AuthorsDen.com
Join | Login
Where Authors and Readers come together!
Featured Authors :
Aberjhani , i Richard Cederberg , i Judith Bailey , i Paul Lonardo , i Dean Cambourakis , i Shirley Woods , i Bob Boze , i Gwendolyn Thomas Gath , i Lalita Vasu , i Connie Amarel , i
Blogs by Larry Rochelle
MEPHISTO DIARY REVIEW 4/10/2006 10:05:02 AM
The Mephisto Diary
Larry Rochelle
Mystery
Available from Zumaya Publications
ISBN: 1-894869-75-3
2003
Palmer Morel and his wife Missy have relocated to Charleston, South Carolina from Cincinnati. They are accepted at the Ashley Tennis Club where Palmer, a tennis pro, teaches the sport to Charleston's oldest and most privileged citizens.
Everything begins to unravel when one of Palmer's students, a very promising tennis player, Mimi Collins, turns up dead and all signs lead to Palmer as the murderer. Suddenly Palmer is the outsider with a shady past and Charleston's bluebloods band together to cover up the real crime.
Palmer becomes a fugitive with his wife Missy knee-deep in the middle of the town's shameful secret. The bluebloods known as the powerful SOB's control everything and their children have inherited the tainted blood. This leads to the Mephisto, an old establishment where young women are kept as sex slaves and disposed of at will, while new recruits are lured to town and enslaved at regular intervals.
It's up to Palmer to extricate himself from the mess and come out alive while implicating the SOB's and putting an end to the multi-generation sex club. But one thing Palmer doesn't count on is in the Old South's blood runs deep and the powerful SOB's have their hand in just about everyone's pocket. Palmer finds friends are not to be trusted and the ones closest to him are the ones who will betray him.
The Mephisto Diary is reminiscent of an old time hard-boiled detective novel with an updated twist of sex slavery along with murder as the crime in question. I enjoyed the unraveling of the case, though I like my mysteries to end either happily with the guy getting the girl or at least the bad guys getting their comeuppance. The story was depressing in context and the violence sudden and jolting. The motives for some of the characters were vague and details meandered a bit in the unfolding of the plot. There was some variance in the style of writing that didn't ring true and the name SOB's for the elite club members didn't quite jive with the flow of the story.
The interspersing of parts of the diary was intriguing and made me curious to where it was leading and who was the keeper of the journal. It balanced out the rough edge to the story. If a reader is looking for a hard tale of suspense with a no holds barred approach to solving the crime, The Mephisto Diary will fill the bill.
Reviewer: Torie West, THE ROMANCE STUDIO
July 31, 2004 Post a Comment More Blogs by Larry Rochelle CHILLY DOGS - Thursday, December 11, 2014 Rochelle Reads at McIntyre's Books Nov. 13th - Thursday, October 13, 2011 Bonaventure Summary - Saturday, September 24, 2011 BONAVENTURE - Thursday, September 15, 2011 Murder on 15/501 Gets Good Review - Sunday, July 12, 2009 Grand-daughter on phone at 2:30 a.m. - Tuesday, July 7, 2009 Walking on Fisherman's Wharf - Wednesday, June 17, 2009 Spinach or Okra? - Saturday, June 13, 2009 I'm thinking tornados. - Thursday, June 11, 2009 Curious About Crop Circles? - Tuesday, June 9, 2009 How many new crop circles this week? - Tuesday, June 9, 2009 I'm thinking.... - Monday, June 