Blue Bayou [Mass Market Paperback]

Dick Lochte (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 4, 1993

"Memorable...Compelling."
LOS ANGELES TIMES
P.I. Terry Manion is just out of rehab when he hears that his mentor in the gumshoe game, J.J. Legendre, has been been found with his brains blown out. Manion doesn't believe it's suicide, but finding the truth is a tricky business in the Big Easy, where those connected with J.J. are rapidly becoming an endangered species. With the help of his close friend, Nadia Wells--an ex-madam turned shamus--Manion's ready to kick some butt. But a Cajun killing machine named Croaker is challenging Manion to a showdown deep in the Southern swamps....

Editorial Reviews

From Kirkus Reviews

Inspired looniness from veteran L.A. book/theater critic Lochte (Sleeping Dog, Laughing Dog), who now releases Big Easy p.i. Terry Manion from a rehab clinic to learn that his former mentor, J.J. Legendre, has committed suicide--a fact disputed by the former madam and current security agency head Nadia Wells, a Mammy Yokum tough friend of both Manion and J.J.'s. To avenge J.J., Manion runs afoul of the dreaded Bennedettos, Crawfish and Reevie; a contract killer (``Croaker''); an old schoolmate and semi-crooked cop, Eben Munn (and his luscious sister who plays decoy for--and footsie with--Manion); and assorted members of the tony Gaymaude family, including a coke-addled widow, an illegitimate son, and a besieged paterfamilias. Also lurking about are senators on the take and bribed cops galore. Many imaginative deaths later, and after innumerable car chases, zydeco refrains, indecipherable Cajun threats, and father-son double-crosses, Manion understands who died how, by whom, and why so many bodies featured a suicide note in the words of novelist Marcus Steiner. A darkly comedic New Orleans primer--with the food, music, and heat interrupted by bullets. Eccentric characters, rococo plot, and a fast, furious read. -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Inside Flap

"Memorable...Compelling."
LOS ANGELES TIMES
P.I. Terry Manion is just out of rehab when he hears that his mentor in the gumshoe game, J.J. Legendre, has been been found with his brains blown out. Manion doesn't believe it's suicide, but finding the truth is a tricky business in the Big Easy, where those connected with J.J. are rapidly becoming an endangered species. With the help of his close friend, Nadia Wells--an ex-madam turned shamus--Manion's ready to kick some butt. But a Cajun killing machine named Croaker is challenging Manion to a showdown deep in the Southern swamps....

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 311 pages
• Publisher: Fawcett; Reprint edition (December 4, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0804111456
• ISBN-13: 978-0804111454
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 3.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,810,758 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

DICK LOCHTE is the author of a list of popular crime novels including SLEEPING DOG which won the Nero Wolfe Award, was nominated for the Edgar, the Shamus and the Anthony, and was named one of the 100 Favorite Mysteries of the Century by the Independent Booksellers Association. He is the author of the forthcoming crime novel, BLUES IN THE NIGHT and co-author with the Today Show's Al Roker, of the current mystery, THE TALK SHOW MURDERS. He had co-authored four popular crime novels with attorney Christopher Darden and has written screenplays for such actors as Jodie Foster, Martin Sheen and Roger Moore.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Unflappable in the Toughest Situations, June 13, 2002

By 

Peter Kenney (Birmingham, Alabama, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Blue Bayou (Hardcover)

Terry Manion gets out of Evangeline Spa after twenty-two days of alcohol and drug rehabilitation. He learns that his old mentor, J.J. Legendre, is dead. Nadia Wells asks Manion to help her investigate the case to see if Legendre was murdered. Nadia is a former madam whose detective agency used to employ both Manion and Legendre.

Manion is a bookish guy who is as vulnerable as anybody emerging from alcohol and drug treatment. He is oddly unflappable in the toughest situations. BLUE BAYOU is better than most entries in the field of detective fiction.