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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
"He couldn't stay away.", January 15, 2009
This review is from: Lost River (Valentin St. Cyr Mysteries) (Hardcover)
David Fulmer's "Lost River" takes place in 1913 New Orleans. Valentin St. Cyr is "a lone wolf and skilled investigator who had followed an uncommon path." He had worked on both sides of the law and is now living with Justine Mancarre, a former prostitute ("sporting girl"), who has insisted that he cut all ties with his sordid past. He has done her bidding and now makes a good living working for respectable law firms and enjoying a life of placid domesticity. However, Storyville, the section of New Orleans filled with lucrative brothels and run by the aging Tom Anderson, the "King of Storyville," soon lures Valentin back.
Without warning, the red light district becomes a scene of murder and mayhem when various men are shot down in its streets for no apparent reason. At first, Valentin ignores the requests of those who want him to get involved. However, as the bodies pile up and the ineffectual and corrupt police get nowhere in their investigation, Valentin cannot resist stepping in to clean up the mess. He is risking his reputation, his new livelihood, and Justine's disapproval when he resumes his old occupation. However, the Creole detective knows the streets of Storyville better than anyone, and he alone has the contacts, the intellect, and the courage to tackle and solve these bizarre crimes.
"Lost River" is a campy look at a colorful era. Fulmer makes the most of the city's ambience, vividly describing a wild scene of free flowing liquor, drugs, and scores of hypocritical gentlemen who temporarily forget their wives and children while they consort with their favorite ladies of the evening. New Orleans is a scene of delicious decadence. We visit Basin Street, with its drugs, gambling tables, jazz musicians, and bordellos filled with women of all colors. The cast is lively: Valentin St. Cyr is a former police officer who "had been embroiled in several of the most remarkable cases" in New Orleans. The police hate him because he is as competent as they are incompetent. Justine is fiery, desirable, and madly in love with Valentin, although she would like to wring his neck when he ignores her entreaties. Anderson is a fabulously wealthy entrepreneur who, many are saying, is losing his touch. Emile Carter (Each) is a former street urchin who serves as St. Cyr's loyal assistant. Louis Jacob is a slimy, handsome, and self-serving young man who makes a play for Justine. Captain Picot is a crooked policeman who despises St. Cyr and would love to discredit him. There are also a number of powerful madams who run their businesses with a shrewd eye for the bottom line.
Unfortunately, the book has serious flaws that keep it from realizing its full potential. Fulmer repeats the same information again and again and he creates a villain whose motives make very little sense. They plot is too silly to take seriously, and there is little suspense to hold the reader's interest. In addition, the author spends several pages at the end laboriously explaining whodunit and why. Such heavy-handedness does not enhance the book's appeal. "Lost River" gets high marks for its vibrant setting and lively protagonists, but it falters because of Fulmer's labored and cliché-ridden prose and its implausible mystery.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Solid Mystery Despite Challenges, January 8, 2009
This review is from: Lost River (Valentin St. Cyr Mysteries) (Hardcover)
The fourth book in the Valentin St. Cyr mystery series by David Fulmer (who, as an aside, looks separated from birth from TV ringleader Jerry Springer). The mystery takes place in steamy New Orleans of 1913 in the red-light district called Storyville.
Fulmer is a master of creating place - and readers will feel like they've been transported back in time. Storyville lifts off the pages and into the reader's imagination. You can smell the seedy tap houses and jazz joints. You can feel the hot, sticky humidity.
The writing is beautiful. The prose rolls like jazz music and Valentin St. Cyr fans will welcome "Lost River" into the series.
However, there are some stumbling blocks in storyline. The first is the mystery itself. It's like a street map that can't be refolded correctly. The traveler tries to retrace the proper steps, but ends up with new creases and folds and finally out of frustration stuffs the map back into the glove box. The mystery - which has to do with a series of murders to take over Storyville - has too many logic lapses to make much sense.
One of the most disappointing details gone wrong is that St. Cyr has his regular pistol (the Iver Johnson) confiscated by the police and is forced to use a backup. Yet at the end of the novel, his regular pistol is back in his hands for the final confrontation. No explanation is ever given (Fulmer should reprimand his editor for the mistake getting into print).
There's also a sense that Fulmer likes his main character just a bit too much. St. Cyr is a living legend in Storyville and Fulmer is only too happy to show us how he's worshipped. Yet even with these two challenges, "Lost River" is a solid entry and a good read for anyone who enjoys historical mysteries.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Fulmer telegraphs resolution, March 3, 2009
This review is from: Lost River (Valentin St. Cyr Mysteries) (Hardcover)
In some respects LOST RIVER is a historical novel. Storyville was the red light district of New Orleans from 1897-1917 until it was closed down due to a law prohibiting dens of prostitution located near a military base. Tom Anderson was also a real person, often known as "The Mayor of Storyville."
The main character in the novel, Valentin St. Cyr, was Tom Anderson right-hand man until he fell in love with a prostitute and moved to the French Quarter where he became a "fixer" for several lawyers. He is lured back to Storyville when someone starts killing high-roller customers at some of the better houses.
The main problem with the book is that Fulmer telegraphs the resolution of his plot. He introduces the murderer, a former patient at a mental asylum, too early and it's not too hard to figure out who his boss is or the connection between the murderer and Buddy Bolden a childhood friend of Valentin's who now resides at the same mental institution the murderer escaped from. About the only mystery is the relevance of the slash the murderer carves across his victims' faces and that's almost an after thought.
Despite the above, LOST RIVER does have its merits. The setting itself is intriguing as are the jazz references and the tour around town Fulmer treats us to. Louis Armstrong even makes a brief appearance. I had not read any of the St. Cyr series prior to this one, and if awards mean anything, Fulmer has won the Shamus Award for best private eye novel.
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