8, 2009 Are trees just big weeds? - Monday, June 8, 2009 Tar Heel Writer - Thursday, June 4, 2009 MURDER ON 15/501 To Be Published This Sunday - Friday, May 29, 2009 CRAZY LIL' MEDIA Reading April 24 2 pm - Saturday, April 18, 2009 BURNT COFFEE Wins 2009 EPPIE for Poetry - Saturday, March 7, 2009 CRAZY LIL' MEDIA on sale at LULU. - Wednesday, December 17, 2008 Too Bad about Van Johnson. - Saturday, December 13, 2008 Bettie Page Has Died at 85 - Thursday, December 11, 2008 One Place - Saturday, April 14, 2007 Moving Day Looms - Thursday, April 12, 2007 Everything's Too Highly Organized - Wednesday, April 11, 2007 Pegboard Helps Fiction Writing - Tuesday, April 10, 2007 TEN MILE CREEK - Sunday, April 8, 2007 Crazy Weather - Saturday, April 7, 2007 Big Item Pick-Up Day - Friday, April 6, 2007 The Masters Ritual - Thursday, April 5, 2007 My God! Ingrid Bergman! - Wednesday, April 4, 2007 Does Professional Golf Have a Uniform? - Tuesday, April 3, 2007 Spitting Statistics in Baseball - Monday, April 2, 2007 Speaking Your Mind Is So Old-Fashioned - Monday, April 2, 2007 Day 1: Each Day I'll Explain the Signs of Aging - Saturday, March 31, 2007 I'm Shopping for a new Religion That Doesn't Have Cannibalism as Its Base - Saturday, March 31, 2007 What I Learned About Craig's List - Friday, March 30, 2007 Garage Sale Lessons - Friday, March 30, 2007 Golf Is..... - Wednesday, March 28, 2007 The Logic of Religious Self-Hypnosis - Monday, March 26, 2007 NCAA Bookmakers Set Odds for NCAA Tournament - Sunday, March 25, 2007 NCAA Point Shaving in 1994 - Sunday, March 25, 2007 What Is Point Shaving? - Sunday, March 25, 2007 Gambling in sports. Let's Ask the Impossible? - Sunday, March 25, 2007 Hoxie's Kids - Sunday, March 25, 2007 How Not to Investigate Bush - Thursday, March 22, 2007 Why Does White House Fear the Bible? - Thursday, March 22, 2007 Read the Real Thing: James Dickey - Wednesday, March 21, 2007 How Do Neocons Differ from the Mafia? They Don't. - Tuesday, March 20, 2007 Groups Who Would Not Be Democrats - Tuesday, March 20, 2007 Top Five Beautiful Drives - Sunday, March 18, 2007 Duke Flops! - Sunday, March 18, 2007 Bad Habits of Neighbors (Not Mine!) - Monday, March 12, 2007 Top Five War Novels - Sunday, March 11, 2007 Was Christ a Demi-God? - Sunday, March 11, 2007 Top Five Psychological Novels - Saturday, March 10, 2007 Most Popular USA Poet? - Friday, March 9, 2007 Don't Forget Conrad Richter - Thursday, March 8, 2007 Five Biggest Bush Lies - Thursday, March 8, 2007 Vermont Impeaches BUSH/CHENEY - Wednesday, March 7, 2007 If the USA Is a Union, Pay Your Dues - Tuesday, March 6, 2007 Mantra: Cut Taxes - Monday, March 5, 2007 Why We Need Unions - Monday, March 5, 2007 Dirtiest Move in College Basketball--Ever - Sunday, March 4, 2007 TOP FIVE MEN'S GROUPS - Sunday, March 4, 2007 TOP FIVE GIRL GROUPS - Saturday, March 3, 2007 Top Five Female Favorite Singers - Saturday, March 3, 2007 Election Foolery - Saturday, March 3, 2007 Top Five Male Pop Singers? - Friday, March 2, 2007 Five Steps to a Dictatorship - Wednesday, February 28, 2007 Interesting Journal - Tuesday, February 27, 2007 When Did Our Nation Lose Its Soul? - Sunday, February 25, 2007 The 2008 Fiasco - Saturday, February 24, 2007 Kissinger and Cheney: Bloody Brothers - Saturday, February 24, 2007 Off With His Head - Thursday, February 22, 2007 Mean Nun Blues - Wednesday, February 21, 2007 BEAD BEADS BEADS BEADS - Wednesday, February 21, 2007 Wild Beads in the