Bloody River Blues

Rating:
Summary: DIFFERENT DEAVER
Review: I enjoyed this book tremendously. If it hadn't said Jeffery Deaver on the cover, I never would have guessed the author. It doesn't have the pace, the painstaking clues, and the twists and turns in the plot that you expect from Mr. Deaver. What it does have is a fascinating group of characters, tremendous humor (most of it rather dark), and an interesting setting. The hero, John Pellam. is likeable, quirky and reminds me of many characters Harrison Ford has played--the average guy who is pushed too far and resorts to action. Donnie Buffett, the cop who was paralyzed by a gunshot wound early in the book, is no stereotype. His reactions to his terrible injury run the gamut and strike true. The only female in the cast is mysterious, but not in a femme fatale way. You keep wondering "what is she *doing* here??" The setting is Maddox, MO, a economically depressed river town whose only claim to fame is FDR once mentioned it in a Fireside Chat as an example of towns hard-hit by the depression. In this hard-scrabble town, a movie is being made. Hollywood lurks in the background.

I recommend this enjoyable book highly.

Rating:
Summary: DIFFERENT DEAVER
Review: I enjoyed this book tremendously. If it hadn't said Jeffery Deaver on the cover, I never would have guessed the author. It doesn't have the pace, the painstaking clues, and the twists and turns in the plot that you expect from Mr. Deaver. What it does have is a fascinating group of characters, tremendous humor (most of it rather dark), and an interesting setting. The hero, John Pellam. is likeable, quirky and reminds me of many characters Harrison Ford has played--the average guy who is pushed too far and resorts to action. Donnie Buffett, the cop who was paralyzed by a gunshot wound early in the book, is no stereotype. His reactions to his terrible injury run the gamut and strike true. The only female in the cast is mysterious, but not in a femme fatale way. You keep wondering "what is she *doing* here??" The setting is Maddox, MO, a economically depressed river town whose only claim to fame is FDR once mentioned it in a Fireside Chat as an example of towns hard-hit by the depression. In this hard-scrabble town, a movie is being made. Hollywood lurks in the background.

I recommend this enjoyable book highly.

Rating:
Summary: relatively solid tale from the back catalogue
Review: i've been enjoying these early thrillers from Deaver a lot. (especially his RUNE series) this one is no exception. Its not exactly high-brow, but its a fast, entertaining read, as all his early thrillers have so far been. They have good plots, which are not very complex, and are easy to get your head around, they are also full of twists, as is the norm with Deaver.

however, this one is a tiny bit disappoinging, because the cahracters are not as fleshed out as he is capable of.

but, the writing is very good once again, the plot sustains interest, its a quick and enjoyable read, and is reccomended to all fans of Jeffery Deaver.

Rating:
Summary: Witness To Murder
Review: John Pellam works as a freelance location scout in the movie industry. His latest job has taken him to the supposedly sleepy town of Maddox, Missouri. He unknowingly bumps into a hired killer minutes before a hit takes place. Also caught up in the murder is a policeman who is shot and wounded. Both the cop and the killer remember Pellam and want to find him, though for obviously very different reasons.

Because a policeman was injured the local police department is very keen that Pellam comes forward as a witness and they become very aggressive when he claims that he didn’t see anything. The killer has assumed that he left behind a witness to his crime, and so takes it upon himself to eliminate the danger.

This early Jeffery Deaver provides a nice little thriller with a few surprises thron in, yet there is nothing that really grabs you and distinguishes it from the many other books in the genre.

Rating:
Summary: A Lightweight Mystery
Review: John Pellam, a movie location scout with a checkered past, finds himself caught in the middle of a real life murder for hire scenario in which he becomes the main witness. Withstanding pressure from the local police, federal agents, and the perpetrators, he must take matters into his own hands and bring down the curtain on the case. Along the way he becomes involved with a mysterious blonde, assorted hit men, and a partially paralyzed policeman.

Deaver's John Pellam is a reasonaably interesting character. He personifies the typical anti-hero, and we get a fairly clear picture of his strengths and weaknesses. Except for Donnie Buffett, the partially paralyzed police officer, all of the other characters are shallow.

