An elderly attorney tells his grandson about a case which has piqued his interest since 1928 when he read that John Paul Jones and Napoleon were buried together in the Louisiana Bayous. For decades, he has presented his "case" before an historical society, which meets once a year, trying to convince them of his findings. It is not until 1993 that he solves the riddle of the final resting places of three of history's greatest heroes. He leaves it to his grandson to present the findings at the next meeting, as he will die before it is convened.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Library Journal
On the day of his wife's funeral, New Orleans attorney Edward Livingston tries to interest his grandson in helping with his longest-running case. Ever since 1928, when a local newspaper indicated that Jean Lafitte, John Paul Jones, and Napoleon Bonaparte were all buried in a tiny bayou cemetery, Edward has been obsessed with convincing the Lafitte Society that there were two Jean Lafittes. Edward's re-creations of past events bring history to life and should attract readers interested in historical anomalies and/or nonmurder mysteries. A first novel.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Review
"Worth reading for the research alone...." -- Carole McDonald, Eclectic Book Reviews
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3.0 out of 5 stars
Go Ahead - Crack "The Case",
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This review is from: The Lafitte Case: A Historical Mystery (Hardcover)
"The Lafitte Case", by Ray Peters, is a strange hybrid of action and exposition, woven almost randomly into something resembling a novel. But it isn't. Not quite.It is the story of both Jean Lafitte, the famous pirate of New Orleans history and legend, and Edward Livingston, a lonely and desperate attorney in modern New Orleans. The majority of the action concerns Livingston's attempts to prove before the Jean Lafitte Society that Lafitte was actually two men pretending to be one and that naval hero John Paul Jones is buried in a bayou in Louisiana. The exposition portions consist of Edward sitting in his living room and telling his nephew Mickey the story of his many visits to the Society. To say the effect is unsettling would be understatement. As a reader, I could never become completely comfortable with either story - the action scenes were short but believable and the scenes before the society came off like "Twelve Angry Men". It felt cramped and claustrophobic. Ray Peters is a competent writer. His prose is tame and soothing, but occasionally veers into the jarring with attempts at youthful slang and sentimental with Livingston's reflections on how his relationships with his son and grandson have gone south. But these passages are few and far between and do not detract from the book as a whole. I confess to not knowing whether this book is truly a work of fiction or whether it is a pet theory of the author's, trussed up to look like a novel. The lengths that Livingston goes to flesh out his theory are great, and I occasionally found myself siding with the skeptics at The Lafitte Society in claiming that the attorney was straining for filler to flesh out his ideas. But Peters has also provided a bibliography, a rarity in fiction, which indicates that he has done a good deal of research and clearly has some thoughts on the subject. In the author biography, Peters describes himself as "an amateur historian", so he may actually be writing what he believes to be true. It is a credit to Peters that each of the three subsections of this book has something to recommend it. The Lafitte history (actually that of a possibly-invented character named Jean Paul) is vivid and exciting, detailing events in the War of 1812 and John Paul Jones' pivotal naval battle with a certain grace. The argument before the Lafitte Society, though often annoying in its tedious back and forth, makes Livingston's critics bold and humorous. For me, the final bit was the meat of the story, the growing bond between Livingston and his grandson Mickey, a timid boy who lives in the shadow of his overbearing father. I was sad and intrigued as the old fellow resorted to bribery and coercion to get Mickey to listen to his tale, but warmed as the boy's interest grew. You won't find any definitive answers regarding John Paul Jones, Jean Lafitte or even Napoleon in this book, but you will find an entertaining and intriguing puzzle. You may learn to question history. Or you may just want to pick up the phone and call your granddad. Any of these is reason enough to read "The Lafitte Case".
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