Surette’s Books Death and the vagaries of life in the French Quarter, New Orleans

Thomas Henry Bennett
Charles Bucket Publishing (2009)
ISBN 9780955854415
Reviewed by Leslie Granier for Reader Views (05/10)

 

When a seven-year-old boy from a wealthy family is found murdered in his home in the French Quarter, the police are shocked upon viewing the gory crime scene.  The child had been tortured and his body was mutilated.  A cryptic message - written in his blood - was left.  Local psychiatrist Roux Surette is enlisted by the New Orleans Police Department to profile the killer.  Dr. Surette is approached by Will Chaucer, an English jazz musician, in an effort to assist him with the profiling.  Time is of the essence in solving this case because it is not known when the killer will strike next.

The three main characters in this book - Surette, Chaucer, and police officer Olivier Godin - are complex individuals.  Surette has become somewhat apathetic in performing his job lately because he thinks he has already heard every possible situation from his myriad patients.  However, Chaucer piques his interest.  Chaucer had an abusive childhood and somehow believes those experiences will be of use in finding a potential serial killer.  However, his background is suspicious and Surette is unsure of his motives.  Godin is a veteran cop who is trying to live in his dying father’s footsteps.  He believes he has been assigned this case because it is unsolvable and his superiors are trying to find someone to be the scapegoat in the eyes of the public.

Overall, this is a good story but I did have a few issues with it.  There was a little too much psychological profiling involving Chaucer.  It offered insight into his past but I do not see how the experiences of a jazz musician are relevant to identifying a serial killer.  Also, I was disappointed in the author's depiction of New Orleanians as mostly derelicts.  I live just west of the city and know this is not an accurate portrayal.

This book was written for an adult audience that is well-educated.  The vocabulary used is not particularly commonplace and the author utilizes complex thought processes by the characters to discern information.  The story was different from many murder novels in that logic and intellect rather than physical evidence were the major factors in solving the crime.  The graphic description of the child's murder may be difficult for some readers to handle.

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