Murder at Roissy

Rating:
Summary: Riveting!!
Review: A novel featuring the classic theme of murder with a BDSM twist to it. The author does an excellent job of keeping you in suspense as you try and figure out 'whodunnit?' This too is a novel easily read in an evening; one that is intriguing and suspenseful as you 'watch' the drama play out.

Each of the main characters have reason to want "Mistress Raven" dead and yet the surprise ending caught me off guard. This is a highly enjoyable and intriguing novel. Well worth the money, as Mr. Warren has done an excellent job of writing with this story.

Rating:
Summary: Erotica with a plot? Yes, it's possible.
Review: Having read other, educational works by John Warren, I was pleased to read this latest work. I found it fully enjoyable, with a good, solid plot - as well as some very erotic scenes.

As both a mystery lover and someone living a BDSM lifestyle, this book peaked *both* interests, and I highly recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: A Good Story Is Hard To Find
Review: I enjoyed "Murder at Roissy", and it left me hungry for more from the notoriously devious John (Mentor) Warren.

While set in a dungeon resort, the setting is just that, with the focus on the characters, not the sado-masochistic activities. This isn't a heavy-breathing, onehanded fantasy; "Roissy" is a reality based mystery, as told from the inside; Warren's knowledge of the BDSM scene is clearly evident.

On the other hand, what SM there is, is Good! (Or, depending on one's point of view, Pure Evil.) The erotic activities of the characters increase the tension, and the suspense, without taking over the story.

These characters would fit nicely in any popular dungeon, and the dungeons at Roissy would be very popular, indeed, if they existed.

The one large exception may be the sherrif, John Clarke, who to all appearances is a regular Good Guy and "perfect Arizona Lawman. This meant that he was a bit more Texan than any Texan had the nerve to be."

One and all, the players are strong individuals, most of good humor and with real world credibility. I especially loved to hate Raven, the villain.

"Roissy" isn't just a BDSM murder mystery, though. Mentor includes some hints about how BDSM works in the real world, slipped in here and there; the concepts of safety and consent are integrated with the story. There are also several very well researched Tarot readings that I found quite fascinating.

The plot may be a little thin for diehard mystery fans, but the twists, turns, and surprises in Roissy more than make up for it.

"Murder at Roissy" is a good read, and well worth the effort!

Rating:
Summary: Fun and erotic
Review: If dinner theater could stage an SM murder mystery and leave it to its pervy audience to find the killer, it might go a little like John Warren's newest creation, Murder at Roissy. In it, he brings us the return appearance of Eve, protagonist from his earlier The Torquemada Killer and he plops her in the Arizona desert where she runs Roissy, a small resort that caters to SM clientele.

Unfortunately, the clientele who've paid for their week in SM heaven converge in small-world Hell when they find themselves sharing space with one Mistress Raven, a woman so cruel, she's on everyone's A list. A as in animosity, antagonism, and all-around hatred. Feelings run so high that Mistress Raven winds up dead and the hunt is on to find the killer.

It's not that hard to figure who did it, largely because all the suspects are just a little too squeaky-clean to be suspect. What's more, they're just too darn likable. So when I skulked around, it didn't take long to come up with the murderer. Now, I'm no mystery fan -- I pretty much limit myself to Caleb Carr and Sparkle Haytor when it comes to Who-Done-Its -- so if I can find the murderer, anyone can.

But you know, as I read Warren's novel, I realized that the mystery, its the chase-is-on tempo, and its eclectic characters were only part of the equation. The novella is also an unsubtle but non-intrusive piece of didactic fiction as well. It imparts little gems throughout its pages that any SM novice would welcome -- information concerning consent, scene etiquette, polyplay, edgeplay and so on. Yet the didactic nature of the book never overrides the story or the characters and the book remained an easy read throughout.

If you're a seasoned SMer, you'll probably consider Murder at Roissy a quick, light read. Likewise if you prefer the fiction of Califia, Rice, Antoniou, and Dugas. But if you know novices just entering the scene -- and who doesn't these days -- point them to Roissy. It's meant for them. And it does the trick too.

