Jackson Square Jazz

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic
Review: A throughly enjoyable sequel that has something for everyone.

The characters are rich, and fun - and there were more then a few times when I thought "My God ... so and so would say something just like that" so they are real too

Mr Herren also captures the mystery of New Orleans, something that the natives love - and something visitors feel the moment they arrive. The city becomes as real as the character .

I look forward to more...

Rating:
Summary: A bit light, but otherwise very enjoyable
Review: Buff blonde Party-boy/psychic/former-GoGoBoy/turned-private-investigator "Scotty" Bradley is back (from his introduction in Herren's earlier "Bourbon Street Blues"), and he quicky becomes involved in a murder plot involving a 19y/o gay male figure skater, a fire at a museum, a reverend involved in a theft, a crazy stepmother, a kidnapping, and a high speed chase resulting in an accident. We also are reunited with Scotty's hippie parents, his lawyer-brother Storm, African-American police detective Ms. Venus Casanova, Scotty's long distance boyfriend (Frank, an FBI agent), and a former lover who forms a triangle that makes Scotty doubt his feelings for Frank. Readers who love New Orleans (where this and the previous novel are based) will especially like the local color provided by the author, who obviously holds a fondness for the city as well.

To be honest, I thought the book was a bit "light". not so much in plot but moreso in character development (Although we do learn a bit more about characters introduced in the earlier novel). Otherwise, it was an entirely engrossing and enjoyable mystery, with lots of nail-biting situations (Perhaps too many, some would say), leaving you wanting more. (It's obvious in the final pages that Herren is setting up some situations for a third novel in the series, which I would look forward to.)

Not for readers who cannot deal with the numerous new-age references, belief in psychic experiences, tarot cards, etc., which are an intergral part of Scotty's character.

Rating:
Summary: Nothing Earth Shattering Hear, just good fun......
Review: I enjoyed this and his first book and look forward to others he has to offer in the future. Yes it's a bit light, but I don't want to be deep all the time. Good light-hearted fun.

Rating:
Summary: Par for the course
Review: I picked this up because my library had it labeled as Fiction, so I was disappointed to find it was yet another murder mystery, not my favorite genre. This one was better than most gay-themed mysteries as the author wasn't trying to dazzle us with his non-stop wit and writes competently. But like most mysteries, this was full of the coincidences and implausabilities that are the stock-in-trade of mystery writers. The protagonist is not particularly likable, just so attractive that he has to fight off "pretty boys" with a stick and treats his would-be boyfriends badly because he's just too hot to give up his promiscuous life. The voodoo visions and tarot card readings didn't help but were easily skipped, and by the 100th time he invoked his "Goddess" or his brother called him "my queen," I was quite ready to skim. I blame my local library for misrepresentation, since as mysteries go this was par for the course.

Rating:
Summary: A GREAT Follow up to Bourbon Street Blues
Review: I think as far as sequels go, this was great. Like the first there were several parts of the book you find yourself saying "yeah right" but all of that can be attributed to "The Goddess."

A Frequent Guest in New Orleans, I can tell you this is a fun read especially for those who know the area. What is really great about this book is that is is not ABOUT Being Gay. It isn't about sex, though sex isn't absent, it isn't pornography, and it isn't a sweet romantic novel, yet, "romance" is part of the story.

And Romance is another thing, alot of times, Authors try to carry on Two Stories in one book, (Gay or Straight). Hero has secret life of action, while trying to maintain a homelife separate from the other, sometimes the Love Interest becomes unwittingly involved in the climax and resolution of the story, and the Hero is forced out of the Closet with his alternate and hidden life (i.e. Mary Jane in "Spiderman" or Lois Lane in "Superman", Helen Tasker in the movie "True Lies"). Well... This book is so different with that.. The Love Interests are involved in the story, they play vital roles in plot development and are actively involved in the furtherment of the story and aren't there simply for the hostage dilema.. In fact, we find the Hero in more Hostage dilemas than his friends, but it all turns out in good fun and great story telling.

Nextly, I love the Character Development, we learn much more about our favorite Characters from the first book... Scotty, David, Frank, Colin, and Venus..
It's very good, and I can not wait for the next book whenever it may be.

I would also LOVE to see these Books Turned into Movies... in a dream world, here is how I would cast our stars...

Scotty - Paul Walker (just dye his hair brown)
Frank - Ron Perlman (10 years ago)
Colin - Charlie Sheen
David - Sean Hayes
Venus - Pam Grier (no two questions about it)
Mom - Kathy Bates..

That's just my idea.. although, they'd ALL Have to work on their New Orleans ability.. because above the story, the character... the appeal of this story is it's capture of the flavor of New Orleans.

Rating:
Summary: Could have been so much better
Review: If not for predictable stereotypes, this book would have no characters at all. There are lots of good things in Jackson Square Jazz -- including a likeable protagonist -- but I was unable to get truly into this book because I was always aware of the author's self-consciousness. He is trying very hard to entertain his reader and as a result prevents us from getting into the action. If he allowed the characters more depth and steered clear of stereotypes, this book could have been quite good. The story -- which is apparently based on real events -- is compelling but the lack of depth of the characters is disappointing.

Rating:
Summary: Complete waste of time
Review: The title is the most intriguing aspect to this book. You can put it down after you get that far. Stiff and amateurish writing that you expect to see in a high school paper rather than a published book for adults.

Rating:
Summary: Overcoming Stereotypes
Review: When I began reading Greg Herren's series about Scotty, the gogo boy turned PI, I was worried that it would soon devolve into a series of gay stereotypes. After all, when we first meet Scotty, he's dancing on a French Quarter bar for tips wearing little more than a smile. Fortunately, Herren knows the scene well enough to play with the stereotypes rather than succumbing to them. Scotty is an engaging character and the books are spiced with humor, sex, and intrigue. I look forward to more.