Night - Tuesday, February 20, 2007 Shave Your Head - Monday, February 19, 2007 TOP MOVIE SOUNDTRACKS - Monday, February 19, 2007 Getting a Tag Line? - Sunday, February 18, 2007 Very Loud Lawrence Welk Music Helps Gays Go Straight - Saturday, February 17, 2007 Cages: Foster Parents Get Two Years. GITMO? How Many Years for Cages and Torture? - Friday, February 16, 2007 Reality Quiz - Friday, February 16, 2007 Racism Alive in USA - Thursday, February 15, 2007 Extreme Catholics Spread Hate - Wednesday, February 14, 2007 Charlie Spivak and His Orchestra - Wednesday, February 14, 2007 Twenty Years - Tuesday, February 13, 2007 BUSH HURTS TROOPS’ HEALTH CARE - Tuesday, February 13, 2007 Bush Supports Troops by Cutting Their Medical Care - Tuesday, February 13, 2007 What's Up with PE Teachers? - Monday, February 12, 2007 Top Five Valentine Hits - Monday, February 12, 2007 Top Five Movie Picks Ever (For Now) - Sunday, February 11, 2007 Army Gets Accused Criminals - Saturday, February 10, 2007 Lest We Weep - Saturday, February 10, 2007 MARJOE REVEALS RELIGIOUS MUMBO-JUMBO - Saturday, February 10, 2007 The Religious Protection Racket - Saturday, February 10, 2007 Why God Can Not Answer Our Prayers - Friday, February 9, 2007 How Democrats Can Win in 2008 - Thursday, February 8, 2007 How Republicans Can Win in 2008 - Wednesday, February 7, 2007 HOW BRAINWASHERS FIND OUT ABOUT YOUR MONEY - Tuesday, February 6, 2007 How Does Local Brainwashing Work? - Monday, February 5, 2007 Snapping: America's Epidemic of Sudden Personality Change - Sunday, February 4, 2007 THE JESUS INDUSTRY: Why All the Middle-Men for Jesus? - Sunday, February 4, 2007 Iraq War Makes Money for Privateers - Saturday, February 3, 2007 Veterans Against the War - Saturday, February 3, 2007 No Confidence Vote: Anyone With Integrity Would Step Down - Friday, February 2, 2007 Would You Want to Have a Beer With Him? - Thursday, February 1, 2007 NIXON AND JFK ASSASSINATION - Wednesday, January 31, 2007 Republicans Use Character Assassination - Tuesday, January 30, 2007 List of Political Murders in USA: Why Do We Yawn? - Tuesday, January 30, 2007 QUIZ: Are You a Republican? - Monday, January 29, 2007 Was H.W. Bush Involved in JFK Murder? - Sunday, January 28, 2007 Oh, Those Cute Catholics - Sunday, January 28, 2007 Are You a Skinhead? Take This Quiz. - Saturday, January 27, 2007 Will Karl Rove Repent Like Atwater? - Friday, January 26, 2007 Does Bush Use Cult Leader's News Editors? - Thursday, January 25, 2007 Bush Worse Than Nixon - Thursday, January 25, 2007 Say NO To Private School Vouchers - Thursday, January 25, 2007 Nixon's Dirty Tricks Return - Wednesday, January 24, 2007 Good Friends and the End of Life - Tuesday, January 23, 2007 Snacks, Snacking and Re-Snacking - Monday, January 22, 2007 Wheat Chex--Yum - Sunday, January 21, 2007 Cary Grant: THE BEST! - Saturday, January 20, 2007 The Starlight Drifters - Friday, January 19, 2007 Our Role: Shut Up and Go To Sleep - Tuesday, January 16, 2007 GOP No More? - Monday, January 15, 2007 WHY NOT NEGOTIATE FOR LOWER DRUG PRICES? - Friday, January 12, 2007 Brave Neocon Leader - Friday, January 12, 2007 The Draft, Ration Cards and Sacrifice - Wednesday, January 10, 2007 Endless Silly Campaigning - Tuesday, January 9, 2007 Congress Should Question Bush as They Do To Blair - Monday, January 8, 2007 Catholics Must Embrace Priestly Marriage - Saturday, January 6, 2007 Louisiana Mayor Assassinated? - Friday, January 5, 2007 Right-Wing