Casting Bones by Don Bruns

302 Pages
Publisher: Severn House, Severn House Publishers
Release Date:

Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, New Orleans, VooDoo

In New Orleans, Solange Cordray is a Voodoo Priestess following in her mother’s footsteps. Quinton Archer is a detective recently located from Detroit. He and his partner, Adam Strand, were assigned the murder investigation of Judge David Lerner. His body was found shot and thrown in the river. Antione Duvay, a young juvenile offender, Lerner previously sentenced was charged with the murder although Archer did not believe him to be guilty.

Archer has his own issues to deal with. He is still trying to find who killed his wife Denise in Detroit. He had one brother arrested as part of a drug ring. Another brother is on the run and is stalking Archer. Solange is getting information from a nonverbal patient at the retirement house where she volunteers. She gives the information to Archer, but he has a hard time believing her.

The book has a steady pace, the characters are somewhat developed, and it is written in the third person point of view. This is the first book in the series so I am sure the characters will develop more through the series. In this book, Archer has a hard time fitting in and spends a lot of time dwelling on Detroit. If you like books about New Orleans, Voodoo with a mystery, you will enjoy this book.

The author tried to give us a strong sense of place in regards to the Nola setting, unfortunately it's just copious scenes in restaurants and bars talking about the food and drink being eaten by the characters or mentioning the corruption and crime.

More time could have been spent on the characters and making us care about what happens to them. The author throws in a lightly described backstory for why Quentin is now in New Orleans, but it didn't make me care about him and when a pivotal moment from his past plays up, I was wishing the opposite result happened. The character of Solange was also woefully underwritten and we never truly understand her motivation. She literally could have been left out of the story and it wouldn't have had any impact. Lots of potential, perhaps the author is planning to develop it more through the next two books, but I needed more now to hook me. There's another character who provides Quentin with information, just works to get it, gives it and seems to expect nothing in return. What? Nothing???
Another character just gives up after something goes sideways...just gives up? We never find out the back story on another character, good guy, bad guy, definitely part bad guy, but who is the individual actually working for? Not enough answers to satisfy.

Then there the whole reason behind the murders. Who did not see this coming from the start? I knew the motive instantly.

I was able to finish the book, but was (obviously) unsatisfied by many things.

I received this book a few years ago from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.