Rating: 
Summary: Fascinating Historical Read
Review: Absent a time machine the best way to wile away a few hours in the past is through good historical fiction. "Chasing the Devil's Tail" transports readers to the famed New Orleans district of Storyville in 1907. Author David Fulmer deserves plaudits for his historical research alone. He re-creates the sights, the sounds the lingo and the language. Further, the author peoples the story with engaging, fully realized characters, none more engaging than the protagonist, Valentin St. Cyr. (The book also features real life characters such as famed jazz musician, Jelly Roll Morton).
Add to this a ripping good mystery about a series of murders that too conveniently point to St. Cyr's best friend, musician Buddy Bolden.
Fulmer leads us on an intriguing journey, placing a Rosette Stone in the path early on. The resulting conclusion is surprising but plausible.
An excellent read on many levels. Great debut by Fulmer, may he write many more.
Rating: 
Summary: Dear David Fulmer,
Review: Alas, David, you have done us wrong!! Imagine penning an entire book based on New Orleans and a "Creole" detective, yet apparently not knowing the meaning of the term. Why do you refer to St. Cyr as a Creole of 'mixed race'? That is NOT the meaning of the term Creole!! A creole is a person born in the West Indies or Latin America, who is really of European ancestry, particularly Spanish. It may also mean a person of mixed Spanish and French ancestry. Anyone familiar with New Orleans, or Louisiana in general, knows a person of mixed race is NOT referred to as Creole. Give us a break. Makes me prefer to read something by Ace Atkins instead.
Rating: 
Summary: A Crescent City treat
Review: As a frequent visitor to New Orleans as well as a fan of all that city's great music, I am always interested in fun fiction that covers this territory. I picked this book up on a whim and was amply rewarded -- not only does Fulmer bring historical characters (such as Buddy Bolden, Lulu White, and - very briefly - a young Louis Armstrong) alive, he places them perfectly in their city in their time (the flooding, the banquettes, even the use of terms like "lucifer" for what we now call a match). Well written, with believable people and good musical description, this was just a not-to-be-put-down read. OK, maybe it's not quite "Coming Through Slaughter" (Michael Ondaatje's masterful recreation of Bolden's life), but it beats the hell out of a lot of other mysteries that trade off the Crescent City's allure. This reader eagerly awaits Fulmer's next book.
Rating:
Summary: The Big Easy Laid Bare
Review: Author David Fulmer's meticulously researched and colorfully evoked images of 1907 Storyville delighted this New Orleans native. His characters are fully realized and credible, especially the beleaguered protagonist St. Cyr and the tormented jazz genius Buddy Bolden. Whether or not you "buy" the resolution is almost immaterial when a ride is this rich and authentic. Shame on those critical Texas readers insisting Creoles can't have black blood. As far back as the 1830s, New Orleans newspapers made reference to "Creoles of Color." As detective St. Cyr might say, "Case closed."
Rating:
Summary: Great Book!!
Review: Chasing the Devils Tail is an incredible read!! For anyone who is fascinated with Storyville, New Orleans or the birth of Jazz, this is an incredible book. The telling of the tale is exquisite, with an eye for detail, time & space that takes you to turn of the century New Orleans. 1906 is perhaps the most famed (but sadly least documented) period of time in an illustrious cultural history. The high point of this first novel is the "mystery within a mystery". The story unfolds into a classic "who dunnit", but the twist is that the main suspect is the mysterious Buddy Bolden, whose true life remains a mystery to this day. I admire David Fulmer's ability to create piece of fiction that seems to be based on the very best truth that we have about Storyville. Bravo!!