Radio Host Urges Assassinations - Thursday, January 4, 2007 Assassination Accomplished - Wednesday, January 3, 2007 ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCE and/or TORTURE - Tuesday, January 2, 2007 Hussein Hanged: Is Kissinger Next? - Monday, January 1, 2007 Know-Nothings Rule - Sunday, December 31, 2006 Gerald Ford Ignored Jack Ruby's JFK Leads - Wednesday, December 27, 2006 Gerald Ford Urged JFK Cover-up - Wednesday, December 27, 2006 Blessed Virgin Mary Was Underaged - Sunday, December 24, 2006 Cages and Children - Friday, December 22, 2006 CAUTION: HINT OF JUICE ONLY - Friday, December 8, 2006 WHY DO THE NEOCONS DISHONOR OUR TROOPS? - Tuesday, December 5, 2006 Only 12 Hours on Abuse - Thursday, November 30, 2006 NEW FAD: Buy a Membership To Smoke In Restaurants? - Monday, November 20, 2006 SPOOKY--Rochelle's Predictions Come True - Thursday, November 9, 2006 SHOCK AND AWE - Sunday, October 29, 2006 Read My Lips - Saturday, October 28, 2006 KING GEORGE - Wednesday, October 18, 2006 Home Schooling - Tuesday, September 19, 2006 2773 - Tuesday, August 15, 2006 Shocking! - Friday, July 14, 2006 MEPHISTO DIARY REVIEW - Monday, April 10, 2006 Nanci Griffith and HOME SCHOOLED - Sunday, April 9, 2006 MOODY BLUE Published - Wednesday, April 5, 2006 Conscience Will Ask Us - Wednesday, March 29, 2006 WHAT IF ELVIS VISITED KANSAS? - Sunday, March 26, 2006 GHOSTLY EMBERS Gets Good Review - Sunday, February 19, 2006 Woody Allen's MATCH POINT - Sunday, February 12, 2006 GEESE AND AVIAN FLU - Wednesday, January 25, 2006 Impeachment Part 5 - Saturday, December 17, 2005 Impeachment Part 4 - Saturday, December 17, 2005 Impeachment Part 3 - Saturday, December 17, 2005 Impeachment Part 2 - Saturday, December 17, 2005 Impeachment Definition - Saturday, December 17, 2005 The Privacy of Christmas - Wednesday, December 7, 2005 Thugs Attack a Professor - Tuesday, December 6, 2005 Texas Drugs and Children - Saturday, December 3, 2005 The Rapture - Saturday, November 26, 2005 MEDICARE FRAUD - Friday, November 25, 2005 Wal-Mart Shoppers - Thursday, November 24, 2005 GRAN FALLOON OR SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION? - Thursday, November 17, 2005 Okay, So This Is Better...? - Tuesday, November 15, 2005 Patricia Kaas, er Kass - Saturday, November 12, 2005 Adjust our science curriculum in Kansas - Wednesday, November 9, 2005 Kansas City's Other Writer - Saturday, October 29, 2005 The Carpenters, esp. Karen - Monday, October 24, 2005 The Writer's Fantasy - Saturday, October 22, 2005 Larry Rochelle: Biography of a Kansas Author - Tuesday, October 11, 2005 BLUE ICE Coming this Winter - Tuesday, October 11, 2005 GULF GHOST Details - Friday, October 7, 2005 GULF GHOST AVAILABLE AGAIN - Tuesday, September 27, 2005 Memories of Toledo - Wednesday, September 14, 2005 GULF GHOST PREDICTS DISASTER - Friday, September 9, 2005 Faux KC STAR Interview - Sunday, September 4, 2005 Bad Timing - Saturday, September 3, 2005 TOLEDO BLADE Features Rochelle - Wednesday, May 25, 2005 Tourists - Sunday, May 15, 2005 Lurid Lawyers - Monday, May 9, 2005 Toledo Is Calling - Sunday, May 8, 2005 MSG and Migraines - Monday, May 2, 2005 Enron and Bush - Monday, May 2, 2005 Horror at Oklahoma City - Sunday, May 1, 2005 Religion Makes Billions - Wednesday, April 27, 2005 Cheating in America - Tuesday, April 26, 2005 Love the Blues - Monday, April 25, 2005 Spitting in Public - Sunday, April 24, 2005 Tornado Alert - Thursday, April 21, 2005