Chasing the Devil's Tail: A Mystery of Storyville, New Orleans [Paperback]

David Fulmer (Author)

Book Description

Series: Harvest Book | Publication Date: July 1, 2003

Storyville, 1907: In this raucous, bloody, red-light district, where two thousand scarlet women ply their trade in grand mansions and filthy dime-a-trick cribs, where cocaine and opium are sold over the counter, and where rye whiskey flows like an amber river, there's a killer loose. Someone is murdering Storyville prostitutes and marking each killing with a black rose. As Creole detective Valentin St. Cyr begins to unravel the murder against this extraordinary backdrop, he encounters a cast of characters drawn from history: Tom Anderson, the political boss who runs Storyville like a private kingdom; Lulu White, the district's most notorious madam; a young piano player who would come to be known as Jelly Roll Morton; and finally, Buddy Bolden, the man who all but invented jazz and is now losing his mind.
No ordinary mystery, Chasing the Devil's Tail is a chilling portrait of musical genius and self-destruction, set at the very moment when jazz was born.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Storyville, New Orleans, the most historic red-light district in the United States, where the music of Jelly Roll Morton and "King" Buddy Bolden is ushering in the jazz age, provides the stage for this riveting and provocative debut mystery of sex, alcohol, drugs, insanity and murder. When two prostitutes are found murdered and marked with a black rose, Tom Anderson, political boss and the "King of Storyville," calls in Creole detective Valentin St. Cyr. While the death toll mounts, St. Cyr doesn't want to believe that all indications point to his childhood friend, Buddy Bolden. Bolden, who has risen to fame with the "jass" music of his horn, has become more than erratic in his behavior. As St. Cyr watches his friend self-destruct, he wonders if Buddy is indeed the killer. The author vividly describes early 20th-century New Orleans, from the large and elegant houses of the madams to the infested rooms of the crib girls that reflect the distinct and rigid caste system of the day. After a frustrating investigation, the pieces of the puzzle come together in a surprising and satisfying conclusion. Fulmer's use of historical figures such as Tom Anderson, Buddy Bolden, piano player Ferdinand LeMenthe (who would later be known as Jelly Roll Morton), E.J. Bellocq, the photographer of New Orleans whores, and the famous madam Lulu White authenticate an already believable and spellbinding story, which will echo in the reader's mind like the mournful notes of good blues. Agent, Laura Langlie. (Nov. 1)Forecast: With Italian rights sold to Rizzoli, blurbs from Jeffery Deaver and James Sallis, as well as a regional author tour, this first novel should generate a lot of buzz and generous sales.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal

Valentin St. Cyr, a Creole of mixed parentage working as a private detective in early 20th-century New Orleans, often passes for white, but his real entr?e into society comes from his boss, Tom Anderson. Although a state senator, Anderson stays close to his "fiefdom," the fabled red-light district of Storyville. At his behest, St. Cyr investigates the murders of several prostitutes all left with a telltale black rose. Chief among the suspects is St. Cyr's longtime friend, a highly talented musician. Journalist Fulmer has written about jazz and blues for National Public Radio, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and other publications and also wrote and produced the documentary Blind Willie's Blues. His first fiction, which features a fascinating plot line and pervasive New Orleans atmosphere, is an outstanding historical.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 348 pages
• Publisher: Mariner Books; First Edition. first pb edition (July 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0156027283
• ISBN-13: 978-0156027281
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #821,282 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

David Fulmer is the author of seven critically-acclaimed novels with Poisoned Pen Press, Harcourt Books, and Five Stones Press.
"Chasing the Devil's Tail" was nominated for a Los Angeles Times Book Prize, a Barry Award, and a Falcon Award, was on Borders' "Best of 2003 List," and won a Shamus Award and an AudioFile Golden Earphones Award. It has been translated into Japanese, Italian, and French. "Jass" was nominated for the "Best of 2005" lists by Library Journal, Deadly Pleasures Magazine, and The St. Louis Post-Dispatch and won the 2005 Georgia Author of the Year Award for Fiction. Rampart Street was included as one of New York Magazine's "Best Novels You've Never Read" and the audiobook version won the 2007 Benjamin Franklin Award for Audiobook Fiction. His fourth novel, "The Dying Crapshooter's Blues received the "Ice Pick of the Month Award" by Bookpage. "The Blue Door" was chosen for the "2008 Best of the Shelf" by Atlanta Magazine and was nominated for the 2009 Shamus Award for Best Novel.
His sixth novel, Lost River, was released in January 2009 and his seventh, "The Fall," will be released in 2010 by Five Stones Press.
His books have received superlative reviews from The Times Picayune, USA Today, The New York Times, Publishers Weekly, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Washington Post, BookList, Kirkus Reviews, The Detroit Free Press, The Sacramento Bee, The Boston Globe, The Tennessean, Bookpage, The Plain Dealer, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Christian Science Monitor, and numerous other publications and book-related websites.
Fulmer wrote and produced the documentary "Blind Willie's Blues," which Video Librarian called "nothing less than the economic, social, and historical evolution of America's indigenous music." It earned him a nomination for a W.C. Handy "Keeping the Blues Alive" Award in 1998. He also writes and produces the "Americana" audio series for NPR affiliate WABE-FM and WMLB-AM, both in Atlanta. He is the co-producer of "Piano Red - The Lost Atlanta Tapes" which was released in August 2010 by Landslide Records.
As a journalist, he has written about music and other subjects for a variety of newspapers and magazines, including The Atlanta Journal & Constitution, Southline, Atlanta Magazine, Paste Magazine, City Life, Markee, Blues Access, Il Giornale, Goodlife, Advertising Age, The Atlanta Tribune, Creative Loafing, BackStage, Georgia Music Magazine, and various trade publications.
A native of central Pennsylvania, he lives in Atlanta with his daughter Italia.
www.davidfulmer.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A mystery for people who like their history, July 21, 2003

By 

Richard E. Hourula (Berkeley, CA. United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Chasing the Devil's Tail: A Mystery of Storyville, New Orleans (Paperback)

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.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 5 Stars Are Not Enough for This Book, December 15, 2005

By 

Joe H. "joeboe2001" (Stevensville, MD United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Chasing the Devil's Tail: A Mystery of Storyville, New Orleans (Paperback)

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.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The slow demise of childhood dreams, January 25, 2005

By 

Luan Gaines "luansos" (Dana Point, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Chasing the Devil's Tail: A Mystery of Storyville, New Orleans (Paperback)

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.