Greg Herren books

 I have been reading the books and writings of Greg Herren for years. I'm sure I started with the first Scotty Bradley mystery that came out in 2004 (Bourbon Street Blues), though it could have been Chanse MacLeod's first appearance in 2002 (Murder in the Rue Dauphine). Either way, I was hooked. I had been to New Orleans twice by that point and had fallen in love with the city as I knew it. I had been reading the writings of Doc Brite for a long time, and had just found another author based there. If you look at his Wiki page, you will see the list of Scotty books, and Chanse books. I have read all of them. They are somewhat formulaic as much as Agatha Christie is formulaic. Good main characters, great side characters, and a plot that always keeps me reading and wanting to finish it all. If you have a chance to read one of these novels, pick up a copy and do it. The most recent one I read was "Mississippi River Mischief" and it was as engaging and interesting as the others. He has a style I really like.

He has branched out and started writing about other things as well...or other characters, I should say. Of his other novels, I want to say a lot or all of them are YA (Young Adult) books, but still very well written. The recent ones I read were "The Orion Mask" and "#shedeservedit." The Orion Mask is about hidden family secrets, and the long separated family member returning to discover what they are. A good mystery for sure! #shedeservedit is a bit more difficult. The star quarterback is found dead, his best friend is the prime suspect, and it may all start with a sexual assault on a cheerleader that took place months prior. Again, it is a very well written mystery. The characters are smart, well developed, and the plot keeps you guessing for sure. 

The two newest branches on his tree of writing are "Death Drop" and "A Streetcar Named Murder." Death Drop is subtitled "A Killer Queen Mystery" and he writes about a drag queen who may have witnessed a murder...or at least finds himself in the sights of a killer. Jem Richard is asked to be the make-up artists for a fashion show, and when he appears he finds that all the models are drag queens...and they are short one queen. So he is called into service as a model as well...and the next morning the designer is dead. Like a lot of Herren's books, there is some queer humor, or at least a queer character or two in this book. It has an easy feel to it, is an easy read, and a great plot as well. I'm not sure if this character will return in another book at some point, but I will be reading it if he does.

There is also a format of mystery novels named comfort reading - where the writing is comfortable, the mystery is a solid mystery but not scary or horror...just a bit on edge. "A Streetcar Named Murder" is one of these books. Written under the name T. G. Herren, it is clearly his writing style (if you have read as much of his work as I have), but the story is different. There is a totally different feel to the characters and the world they live in. The lead is Valerie Cooper, whose husband has recently passed away. She gets a letter, finds out that she has relatives she didn't know about, and that she also inherited a business. However, she is still coming out of grief and is not sure what she wants. That being written she gets interested in the business, and a handsome man, and....

So good!!! If you see his name on the spine of a book, grab it and read it. You will not be disappointed! Also, follow his blog. He writes about his personal life, and also his process which I find really interesting.