Customer Reviews

Chasing the Devil's Tail

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Absent a time machine the best way to wile away a few hours in the past is through good historical fiction. "Chasing the Devil's Tail" transports readers to the famed New Orleans district of Storyville in 1907. Author David Fulmer deserves plaudits for his historical research alone. He re-creates the sights, the sounds the lingo and the language. Further, the author peoples the story with engaging, fully realized characters, none more engaging than the protagonist, Valentin St. Cyr. (The book also features real life characters such as famed jazz musician, Jelly Roll Morton).
Add to this a ripping good mystery about a series of murders that too conveniently point to St. Cyr's best friend, musician Buddy Bolden.
Fulmer leads us on an intriguing journey, placing a Rosette Stone in the path early on. The resulting conclusion is surprising but plausible.
An excellent read on many levels. Great debut by Fulmer, may he write many more.

http://www.cajunculture.com/Other/creole.htm

"Coodermom" (the first and only reviewer to rate this book less than 4 stars) opinion of Mr. Fulmer's historical accuracy seems to be far from the truth, as the link above will demonstrate. I sense an agenda.

I read this book after I saw a review of "Jass" (the second book in the series) a few weeks before my daughter went to NOLA for spring break this year. I bought both for her, and read this after her rave reviews of both books. This one gives a sense of time and place seldom found in literature--similar to reading the works of Arthur Conan Doyle--and is educational as well as entertaining.

A little grisly for younger readers, but highly recommended for anyone who enjoys well written books, NOLA, history and/or mysteries.

Papa Bellocq's grainy photographs of "soiled doves", the rounders who gather for a few hands of cards, the working girls decked out for another night of pleasure, the plump madams with calculating minds, the rich and powerful men who take their profit...this is the sanctioned Louisiana district of ill-repute known as Storyville.

Working for Tom Anderson, the King of Storyville, private detective Valentin St. Cyr trouble-shoots the moonlit streets of the District, reporting to his boss for special assignments. Of late, Storyville has gained notoriety for a new kind of music, the funky, low-down blues and wild disharmonies of Jass the black musicians have taken to heart, filling the nights with their soulful rhythms. Valentin's childhood friend, Buddy "King" Bolden, is in the forefront of the horn-blowing magicians, his reputation as a hard-drinking womanizer growing along with his fame as a musician.

But something is on Buddy's mind, his drinking and drugging out of control, his magic melodies losing their edge. Whatever the problem, Buddy is keeping it to himself, which is all right with St. Cyr, currently engaged in solving the brutal slayings of ladies of the night, each body left with a souvenir, a black rose. The ladies are nervous and Anderson expects St. Cyr to produce quick results before business suffers in the District.

Someone usually knows exactly what is going on in Storyville and the Black Rose Murders are no exception. While Buddy Bolden appears the obvious candidate, Valentin has more on his mind than his friend. Clearly, someone is also doing their best to keep St. Cyr off the right track. The recent violent murders of the women work on the detective, who is one step behind each murder, unable to put the mystery together; yet this isn't a man who gives up easily. When the violence hits too close to home, Valentin steels his resolve, reaching beyond the obvious to the dark mind that so casually disposes of human life. When his friendship with Buddy is threatened, the detective truly knows despair: "Valentin felt no relief, just a nagging emptiness, a vacant sorrow for all the ghosts, living and dead."

Fulmer's Storyville is richly atmospheric, recalling the ribald days when horns blared the new music and the night sparkled with the false histrionics of bright lights and the laughter of painted women. Long faded into the dusty pages of the past, for a short time Storyville comes alive with a vengeance in Chasing the Devil`s Tail. Luan Gaines/2005.

As a frequent visitor to New Orleans as well as a fan of all that city's great music, I am always interested in fun fiction that covers this territory. I picked this book up on a whim and was amply rewarded -- not only does Fulmer bring historical characters (such as Buddy Bolden, Lulu White, and - very briefly - a young Louis Armstrong) alive, he places them perfectly in their city in their time (the flooding, the banquettes, even the use of terms like "lucifer" for what we now call a match). Well written, with believable people and good musical description, this was just a not-to-be-put-down read. OK, maybe it's not quite "Coming Through Slaughter" (Michael Ondaatje's masterful recreation of Bolden's life), but it beats the hell out of a lot of other mysteries that trade off the Crescent City's allure. This reader eagerly awaits Fulmer's next book.

I very much enjoyed "Chasing The Devil's Tail," by David Fulmer. This is the first book in a series featuring Creole detective Valentin St Cyr, set in New Orleans in the early 1900's, and more particularly, set in Storyville.

