The Whole Payne Bit

"Back to Wando Passo quivers with authentic life and is so bold in concept and audacious in scope that it seems like the summing up and exclamation point of a great writer's career. The novel contains everything -- from the horror of 1860s rice culture slavery, to the perils of modern love, to the history of rock and roll . . . Payne takes on the whole known world and pulls it off with the deftness of a writer in his prime, enhancing a literary reputation that burns as brightly as any writer of his generation."
-- Pat Conroy

'Nough Said for me! This is an awesome book that you will not be able to put down, especially if you're a civil war buff! Payne takes the reader back to the civil war era while paralleling with a contemporary rock-n-roll family's lifestyle. As Ran discovers skeletons of the past, he begins to reveal the mystery of his wife's ancestors and continues the weaving of social issues such as racism, jealously, and revenge throughout the generations of the character's lives from 1860's to modern times. A bit of history, ghosts, rock-n-roll, and a lot of suspense.

Sunday Salon: Bound For Murder

A fun, light murder mystery set in New Orleans. How appropriate just hours from Mardi Gras! Laura Childs the author, has written a Scrapbooking Mystery series set in New Orleans, the Tea Shop Mysteries series which appear to be set in Charleston, SC and the Cackleberry Club Mysteries. This book was so much fun, I can't wait to check out more of her books.

Carmela, owner of a local scrap booking shop, tends to be pretty handy at helping out her friends with business issues and solving problems. As the story opens, a dinner party in honor of Wren and Jamie, about to be married, is taking place at Bon Tiempe, better known to locals as Bon Ton. Just before dinner is to be served, Ava, proprietor of Juju Voodoo, discovers the groom-to-be, murdered in the restaurant office. Since Jamie is the beloved owner of the local bookshop, a lovable and popular guy, his death could only be the result of a "robbery gone bad" according to the hasty police report. Carmela doesn't buy it and is determine to learn more about Jamie's mysterious childhood, discover why a local rare book collector is so anxious to force Wren (Jamie's fiance) to sell HIM the book store, why does Blaine Taylor, Jamie's disreputable business partner keep showing up and there's the ex-fiance that Wren never knew about! There has to be more to this than a random mishap from a robbery gone bad.

I'm a bit partial to NO, and love reading a novel which includes so many familiar places. I look forward to getting back and learning more about the city and can't wait until Jazz Fest. Mmmm... Laura, are any of your mysteries based around Jazz Festival? Must look into that! However, Laura Childs does a beautiful job incorporating local color with her characters and the settings in this book. Great characters - I'd love to meet them - they sound like loads of fun.

Post for Sunday Salon - join us here!