The Levee: A Novel of Baton Rouge

THE LEVEE We meet Colin Douglas, who is in his 60's and writes true crime books. He is a witness to the execution of a murderer; a subject for one of his books. This disturbing event brings back his own childhood trauma and he decides to finally take the bull by the horns and go back to his home town to confront his demons. This book shifts back and forth from past to present quite nicely. We meet a young, teenage Colin, growing up in the deep South. He and his friends love to camp at the levee. One night at the levee they hear noises, see lights, see a car take off at top speed. Colin musters up all of his courage and goes down to the cemetery to see what has been going on -- only to be frightened away. The next day they realize a murder was in the process. Colin and his friends lives are never the same again. Present-day Colin goes back to his home town and tries to dig up dirt on the murder. Things are still not as they seem and the more people he talks to, the more confusing this murder becomes. Colin tries to put together the pieces of this disturbing puzzle. He contacts some of his former friends to see if they have further information they can relate to him. Does Colin ever learn the truth? Will he believe the truth when he hears it? Is the right person convicted of this horrible crime? Is the murderer still free? Will justice ever be served? Read the book and find out. This is a short but entertaining mystery book. I kept trying to figure out who the murderer was and never guessed correctly. I was shocked! One thing about the format of this book -- I really enjoyed how the author would end each chapter with a small cliff-hanger, making me want to continue reading till I found out what was going to happen next. If you enjoy a good mystery, full of questions and conflicts, this is a book that you would enjoy! Thank you! Pam

As with all of Malcolm Shuman's other books, it was fast paced, extremely exciting, and I had a hard time putting it down. If you enjoy reading a great mystery, Mr. Shuman has other novels published under M.K. Shuman and M.S. Karl. Being a Louisiana native myself, it was very enjoyable to read about places that I am very familiar with.

I really liked this book. I think the language could have been toned down alittle. But it was a sad story told very well.