Customer Reviews

The Beatitudes: Book I

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

New Orleans is a city of secrets; something Hannah "Scrimp" Dubois and her best friend and colleague Earlene "Pinch" Washington have taken for granted. Until the secrets include the murders of ten foster children and the existence of the mysterious White Army, reborn from Le Armee Blanc in medieval Europe. The good guys can no longer be taken for granted, the bad guys seem to multiply with every step the two take to get closer to the truth, and friends are found in unexpected places, and unexpected forms.
Lyn LeJeune has written an intriguing paranormal mystery in the best setting possible, New Orleans and the surrounding parishes of southern Louisiana. Voodoo and Christianity survive side by side and both are factors in the solution to the mystery of who killed ten unfortunate children and left them for discovery with religious relics near their bodies. Scrimp and Pinch must travel avenues, both earthly and not, to find the answers before their enemies win the day. The ending is never a given, not until the final confrontation, and Scrimp and Pinch are two characters you root for, no matter how dark it seems.

There is a duality to everything, calm and chaos, life and death, good and evil, sin and penitence, and hungry and full. And Hannah Dubois, our Dante, finds herself, like we all do, caught within life's juxtapositions. She journeys through all terraces of purgatorio with a guide as beautiful and patient as Beatrice.

We are connected to Hannah through her struggles to keep the love of her life safe, to sate her hunger with the delicious foods of New Orleans (and even as a reader, we can smell and taste these Cajun victuals thanks to the writer's descriptive language), and we travel with her to help her solve the mystery of the deaths of the foster children, fighting against le Armee Blanc.

I took Hannah's lead and we traveled through the suffering city. I followed her on an enigmatic path throughout New Orleans, learning the history and culture, and rejoicing in the details of this city, taught by only one who has lived there. There I meet strange and beautiful characters who present Hannah, and myself, of a view of the entire world order and remind us of where our moral compass points.

"...but already my desire and my will were being turned like a wheel..." as I anticipate the next novel of Lyn LeJeune.

The Beatitudes: Book I
In my view the relationship of Pinch and Scrimp could have been more as Spartan women rather than the hint of Sappho. It was their friendship that was a shield against the outside world of sin and corruption. To me their friendship was more like Ruth and Naomi or Damon and Pythias. It was a true bond of pure love and friendship.

Pinch's death indicates that she died with her shield, as benefiting a Spartan woman. And even in death, she is ready for more.

I would have preferred Scrimp's answers to her interrogators to have been more laconic.
Of all of the feminine weapons available to women, the deadliest and sharpest are their tongues.
And in reality, New Orleans has become the New Sparta. The women of New Orleans are sending their children out everyday to face death in the streets.

Female authors usually leave me cold. Well, with possible exception of Taylor Caldwell, Mary Stewart, Mary Shelly, George Sand, Ursula K. Le Guin, Rachel Carson, Harper Lee, Carson McCullers and perhaps a few dozen more. As a rule female authors get to involved with the minutia of completely useless boring details.

As a native New Orleanian, born and reared there until I left for military service in 1959.
I really appreciated Ms. LeJeune attention to the details and the minutia of life in New Orleans.
I could smell the exhaust fumes of the busses, the strong aroma of the impossible black, steaming cup of coffee and chicory. The walk from the library to Mother's down Poydras St. is an actual walk to a great place to have lunch. The sights, sounds and the smells of the many local neighborhoods within New Orleans are dead on accurate! Now I will have to include Lyn LeJeune in my list of female authors that I consistently read.

If you are planning a trip to New Orleans - read this book as tour guide to the city. The Ghosts of New Orleans are still walking the streets.
Turn any corner and there they are.

If you just want a good scary, tightly written yarn about sin, corruption, and voodoo with redemption - turn off the TV, turn off the cell phone and invite Ms. Lyn LeJeune and her friends Pinch and Scrimp in for a visit. I promise you that if Pinch likes you - she'll come and visit - often.

I carried the book with me when I left the house, just in case I had time to read while out; I woke several times during the night to read. Clearly, the book held my interest as I explored not only Lyn LeJeune's "Pinch and Scrimp" mystery surrounding murder and foster children, but the mystery and culture of New Orleans as well.

After a breif email exchange on myspace with Ms. LeJeune I ordered her book The Beatitudes. I am so very glad I did. It was a truly enjoyable read, the characters are filled with life, even the ones that are dead. The plot captured me and still hasn't released me. I am already impatient for the next installment of the adventure of the main characters, Scrimp and Pinch. The setting of New Orleans is as alive with sights, sounds and smells and I could almost taste the food. For anyone with a tast for ghosts, conspiracies and strong female characters, even if they themselves don't know how strong they are, this is a book for you. Also note that royalties from the sale of this book go directly to the New Orleans Public Library Foundation dedicated to rebuilding the public libraries of New Orleans.

Our book club met today to review and discuss Lyn LeJeune's book, The Beatitudes. Five of the members were present. We give our "reads" 1-5 "MUGS" for a rating system...probably the same as Amazon. We gave The Beatitudes an average of 3 Mugs. Some of our comments were:
"The story was a page turner."
"Imaginative. Could be a special effects movie."
"The style of writing is wonderful and the story grabs your attention quickly, but a little too dark for me."
"I enjoyed this book so much, however, I was a little disappointed in the ending. The characters were so alive to use and the emphasis on evil everywhere is very powerful."
"This would make a great "visual story" but was a little too hard for me to follow with all the characters and then all the changes of those characters. Wish the relationship between Pinch & Scrimp was more daughter and protective/guiding mother figure. I think this would be a great TV series."
"There is no doubt the author loves New Orleans and writes with warmth and a protective story-line of her home. We so admire her project to help in the rebuilding of "her" library."

"The Beatitudes: Book 1" promised to be a page turner and it kept its promise. Lyn LeJeune captured my attention from page one and held it until the end. Her descriptions of New Orleans brought not only images of the great city to mind but also the "feeling" of it. Although LeJeune's descriptions were detailed they weren't overly so and fit the story-line. Ms LeJeune's characters came to life within a few pages and continued to grow as the story unfolded. By the closing pages I wish I could really know "Pinch" and "Scrimp" and was looking forward to meeting them again. Lyn LeJeune's interesting and relatively unique detectives made for fascinating reading and gave the book an unusual edge. The crimes and their motives were also unusual and thought provoking, again providing the reader with an unique journey. I look forward eagerly to the next installment of this series.

I read this book as part of my monthly book group. It may be the most awful book I have ever struggled to finish. The author would have benefited from an editor to help bring the story together and flow better. The descriptions of New Orleans and the food were the only redeeming qualities of the book. It was also full of grammatical and spelling errors. Everyone in my book group agreed that it was one of the most poorly written books they had ever come across.

I don't normally post reviews of books I read, but when I saw all the glowing reviews this books was receiving, I felt compelled to at least warn others that they may be disappointed with their purchase.

I would suggest making a donation directly to the New Orleans area libraries instead of purchasing this book.