Bahama Burnout [Hardcover]

Don Bruns (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2009

For rock and roll writer Mick Sever, another story, another deadly island paradise is all in a day's work. This time, Mick heads to Nassau, Bahamas, home of the legendary Highland Studio. Known for pumping out hits that burn up the charts, Highland is where the magic happens-or rather, where the magic happened until a devastating fire destroyed the entire studio. No one knows how the fire started, who started it-or whose body was found among the charred ruins. Sent to get the inside story on the opening of the new Highland Studio, Mick finds this is hardly the Phoenix-rising-out-of-the-ashes story he expected. Some say the studio's haunted, some say it's cursed, but one thing is for sure: someone-or something-wants to stop the music. A smashed guitar and erased tracks send a subtle warning, but murder? That's an entirely different tune. If Mick doesn't act fast, Highland Studio, along with everything and everyone in its path, could go up in smoke.It's not always better to burn out than to fade away.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Bruns's laid-back fifth mystery to feature Mick Sever (after 2008's St. Bart's Breakdown) takes the music journalist to Nassau, to cover the resurgence of the legendary Highland Recording Studios, which burned down more than a year earlier and killed someone whose remains were never identified. Owners Jonah and Rita Britt have rebuilt, but the studio's now being targeted by a troublemaker. Rita blames a ghost, possibly that of the unidentified person who died in the fire, for destroying a guitar once owned by singer Sheryl Crow. Sever is also intrigued by the Cadillac a Bahamian matron is offering for sale that supposedly belonged to Elvis Presley. When the manager of Johnny Run, a once red-hot band recording its comeback attempt at Highland, is strangled while sitting in the Cadillac, Sever turns detective. Bruns's twisted, if at times hazy, tale of rock-and-roll revenge will keep readers guessing until the end. (Mar.)
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About the Author

Don Bruns is a musician, songwriter, advertising executive, and award-winning novelist. In addition to Bahama Burnout, Bruns is author of Jamaica Blue, Barbados Heat, South Beach Shakedown, and St. Barts Breakdown, a mystery series featuring rock and roll journalist Mick Sever. Bruns is also author of the critically-acclaimed Stuff to Die For and Stuff Dreams Are Made Of

Product Details

• Hardcover: 264 pages
• Publisher: Oceanview Publishing; First Edition edition (March 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1933515201
• ISBN-13: 978-1933515205
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,404,109 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Don Bruns is a novelist, advertising executive, musician, songwriter, cook and painter who has no idea what he wants to do when he grows up. He's the author of nine books and was editor of the mystery/music anthology A Merry Band Of Murderers.

Don's published novels cover two series. One, a Caribbean thriller collection and two, the Stuff series, a humorous look at two twenty-four year old guys in South Florida who start their own detective agency and end up neck - deep in trouble. Skip and James from the Stuff series have often been compared to grown up versions of the Hardy Boys.

Jamaica Blue, Barbados Heat, South Beach Shakedown, St. Barts Breakdown and Bahama Burnout make up the Caribbean books. The Stuff series consists of Stuff To Die For, Stuff Dreams Are Made Of, Stuff To Spy For, and Don't Sweat The Small Stuff- which came out in December 2010. Bruns is currently working on the fifth Stuff book, Too Much Stuff.

His two series have won numerous awards, and the latest "Stuff" series has won a starred review in Booklist.

"Will remind the reader of Tim Dorsey's cast of whacked-out characters but with the narrative voice and feel of Mark Twain's Huck Finn."

Traveling the Caribbean for his Mick Sever series, or hovering around Miami for his "Stuff" series, Bruns enjoys the writing life. You can find him at http://www.donbrunsbooks.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A riveting read from first page to last, February 9, 2009

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bahama Burnout (Hardcover)

Don Bruns is a master storyteller and "Bahama Burnout" is the latest evidence of his gift for originality with this, his latest mystery novel. Mick Sever is back again, this time becoming involved in a recording studio fire that reveals a charred body and another mystery to solve. When his friends Jonah and Rita Britt rebuild the studio, there's a distinct possible that more murders are to come -- if Mick can't get to the 'who, what, and why' of that first lethal fire. A riveting read from first page to last, "Bahama Burnout" is a complete 'stand alone' mystery novel that will be sought after by Bruns' growing number of fans, and will serve those new to his work to seek out his previous (and highly recommended) titles including "St. Barts Breakdown"; "Stuff Dreams Are Made Of"; "Stuff To Die For"; "South Beach Shakedown"; "Barbados Heat"; and "Jamaica Blue".

3.0 out of 5 stars A slightly sour note, May 27, 2011

By 

Tom Bruce (East Moriches, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bahama Burnout (Hardcover)

This is the fifth time that entertainment journalist Mike Sever has been featured in a Bruns novel. In this one, Sever finds himself in the Bahamas covering the hopeful rebirth of the stardom of Johnny Run, a once hot band looking for lightning to strike again at Highland Recording Studio located in the slums of Nassau. The rock and roll band previously had a monster hit recorded there, but things have changed. The studio has been rebuilt following a deadly fire, the cause of which was never determined. Was it a ghost? Voodoo? Or an accident? Now murdered bodies are being tallied again, all with connections to the studio. One of the stiffs is found behind the wheel of a Cadillac parked at the rear of the building. It was supposedly owned by the King, Elvis himself. The current owner, a widow with two teenage boys - one challenged, the other a runaway - is looking for a buyer. It's a rocking fast read that rolls to a conclusion that is plausible, but it comes out of nowhere. It would have made a better book if, instead of nothing but red herrings, hints of the true cause and been dropped from time to time. That said, I would add that I will start looking for the other Bruns/Sever tales.

4.0 out of 5 stars Another Entertaining Mick Sever Mystery, December 31, 2010

By 

Edie Dykeman - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Bahama Burnout (Hardcover)

Entertainment writer Mick Sever lands in Nassau, Bahamas for the grand reopening of the legendary Highland Studios after a devastating fire more than a year ago. His friends Jonah and Rita Britt rebuilt the studio with the hope they can return it to its former glory. Because of the fire and a few failed albums, it is important that the Britt's next few ventures are successful.

That said, the group Johnny Run is back in the studio hoping their latest album will revive their career. Unfortunately, a smashed Sheryl Crow guitar and erased recording, plus the mysterious death of the groups manager, doesn't bode well for a comeback. Other mysterious happenings in and around the studio suggest there are deeper problems than just trying to finish an album.

In his fifth Mick Sever mystery, Don Bruns has created a quirky cast of characters including the intriguing Etta Mae who lives near the studio and who is trying to sell a rusty sixties Cadillac she swears was once owned by Elvis; Eric, the short portly policeman who is a special friend of Etta Mae's and who is involved in the various investigations surrounding the studio; and at least one very creepy character who slithers around the studio unbeknownst to the owners.

With more than one life on the line including his own, Mick must find out who the mysterious culprit is before more tragedy occurs.

Bruns has written a spooky thriller that holds the reader's attention from incident to mysterious incident. The reader has inside information that Jonah and Rita Britt and Sever do not have, but that does not take away from the overall mystery or the surprise ending.

Bahama Burnout