Jackson Square Jazz [Hardcover]

Greg Herren (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2004

"Greg Herren gives readers a tantalizing glimpse of New Orleans."--The Midwest Book Review

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

After a somewhat slow opening, the thrills stack up Hollywood-style with car chases, a kidnapping, a home invasion and a funny, daring escape in Herren's steamy second gay mystery (after 2003's Bourbon Street Blues) set in a lovingly evoked New Orleans. Self-described boy-toy, ex-exotic dancer and fledgling gumshoe Scotty Bradley works to earn his PI's license researching cases for his straight-laced older lawyer brother, Storm. Too briefly, the author entices us into a well-rendered world of professional ice skating as the brothers pursue answers to clear an upcoming young champion of a murder rap. Later, a scintilla of clairvoyance and some dog-eared tarot cards give Scotty the insight necessary to crack a long unsolved crime. The reader can forgive a few stereotypical characters when Scotty has such unusual pals as hunky hottie Colin, a cat burglar, and can turn for support to his petrified-hippie parents, who fully accept his lifestyle. In the end, faced with the dire prospect of monogamy with either a bawdy bandit or a G-man stud, Scotty gets to have his beefcake and eat it too.
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From Booklist

When Herren introduced young, well-muscled former New Orleans bar dancer Scotty Bradley, whose given name, Milton, was bestowed by his pot-smoking, counterculture parents as a joke, he gave crime fiction one of its most engaging gay heroes. In his second outing, Scotty is getting used to the boyfriend he acquired in Bourbon Street Blues [BKL Mr 15 03] and the rigors of a long-distance relationship (Frank's an FBI agent in D.C.), and one evening he drinks too much. Next morning, he wakes up with a cutie who walks out of his life only to turn up later as a stellar attraction at a skating competition. Our detective-in-training unromantically stumbles upon a corpse at a postcontest assignation, which leads to all manner of unpleasantness, including a shoot-out in his living room and an investigation that carries him deep into his skater-honey's past and that of New Orleans, too. The pacing is easy, breezy, and as captivating as the hero, who'll further please Bourbon Street Blues readers and pick up more fans with this caper. Whitney Scott
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Kensington; 1St Edition edition (April 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0758202148
• ISBN-13: 978-0758202147
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,377,856 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jackson Square Jazz hits a perfect score, July 28, 2007

By 

jmore865 (Tennessee) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jackson Square Jazz (Paperback)

Greg Herren is a fun writer that is very entertaining. This series is an easy fun read that is great for your summer reading list. If you love mystrey novels with a some personal drama thrown in for flair this book is a read. This series Mardi Gras Mambo, Jackson Square Jazz and Bourbon Street Blues are center around the PI, Scotty Bradley.

Scotty tends to get himself in to some of the most interesting situations personally and professionally. I would recommend reading these in order so that you can grow with the character of Scotty. I am glad to hear that Greg is not done with Scott Bradley but only took a break from him for awhile. I can not wait for number four.

3.0 out of 5 stars Fails to catch fire, July 10, 2010

By 

R. Fink "Armchair traveler," (Harrisburg, Pa) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Jackson Square Jazz (Paperback)

A gay pot-smoking private eye wannabe fixated on sex has a one-night stand with a champion ice skater and finds himself enmeshed in murder. A very flimsy "clue" and some psychic intuition leads back to an unsolved killing fifteen years earlier. The crux of the story is discerned early and proceeds in cartoon fashion--car chase, kidnap, miraculous escape, shoot-outs, etc. A couple of interesting characters but generally an unflattering look at gay stereotypes. This is the second volume of a series that never materialized. I have now read most of the Herren books (lots of repetition) and think he will be remembered only for the stunning "Murder in the Rue Chartres" which I highly recommend.

5.0 out of 5 stars Scotty and New Orleans, What could go wrong?, February 18, 2009

By 

Joe Crawford "[e-mail]" (Greenville, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Jackson Square Jazz (Paperback)

Greg Herren keeps you guessing right until the end. Wonderful characters, enjoyable read. I wish I would have had Scotty Bradley to show me around New Orleans on my visit back in the early eighties. I would have had a better time. New Orleans comes alive in this second installment of Herren's suspense series with ex-go-go boy turned P.I. Scotty Bradley. Jackson Square Jazz is a must read for any whodunit fan...