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Love Power - A Crescent City New Orleans Mystery
Martha Reed, author
Adult; Mystery/Thriller; (Publish)
Disgraced ex-police detective Jane Byrne is on the run. After surviving a brutal excessive force civil lawsuit that scarred her with PTSD, Jane blows into New Orleans’ The Bywater District on her Ducati motorcycle looking for a fresh start. The last thing she expects to find is a hate crime serial killer targeting NOLA’s inclusive LGBTQ community.
Plot/Idea: 9 out of 10
Originality: 9 out of 10
Prose: 9 out of 10
Character/Execution: 9 out of 10
Overall: 9.00 out of 10
Assessment:
Plot: The circumstance of a serial killer targeting a particular New Orleans community is immediately engaging.
Prose: Reed has a fine grasp on storytelling and delivers a graceful blend of description, dialogue, and well-played exposition.
Originality: The novel’s focus on hate crimes against the LGBTQ community is both unique and prescient, while the New Orleans setting is particularly memorable.
Character/Execution: Jane Byrne is a dynamic and complex character with her fair share of scars, while colorful NOLA side characters fill out the cast. The story’s villains are despicable without coming across as hackneyed.
Date Submitted: August 14, 2020
