Bound by Blood

Jack Brenner is a New Orleans homicide detective that enjoys his job and takes it seriously. Brenner's cousin, David Brenner, and a fellow Civil Rights worker were murdered in the summer of 1972. That murder has haunted Brenner because David was more than a cousin; he was the person he most looked up to. Now, Emmet Lloyd Graves is in prison and fighting to avoid the death penalty. He claims he has information that will lead authorities to the killer of David Brenner and his friend. Brenner must decide to trust an evil man, or leave an old murder behind forever. While Brenner begins to work on the decades' old murder, another young man is murdered. Steven Bowen, who just happened to break David Brenner's high school track record, is shot while talking on a pay phone. Brenner juggles both cases and comes face-to-face with his past. Willow Ashe is a television reporter and Brenner's former girlfriend. Willow breaks the story about the Civil Rights murder and things are never the same for Brenner. The good â~ole boys rear their ugly heads, a failing marriage is put to the test, family members want things left as they are, and even a police partnership is at risk. Bound by Blood is a stunning debut mystery. It is fast paced, the plot has twists and turns that are unimaginable and flawless and the characters are full, real and have all the complexities of real people. Once I started reading I couldn't put it down. It's a winner. Actually, I rate Rick Nelson's debut right up there with James Lee Burke, Michael Connelly and Robert Crais. Now that's good company to be in. Note: Unfortunately Rick Nelson did not live to see his debut novel published, dying from cancer in December 2007. Armchair Interviews says: If you buy one mystery this year, make it Bound by Blood. You won't be sorry.

New Orleans Detective Jack Brenner and a cast of memorable local characters work the mystery of a cold-case rural double murder involving a relative and another civil rights worker in 1972, plus a contemporary drive-by shooting in uptown New Orleans, tied in by the unreliable statement of a death-row inmate all involving a small-town local crime boss and his henchmen. Classic fare for a real page-turner, which this is. Plenty of local-color zest, from the ex-priest gardener with the "road-map" scar on his face, who had his nose bitten off in a bar fight, (presumably after leaving the priesthood), to the white-linen-clad town boss sipping premium bourbon from Riedel stemware on his riverside patio, while sitting a scant few inches above the spot where the shotgun used in the 1972 double murders lies buried beneath the fetid gumbo soil of rural South Louisiana. Even knowing that, the puzzle remains - "Who dunnit?"

In Louisiana, attorney Neil Gross calls New Orleans Police Detective Jack Brenner with intriguing information although the source is unreliable. Neil's client "redneck scumbag" Emmett Graves on death row claims he has information pertaining to two homicides three decades ago in Bon Terre; one of the victims was Jack's cousin David who along with another civil rights advocate was murdered. Graves insists Brenner visit him at Angola if he wants to know more. Unable to resist, Brenner learns from Graves that he was in Bon Terre when the murders occurred. He implies town martinet businessman Avery Hammond was involved. In the town, no one will talk to Brenner. However as he and his temporary partner Keisha Lundy work the drive-by shooting of a high school athlete; they also investigate the Grave's claim with the help of reporter Willow Ashe, who was the now married Brenner's long ago first girlfriend in an atmosphere where someone is willing to kill cops and a TV journalist to keep the 1972 homicides a cold case. This is an entertaining Big Easy police procedural although the two cases at times slow each other down. Still Brenner is a fascinating lead character as he tries to do what he believes is right for his late cousin, but not only has someone trying to kill him, his family and his boss are upset with him. New Orleans police procedural fans will enjoy this suspenseful tale. Harriet Klausner