Murder in the Rue Chartres

A pot-smoking gay private eye returns to New Orleans post-Katrina to resume a missing persons investigation only to find that his client has been murdered. Is his original assignment the cause? An intriguing mystery which may have roots in a true forty year old unsolved hate crime coupled with descriptions of the hurricane-battered city make this an exceptional read. Highly recommended for all. (If you become curious about the historic event mentioned here, the 'net offers a lot of info; original national televised newscasts are available on YouTube.)

Greg has written a first hand account of New Orleans during and after Katrina wrapped in an excellent mystery. It's very moving and makes one totally feel for the people of New Orleans and the failure of Bush and his Republican administration in this disaster. Anyone who votes Republican in the next election is asking for the same in the future.

Six weeks after the devastation Hurricane Katrina brought to his adopted hometown, New Orleans, private investigator Chanse MacLeod returns to try to resume his life there. Being one of the lucky ones, his apartment came through the storm relatively unscathed, but he is stunned and shocked by the surreal visions of what is left of the city and its formerly vibrant and joyful inhabitants. Right before he left, he had been hired by Iris Verlaine, heir to a family shipbuilding empire, to find her missing father. While Ms. Verlaine subsequently canceled his contract before the storm, he still held her retainer check which he wanted to return to her. When he found out that she had apparently been murdered the same night that she called, he felt a need to look into that (and the missing father) to find closure at a time when very little in his own life seemed to make sense. Aided by Iris' brother Joshua, who rehired Chanse, and by his friends in the police department, Venus and Blaine, as well as his best friend, journalist Paige, Chanse uncovers a murder plot that encoumpases an unsolved arson at a gay bar, the unethical director of a nursing home, as well as how much greed and bigotry can tear apart a well-respected New Orleans family. In my opinion, it is Herren's best mystery novel to date, complete with fully-developed realistic characters pushing their personal agendas beyond any recognition of right or wrong. But this is more than just a mystery novel. "Murder in the Rue Chartres" is also a love story ... showing the dedication of the residents of New Orleans to the spirit of their city, and the unfortunate emotional, psychological and substance abuse problems brought on post-Katrina ... not just from the devastation from the storm but by the well-publicized lack of proper action by the federal government in preparing the city for the hurricane as well as its criminally-deficient lack of assistance in cleaning up afterwards. It is clear that, more than any of his other works, the emotions expressed here are from deep in Greg Heren's heart, and I have not read a more honest and riveting account of post-Katrina New Orleans anywhere else. An exceptional book, which everyone should read, in my opinion. Five big BOLD stars out of five.

In Greg Herren's latest mystery, his characters are involved both in the central motivating event of the book and in finding their bearings after Katrina. He unravels the mystery-element of the story with finesse and describes adjustments to the aftermath of the hurricane with insight and compassion. Another Winner!

Herren, Greg. "Murder in the Rue Chartres", Alyson, 2007. Gay New Orleans, Post Katrina Amos Lassen As a New Orleanian by birth and having experiences Hurricane Katrina first-hand, I was anxious to read Greg Herren's "Murder in the Rue Chartres". I have always enjoyed Herren work and I did once again. It just hurts to read about my hometown while I am located somewhere else. Herren gives us a view of New Orleans that is amazing, deep and sensuous and this novel is fast moving as it shows the French Quarter in all of its gay glory. It's good to have Greg Herren back writing about the Big Easy. Herren has introduced us to his gay detective, Chanse MacLeod, in other books--"Murder in the Rue Dauphine" and "Murder in the Rue St. Ann. After Katrina, MacLeod returns to a different New Orleans. The city and the man have both been shattered and in need of rebuilding. Chanse has come home to rebuild himself but he soon discovers that Iris Verlaine who had been his last client before the hurricane was murdered the same night that she had hired him to locate her father who had been missing for quite a long time. Chanse feels both compelled and obligated to solve the murder and he soon finds himself completely taken in by the Verlaine family and a web of intrigue and secrets. It seems everything in the family is tainted with blood. With the city of New Orleans as a backdrop to the story the book gives us a wonderful mystery as well as an in-depth look at one of America's most famous cities. We see a different New Orleans than most of us have known and it is a sad but vibrant picture that Herren provides. He tells it like it is in the way we like to read. Here is another wonderful mystery that will keep you guessing as well as providing an inside look at the damage that occurs because of a natural disaster.