Storyville was the "special district" set aside in New Orleans for legalized prostitution in 1897 under an ordinance introduced by Alderman Story, whose name became attached to the district, probably to his discomfort. It was closed down by the U.S. Navy in 1917 as being detrimental to the morals of young sailors. It remains legendary, its passing lamented in song (e.g. "Hop Scop Blues", by Chris Norris with the Golden Eagle Jazz Band; "Storyville Blues", by Big Bill Bissonnette's Easy Riders Jazz Band), and it is credited with being the incubator of New Orleans jazz. Storyville is one of the world's most famous red light districts, rivalled in the U.S. mainly by the single establishment of the Everleigh sisters, in Chicago. (It has been reported that a European crown prince was interviewed about his planned trip to the U.S. He was asked who he most wanted to meet in America. His answer was, "The Everleigh sisters!")

In this rich atmosphere, the plot centers around murders in several of the bordellos, which leads Tom Anderson, political power holder in Storyville, to assign his troubleshooter, St. Cyr, formerly of NOPD, to put a stop to this threat to business. Mr. Fulmer does a good job of evoking the time and place. He has clearly spent time studying Al Rose's "Storyville," probably the definitive work on the subject. (Interestingly, when Rose tried to learn who had owned the land on which the fancy houses were situated, he found that the relevant pages had been cut out of the parish records.)

One of the devices Fulmer uses is to lace the story with historical figures. Tom Anderson was a state legislator, local power broker, and the "King of Storyville." He ran a saloon in Storyville, was the lover of one of the high class madams, and probably owner of her establishment. Lulu White, and some of the other madams make appearances, as does Edward Bellocq, the famous photographer of the girls, Buddy Bolden and Ferdinand Le Menthe (who later took the name "Jelly Roll Morton"). You can almost hear Mamie Desdoumes playing "Mamie's Blues," and see the young Ferd Le Menthe working in the house as a can rusher in order to learn to play the piece.

In the story, Bolden, the 1890's-1900's trumpet player who may or not have been one of the progenitors of jazz (and mythologized in "Jelly's Last Jam," a miserable Broadway production, second worst of all those I have seen), is cast as a childhood friend of St Cyr's, and a prime suspect. The story is well-plotted, the characters are interesting, and the setting is fascinating for anyone with an interest in New Orleans, Storyville and all of the issues it posed, or the beginnings of jazz. Highly recommended.

Chasing the Devils Tail is an incredible read!! For anyone who is fascinated with Storyville, New Orleans or the birth of Jazz, this is an incredible book. The telling of the tale is exquisite, with an eye for detail, time & space that takes you to turn of the century New Orleans. 1906 is perhaps the most famed (but sadly least documented) period of time in an illustrious cultural history. The high point of this first novel is the "mystery within a mystery". The story unfolds into a classic "who dunnit", but the twist is that the main suspect is the mysterious Buddy Bolden, whose true life remains a mystery to this day. I admire David Fulmer's ability to create piece of fiction that seems to be based on the very best truth that we have about Storyville. Bravo!!

This evocative novel puts the reader right in the middle of Storyville New Orleans, 1907. You can almost hear the music and see the sights, such is Fulmer's ability to bring the period to life. The mixing of his fictional detective Valentin St.Cyr with real people of the era left me having to remind myself that this was fiction, it was so well written. My father was a huge fan of old New Orleans jazz (i.e. Billie and DeeDee Pierce) and yet I had never heard of "King" Buddy Bolden. It is set in the red light district of New Orleans and does describe some sex scenes between the prostitutes and their johns as well as drug use. I wasn't a bit offended, I imagine that's just what it was like. I don't want to give away the plot, but suffice to say if you've ever walked in the area near the French Quarter and wondered what it would have been like in the days of Storyville (which was all demolished long ago) this is the closest I've ever come. It was also a great mystery and I will be looking for Mr. Fulmer's other books.

New Orleans is a fascinating city. Fulmer does a remarkable job of depicting the sights, sounds, smells and social structure of that city, particularly the "red light" district of Storyville. I learned about jazz and Buddy Bolden, of whom I'd never heard and who is considered to be the father of jazz. But I also became involved in the very good, page-turning story with strong, memorable characters. If you are a fan of American history, jazz, New Orleans, or just love a really good book, I'd give this one a try. For me, his second book, JASS, is already on my TBR shelf.

Author David Fulmer's meticulously researched and colorfully evoked images of 1907 Storyville delighted this New Orleans native. His characters are fully realized and credible, especially the beleaguered protagonist St. Cyr and the tormented jazz genius Buddy Bolden. Whether or not you "buy" the resolution is almost immaterial when a ride is this rich and authentic. Shame on those critical Texas readers insisting Creoles can't have black blood. As far back as the 1830s, New Orleans newspapers made reference to "Creoles of Color." As detective St. Cyr might say, "Case closed."

This beautifully crafted novel drew me in from the first chapter and kept me hooked all the way to the last page. This book has all the elements of a fast read: excellent character development; clever plot twists; and compelling writing style. Not to mention, murder, prostitutes, bad cops and voodoo.

Author David Fulmer paints the seedy red-light district so vividly that I felt like a fly on the wall, secretly watching the story unfold through Valentin St. Cyr's eyes.

I hope there's a sequel in the works!