This is a moderately interesting book. The story line is straight forward and we learn early on much of what we need to know to follow along as observers with Pellam. There are not many twists and turns to ratchet up the suspense level here. I'd say this is a nice book to curl up with beside the fireplace on a long winter's night. It's an easy read to help while away the hours.

Rating:
Summary: A weak attempt in the past of an excellent writer
Review: John Pellam, while scouting locations in Missouri for a movie, due to a casual incident, is taken as the key witness of a street murder that leaves two people dead and a cop paralyzed, from then on he is wanted by the Feds and the boss of the gang of thugs who committed that crime.

Although I liked the other episodes of the location scout series, I was not pleased with this one, I have experienced a slow cold boring novel with a poor plot and shallow characters with the exception of Donnie Buffet, the crippled cop. Suspense was not well recreated when it has to be done and I could count just only one interesting twist that turns the whole story the other way, now Pellam goes after the perpetrators of the crime (the Feds, the thugs) , trying to find who was behind that act and why.

This novel was written around or before 1993, it is clear that at that time Mr. Deaver was polishing his writing skills in order to become the excellent writer that he is today. So I conclude that William Jefferies and Jeffery Deaver are both the same "individual" but two different "writers"

If you are looking for a good location scout mystery series novel, better try another attempt like Shallow Graves, is in my opinion the best of the trilogy (Shallow Graves - Bloody River Blues - Hell's Kitchen)

Rating:
Summary: DEAVER delivers 2nd in Location Scout trilogy!
Review: The 2nd in the Location Scout series, BLOODY RIVER BLUES, starts out like most good mysteries...Pellam literally gets caught in the middle of a hit on a person walking the street. When the dust settles, 2 people have been killed and a cop crippled.

Pellam befriends the cop and together they try and put together the who's and why's. Deaver strengthens Pellam's character and lets him fight through all kinds of different scenarios to reach the truth. From beginning to end, Deaver never shys away from what Pellam has to do and draws into his world all sorts of bad guys, good guys and people who are definitely in the middle.

Deaver delivers another strong mystery and you will be guessing up to the bone shattering climax as to whom did what. Jeffery Deaver triumphs again!

Rating:
Summary: DEAVER delivers 2nd in Location Scout trilogy!
Review: The 2nd in the Location Scout series, BLOODY RIVER BLUES, starts out like most good mysteries...Pellam literally gets caught in the middle of a hit on a person walking the street. When the dust settles, 2 people have been killed and a cop crippled.

Pellam befriends the cop and together they try and put together the who's and why's. Deaver strengthens Pellam's character and lets him fight through all kinds of different scenarios to reach the truth. From beginning to end, Deaver never shys away from what Pellam has to do and draws into his world all sorts of bad guys, good guys and people who are definitely in the middle.

Deaver delivers another strong mystery and you will be guessing up to the bone shattering climax as to whom did what. Jeffery Deaver triumphs again!

Rating:
Summary: GREAT GREAT GREAT!!!
Review: This book just sucks you in on the life of Pellam, a scout for a film company. He was a witness to a shooting that he wishes he never witnessed.

Rating:
Summary: SINGING THE BLUES
Review: This second in the location scout mysteries by Jeffery Deaver, writing as William Jefferies, is one of those books that probably would never been re-released had it not been for Deaver's incredible success of the past five or six years. It doesn't have the complex plot twists or non-stop action Deaver has mastered lately. The hero, John Pellam, is upstaged in this book by Donnie Buffett, an incredibly complex and multi-facted character. Buffett's character dominates the book, while Pellam is left being abused and mistreated by the ever nasty FBI and the local police force. The identity of the mystery blonde is pretty evident, if you remember those film noirs of the forties and fifties; the big boss' reason for wanting Vince Guadia dead is pretty obvious, too. The back and forth mob activities get confusing at first, and then downright, mediocre. The elimination of one of Pellam's friends is also predictable and the hitmen Bales and Steve From end up reminiscent of Laurel and Hardy, or the Two Stooges. I admire Deaver's writing style, which is evident in this book; it's just that it's such a cliche-ridden book, I was disappointed knowing how great Deaver is now!