Rating:
Summary: Lagniappe
Review: I sat down with this novel early one afternoon and before I knew it, the sun had set. From the moment I began reading this fascinating mystery, I was transported. David Fulmer's writing is so evocative that the place (New Orleans' Storyville district in the early 1900s), the sounds (especially the legendary music of Buddy Bolden), the sights and smells of this rich, rich setting wrap you in steamy New Orleans nights and days, creating an almost tangible cocoon. Mystery lovers will certainly appreciate the unexpected and satisfying resolution to the puzzle. Jazz enthusiasts are sure to enjoy this window onto the intriguing world where such musical talents as Buddy Bolden and Jelly Roll Morton made their magic. And history buffs can happily indulge themselves in this time trip, since Fulmer has carefully researched the setting and the real-life persons who play roles in this story, noting several of his resources in the afterword. I highly recommend this novel. As a matter of fact, I think I'm going to order several copies for my book-loving friends. A lagniappe -- a little something extra -- for a great start to the New Year. Cheers!
Rating:
Summary: To Creole or not to Creole
Review: It's hard to take an author -- and a publisher -- seriously when something as basic as the protagonist's identity is botched.
The author is obviously not familiar with New Orleans and its history. Creoles are not light-skinned African-Americans of mixed blood; they are people of mixed French and Spanish ancestry. A very famous Louisiana Creole, for instance, was the Confederate general, Pierre Gustave-Toutant (P.G.T.) Beauregard.
A fascinating era and locale, Storyville in the early 20th century, are wasted at once by the entire pretense of this book. There is no room for this kind of "literary license" in good fiction.
Rating:
Summary: The slow demise of childhood dreams
Review: Papa Bellocq's grainy photographs of "soiled doves", the rounders who gather for a few hands of cards, the working girls decked out for another night of pleasure, the plump madams with calculating minds, the rich and powerful men who take their profit...this is the sanctioned Louisiana district of ill-repute known as Storyville.
Working for Tom Anderson, the King of Storyville, private detective Valentin St. Cyr trouble-shoots the moonlit streets of the District, reporting to his boss for special assignments. Of late, Storyville has gained notoriety for a new kind of music, the funky, low-down blues and wild disharmonies of Jass the black musicians have taken to heart, filling the nights with their soulful rhythms. Valentin's childhood friend, Buddy "King" Bolden, is in the forefront of the horn-blowing magicians, his reputation as a hard-drinking womanizer growing along with his fame as a musician.
But something is on Buddy's mind, his drinking and drugging out of control, his magic melodies losing their edge. Whatever the problem, Buddy is keeping it to himself, which is all right with St. Cyr, currently engaged in solving the brutal slayings of ladies of the night, each body left with a souvenir, a black rose. The ladies are nervous and Anderson expects St. Cyr to produce quick results before business suffers in the District.
Someone usually knows exactly what is going on in Storyville and the Black Rose Murders are no exception. While Buddy Bolden appears the obvious candidate, Valentin has more on his mind than his friend. Clearly, someone is also doing their best to keep St. Cyr off the right track. The recent violent murders of the women work on the detective, who is one step behind each murder, unable to put the mystery together; yet this isn't a man who gives up easily. When the violence hits too close to home, Valentin steels his resolve, reaching beyond the obvious to the dark mind that so casually disposes of human life. When his friendship with Buddy is threatened, the detective truly knows despair: "Valentin felt no relief, just a nagging emptiness, a vacant sorrow for all the ghosts, living and dead."
Fulmer's Storyville is richly atmospheric, recalling the ribald days when horns blared the new music and the night sparkled with the false histrionics of bright lights and the laughter of painted women. Long faded into the dusty pages of the past, for a short time Storyville comes alive with a vengeance in Chasing the Devil`s Tail. Luan Gaines/2005.
Rating:
Summary: Couldn't Put It Down
Review: This beautifully crafted novel drew me in from the first chapter and kept me hooked all the way to the last page. This book has all the elements of a fast read: excellent character development; clever plot twists; and compelling writing style. Not to mention, murder, prostitutes, bad cops and voodoo.Author David Fulmer paints the seedy red-light district so vividly that I felt like a fly on the wall, secretly watching the story unfold through Valentin St. Cyr's eyes. I hope there's a sequel in the works!
Rating:
Summary: The best book Ever
Review: This book was great from start to finish. It continued to draw me in with its continuing twists and turns in the search for the black rose killer. The detective was continually put off track due to his own relations with his lover, Justine, a former prostitute. But when the detective finally gets on track, the killer is revealed and all is well in storyville.
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