyson, 2008.
Chanse is Back
Amos Lassen
Greg Herren is back with a new mystery featuring Chanse MacLeod and his new book came just as I was wondering whether we would ever hear from him again.
For those of you who are not familiar with Herren's series of books (I called them the "Murder" books), Chanse is a gay former policeman turned detective in New Orleans. All of the books give fascinating insight into gay New Orleans and just as Chanse is the main character in the books, the city of New Orleans also plays a major part.
As New Orleans continues to rebuild after Hurricane Katrina, Chanse finds himself embroiled in a very high profile case which deals with a couple from Hollywood who have devoted themselves to helping The Big Easy recover from the devastation of the storm. The couple has begun to receive threatening e-mails and they lead to murder. As the body count rises, Chanse must catch the murderer,
I love Herren's books and I am sure that this is because I am a New Orleanian by birth and came out there. So much is familiar to me that I always get a little homesick when reading him. His style keeps me reading and he is witty and compelling.
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