Bahama
Burnout
A
Mick Sever Mystery
Don
Bruns
Oceanview
Publishing (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 1-933515-20-1 (1933515201)
ISBN-13: 978-1-933515-20-5 (9781933515205)
Publication Date: March 2009
List Price: $24.95
Synopsis (from
the publisher): For rock and roll writer Mick Sever, another story,
another deadly island paradise is all in a day's work. This time, Mick
heads to Nassau, Bahamas, home of the legendary Highland Studio. Known
for pumping out hits that burn up the charts, Highland is where the
magic happens-or rather, where the magic happened until a devastating
fire destroyed the entire studio. No one knows how the fire started,
who started it-or whose body was found among the charred ruins.
Sent to get the inside story on the opening of the new Highland Studio,
Mick finds this is hardly the Phoenix-rising-out-of-the-ashes story he
expected. Some say the studio's haunted, some say it's cursed, but one
thing is for sure: someone-or something-wants to stop the music. A
smashed guitar and erased tracks send a subtle warning, but murder?
That's an entirely different tune. If Mick doesn't act fast, Highland
Studio, along with everything and everyone in its path, could go up in
smoke. It's not always better to burn out than to fade away.
Review:
Music journalist Mick Sever ("Do you often involve yourself in other
people's problems, Mr. Sever?" "Are you kidding? It's what I do for a
living.") is on assignment to write an article on the rebirth of a
legendary recording studio but finds murder and a Cadillac purportedly
owned by Elvis Presley instead in Bahama
Burnout,
the fifth mystery in this series by Don Bruns.
Sever is in the Bahamas to do a feature on the "new" Highland Studios.
The "old" studio, where some of the top names in the business recorded
and mixed bestselling records in the past, mysteriously burned down
several years ago claiming the life of a still unidentified man,
presumably the arsonist. Jonah and Rita Britt, the studio's owners, are
trying to stage a comeback and have persuaded the group Johnny Run to
record their new album there. But petty acts of vandalism threaten to
jinx the already superstitious band. When Johnny Run's manager is found
murdered, the most likely suspect is the group's previous manager who
is coincidentally on the island, looking to regain his old job. Mick
sees a story here, but he knows he doesn't have all the facts. Worse,
he doesn't know who he can trust to get them.
Mick Sever takes on a minor role in Bahama
Burnout
that, somewhat
unexpectedly, works to the book's advantage. He's more of an observer
than a player, though he does get roughed up at one point (Hey Mick,
what happened to you? To your face?
Sever told him the other guy looked
worse.) Set on Paradise Island in the Bahamas, the location adds a
tropical flair to the story though for the most part it is background
color rather than an integral element of the plot. Many of the
characters are in a constant semi-lucid state of mind, either from
alcohol or weed (which seems surprisingly abundant) or a combination
thereof. This tends to act as a metaphor for the reader as to what is
happening on the island: are events being seen as they should; are the
right connections being made. And the old rusted-out Cadillac provides
a focal point about which everything revolves.
Bahama
Burnout ends rather abruptly
with much of the story unresolved,
what happens next left for the reader to imagine and piece together.
But instead of being unsatisfactory, this too works in the book's
favor; not every story has a clean ending and this one certainly
doesn't. Though Bahama Burnout
is a rather difficult mystery to
categorize, with its atmospheric setting and colorful characters it is
probably the author's best to date.
Special thanks to Maryglenn McCombs Book Publicity for providing a copy of Bahama Burnout for this review.
Review Copyright © 2009 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved
Have you read Bahama Burnout? How would you rate it?
Mysteries in this series ...
Jamaica
Blue
St. Martin's Minotaur (Hardcover), October 2002
ISBN-10: 0-312-30490-0 (0312304900)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-30490-4 (9780312304904)
Barbados
Heat
St. Martin's Minotaur (Hardcover), November 2003
ISBN-10: 0-312-30492-7 (0312304927)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-30492-8 (9780312304928)
South
Beach Shakedown
Oceanview Publishing (Hardcover), September 2006
ISBN-10: 1-933515-02-3 (1933515023)
ISBN-13: 978-1-933515-02-1 (9781933515021)
St.
Barts Breakdown
Oceanview Publishing (Hardcover), March 2008
ISBN-10: 1-933515-12-0 (1933515120)
ISBN-13: 978-1-933515-12-0 (9781933515120)
Bahama
Burnout
Oceanview Publishing (Hardcover), March 2009
ISBN-10: 1-933515-20-1 (1933515201)
ISBN-13: 978-1-933515-20-5 (9781933515205)
Omnimystery
keywords for Bahama Burnout
...
Location(s) referenced: Nassau, Bahamas.
