Voodoo That You Do (Pat Gallegher Mysteries)

Rating:
Summary: Gallegher returns for another exciting New Orleans adventure
Review: It seems lately that too many mystery writers are asking me to like characters who are stuck on themselves and their own wealth, totally obnoxious and ugly to even their friends-- or both! Not so with four terrific mysteries I've read in the last month: "Voodoo That You Do" by Richard Helms; "Pilikia is my Business" by Mark Troy; "The Big Switch" by Jack Bludis; and "All White Girls" by Michael Bracken.

"Voodoo That You Do" juggles New Orleans gangs and jazz as only Richard Helms can do. Pat Gallegher, ex-seminarian, ex-professor, ex-psychologist, and now ex-badguy returns from "Joker Poker" ready to live and love again. This time, Gallegher risks a French Quarter gang war when he befriends a runaway 10-year-old girl who just happens to lead him to the solution of his current quandary: finding Dust Trufant, the shooter in the death of Gallegher's friend "Hotshot" Spano. Could it be that rescuing the little girl has introduced him to a new love as well?

Rating:
Summary: The Big Sleazy ain't that easy ...
Review: Move aside Martin Hegwood, Tony Dunbar, Mike Stewart, Ace Atkins, Julie Smith, and watch out James Lee Burke here comes Richard Helms and his Pat Gallegher mysteries. Set in the French Quarter and starring a down and out horn player, Voodoo That You Do, casts a spell on the reader that's nothing, but white magic.

From the sights, the tastes and the smells, Helms builds several thousand words into a picture of New Orleans that's pure pleasure to read and authentic to those who've done more than just the tourist stop. While a gem in the rough at times, Voodoo That You Do, moves through from start to finish at a well clipped pace taking the reader along for fun ride. Pat mixes in the gutter elements along the way walking a delicate tightrope between the various factions of official authority and organized crime.

If you missed it there's Joker Poker which introduces Pat Gallegher and about to hit the presses is Juicy Watusi.

Rating:
Summary: Good juju for hardboiled mystery readers.
Review: The second entry in a series begun with "Joker Poker," "Voodoo That You Do" presents a nice balance between a character study and an intriguing puzzle. It's got all the elements you'd expect: an interesting and colorful locale (New Orleans, America's new crime capital), a diverse cast who act and speak as real people do, dialogue with the ring of authenticity, and a somewhat jaundiced perspective tempered by an indomitable optimism. "Voodoo" also boasts something unexpected in typical modern hardboiled mysteries: a style that pays homage to the past while putting its own unique stamp on the form. It's a fine representative of a series that even readers well steeped in the genre can get excited about, both because of what Helms has accomplished thus far, and the possibilities of where he can take it in the future.

"Voodoo That You Do" begins with a bang, and doesn't let up for more than 300 pages. Protagonist, Pat Gallegher -- who by night plays cornet at a run-of-the-mill watering hole called Holliday's, and by day, like an itinerant private eye, reluctantly performs investigative tasks thrust upon him -- is on hand when his friend and former hit man, Hotshot Spano, is brutally murdered by a pack of Haitian teenagers. Before long, Gallegher is persuaded by the local Mob, headed by aging boss Lucho Braga, to track down the killers.

That simple beginning is the catalyst for a number of subsequent complications. There's an Asian street urchin, connected to New Orleans' Vietnamese gangs, who are in turn connected to a prostitute's disappearance -- all of which relate to the initial crime. There are cops and government agents, each with their own agendas, involved in various aspects of malfeasance both obvious and hidden. There's a budding romance placed in jeopardy as events unfold. And as the title suggests, there's an underlying supernatural element that colors perception and casts an otherwordly glow over the story.

Helms skillfully weaves all these tangled skeins into a rich, seamless tapestry that simultaneously portrays the sleazy underside of New Orleans society and provides a satisfying, believable, brisk-moving read. That would be more than enough for most mystery buffs under ordinary circumstances.

But Helms goes the extra mile by diving beneath the surface of his well-constructed tale, and adding that extra special something, which makes the ultimate result compare favorably with the best hardboiled examples from the past. The language of "Voodoo" has real depth and presence, issuing from the point of view of a central character who has been beaten down by the vicissitudes of life, but who refuses to sink into the morass, and who clings tenaciously to his humanity.

I heartily recommend 'Voodoo That You Do" to hardboiled fans, mystery aficionados, and anyone who appreciates well-wrought prose. And I eagerly look forward to the next installment in the Pat Gallegher series.

Rating:
Summary: Good juju for hardboiled mystery readers.
Review: The second entry in a series begun with "Joker Poker," "Voodoo That You Do" presents a nice balance between a character study and an intriguing puzzle. It's got all the elements you'd expect: an interesting and colorful locale (New Orleans, America's new crime capital), a diverse cast who act and speak as real people do, dialogue with the ring of authenticity, and a somewhat jaundiced perspective tempered by an indomitable optimism. "Voodoo" also boasts something unexpected in typical modern hardboiled mysteries: a style that pays homage to the past while putting its own unique stamp on the form. It's a fine representative of a series that even readers well steeped in the genre can get excited about, both because of what Helms has accomplished thus far, and the possibilities of where he can take it in the future.

"Voodoo That You Do" begins with a bang, and doesn't let up for more than 300 pages. Protagonist, Pat Gallegher -- who by night plays cornet at a run-of-the-mill watering hole called Holliday's, and by day, like an itinerant private eye, reluctantly performs investigative tasks thrust upon him -- is on hand when his friend and former hit man, Hotshot Spano, is brutally murdered by a pack of Haitian teenagers. Before long, Gallegher is persuaded by the local Mob, headed by aging boss Lucho Braga, to track down the killers.

That simple beginning is the catalyst for a number of subsequent complications. There's an Asian street urchin, connected to New Orleans' Vietnamese gangs, who are in turn connected to a prostitute's disappearance -- all of which relate to the initial crime. There are cops and government agents, each with their own agendas, involved in various aspects of malfeasance both obvious and hidden. There's a budding romance placed in jeopardy as events unfold. And as the title suggests, there's an underlying supernatural element that colors perception and casts an otherwordly glow over the story.

Helms skillfully weaves all these tangled skeins into a rich, seamless tapestry that simultaneously portrays the sleazy underside of New Orleans society and provides a satisfying, believable, brisk-moving read. That would be more than enough for most mystery buffs under ordinary circumstances.

But Helms goes the extra mile by diving beneath the surface of his well-constructed tale, and adding that extra special something, which makes the ultimate result compare favorably with the best hardboiled examples from the past. The language of "Voodoo" has real depth and presence, issuing from the point of view of a central character who has been beaten down by the vicissitudes of life, but who refuses to sink into the morass, and who clings tenaciously to his humanity.

I heartily recommend 'Voodoo That You Do" to hardboiled fans, mystery aficionados, and anyone who appreciates well-wrought prose. And I eagerly look forward to the next installment in the Pat Gallegher series.