Jamaica Blue by Don Bruns

From the Publisher

Tropical Breezes, White Sand Beaches, Reggae Rhythms...
Under an intense, blue Jamaica sky, music journalist Mick Sever lands a front row seat to the Next Big Thing-a reggae/rap band known as Derek and The Laments. Derek Lyman, the band's charismatic Rastafarian singer has an unmistakable hold on the audience, and his provocative lyrics work the crowd into a frenzy. But lurking beneath the new stars' promise is a deadly secret-two female fans have been savagely killed after attending Laments' concerts. And everyone begins to wonder if the band is connected to the murders?

...And a Rock & Roll Band With Blood on Its Hands
The journalist in Sever follows the group to Miami as he hunts for the truth on a trail that will lead him down Florida's coastal highway to Key West and back again. And when another young concertgoer loses her life, Sever finds himself the target of someone who is desperate to keep the Laments' past buried-and...desperate enough to kill again and again.

Publishers Weekly

Set in Jamaica and Florida and steeped in the lore of rock and roll, pot, Rastafarianism and reggae rap, Bruns's first novel, alas, provides only moderate mystery entertainment. Mick Sever, a renowned rock critic and author of a bestselling book about a rock star's murder, agrees to do a piece on a new reggae group headed by the charismatic Derrick Layman (hailed as "the second coming of Bob Marley"), whose misogynistic lyrics advocate violence against women. Two young women have already been murdered after Derrick and the Laments concerts. When a third victim is stabbed to death, the alleged killer, Roland Jamison, one of Layman's security guards, is found standing over the body with a bloody knife. The police, understandably, arrest Jamison, but Sever, like Inspector Clouseau under similar obvious circumstances in A Shot in the Dark, doubts the man's guilt based on his bewildered expression. Bruns makes much of this and the authorities' unwillingness to accept it as evidence. There are few suspects but their complex relationships generate most of the narrative interest. There are two attempts to drive Sever off the road, a bashing or two and a fistfight, but otherwise little action and no suspense. Sever may not be a terribly compelling sleuth, but his extensive knowledge of the rock world helps redeem the story, as does a clever and logical solution to the crimes. (Oct. 21) Forecast: Blurbs from Sue Grafton, Lee Child and Steve Hamilton should assure more than usual attention to this debut mystery. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

When Mick Sever, an influential music critic and best-selling writer, first hears a hot, new Jamaican band called Derrick and the Laments, he's hooked despite the front man's violent political and racial rants. More than that, though, he's intrigued by the fact that three murders of young women have followed Derrick's recent concerts. The last killing occurred on a yacht in Miami during a post-concert party. Mick senses another best seller and begins investigating. Well-paced prose, unnerving, high-speed action, and lively subject matter merit this attention, especially from readers interested in music. A solid debut. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

As a freelance music reviewer, columnist, and bestselling author of a true-crime book about a murdered rock star, Mick Sever has seen it all. But he still hasn’t seen anything quite like Derrick Lyman, the charismatic Rastafarian reggae rapper who can sweep a crowd off its feet with the opening two lines of a song. Fueled by the report Sever files at the behest of veteran promoter Bobby Vane, Derrick and the Laments are soon ready to make the leap from Jamaica to Miami. There’s just one public-relations problem: the murders of two young women just after the Laments concerts they’d attended. Don’t rock the boat, Bobby warns Sever, who "can’t quit asking the questions." Even after a third girl is killed during a post-concert celebration aboard publisher Frankie Romano’s yacht, local homicide detective Harry Kohls seems determined to get with Bobby’s program. First he pins the murder on Roland Jamison, one of two brothers who provides security for the Laments, even though Roland’s white shirt sports only a single smear of blood, scant evidence of the brutal stabbing he’s accused of. When stronger evidence of Roland’s innocence arrives, Kohls just switches gears to whatever explanation will make the fewest waves. Only Sever and his ex-wife Ginny continue to push for the truth.

The Jamaican background and peeks inside the publicity machine behind up-and-coming music stars are so tangy that you may forget just who did what to whom. Try testing your memory of the ungainly debut mystery a week after turning the last page.

Product Details

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