Rating:
Summary: The best D/s Murder Mystery Ever
Review: John Warren's book is like a breath of fresh air. His scene players are so life like, there had to be alot of research that went into the writing of this book. This is a short, compact, and fast-paced work, unlike some of the more amateurish stuff by the likes of Gary S. Kadet. John's humor is a thing of beauty. I plan to tell everyone I see, to go out and buy the book.

Rating:
Summary: Give us more
Review: Many mystery or crime novels deal with situations that can look like BDSM to those outside the community. Far too often the result is the promotion of negative stereotypes in these books. "Murder at Roissy" and "The Torquemada Killer" by John Warren are refreshing because they show positives of the kinky community while not denying that criminals can hide in the leather world. This book takes place in a real setting -- yes, kinky B&Bs do exist out there folks. The only major problem I had with the book is that I really wanted more time spent on the people visiting the B&B; they seemed under developed.

Rating:
Summary: Give us more
Review: Many mystery or crime novels deal with situations that can look like BDSM to those outside the community. Far too often the result is the promotion of negative stereotypes in these books. "Murder at Roissy" and "The Torquemada Killer" by John Warren are refreshing because they show positives of the kinky community while not denying that criminals can hide in the leather world. This book takes place in a real setting -- yes, kinky B&Bs do exist out there folks. The only major problem I had with the book is that I really wanted more time spent on the people visiting the B&B; they seemed under developed.

Rating:
Summary: More promise than power
Review: Mr. Warren did a valiant job on this one, but it...well, just wasn't all that. If anything, it felt over-edited (and not well edited, which is not his fault). The mystery part fairly telegrammed itself just after the murder, the ending wrapped up fairly quickly (hastily?) and got tucked in under a quilt of happy ending. I never did understand the whole Kevin-Shawn relationship. Tom and Sara were more interesting, if somewhat shallow. George and Sue were flat. The Sherriff felt too rote. It seemed whole hunks of the book had been removed. The villian barely exists until the end of the book. Little things irritated me, like names (Sara and Sue, two men named John -- I had to keep going back to figure out who was doing what with whom. There were also editing problems. It was unnessary confusion.)

As for the erotic content...I got a litle bored with it, honestly. It felt like a short story trying to stretch over novel length. Not enough. I never really got hooked. Everything felt vague.

Still, I can't be too hard on Mr. Warren. He's published -- I'm not. But I don't reccomend the book very strongly.

Rating:
Summary: Neither fish nor fowl
Review: Murder at Roissy tries to be both erotica and a good murder mystery. That's pretty original. Unfortunately its only "ok" at both. The Murder as one can guess from the title is set at an SM resort, a sort of mini "Eden" in Arizona. The characters are reasonably well developed and sympathetic: the resort owner an ex-cop turned dominatrix, the victim a woman everyone loves to hate. But its a little too easy to guess the murderer and not thrilling and chilling enough to make a first rate murder novel. As an erotic novel its a bit disappointing. The D/s scenes are a little too rushed and vanilla to be really spicy. Its a good fast light read, engaging but not spectatular. Still, the few others who have tried something of this sort have not succeeded as well.

Rating:
Summary: Neither fish nor fowl
Review: Murder at Roissy tries to be both erotica and a good murder mystery. That's pretty original. Unfortunately its only "ok" at both. The Murder as one can guess from the title is set at an SM resort, a sort of mini "Eden" in Arizona. The characters are reasonably well developed and sympathetic: the resort owner an ex-cop turned dominatrix, the victim a woman everyone loves to hate. But its a little too easy to guess the murderer and not thrilling and chilling enough to make a first rate murder novel. As an erotic novel its a bit disappointing. The D/s scenes are a little too rushed and vanilla to be really spicy. Its a good fast light read, engaging but not spectatular. Still, the few others who have tried something of this sort have not succeeded as well.