St. Barts Breakdown

December 24, 2007
In Bruns’s mildly diverting fourth mystery to feature rock journalist Mick Sever (after 2006’s South Beach Shakedown
), Sever flies to a Caribbean island known as a haven for the rich and famous to interview Danny Murtz, a highly successful rock music producer who in his day turned out hit singles employing a unique orchestral sound. (Murtz will remind many of the real-life Phil Spector.) Murtz’s lawyer and all-around fixer insists Murtz proceed with the interview while the lawyer tries to cover up the most recent death of a young woman with whom the producer was involved. Murtz, whose always erratic behavior has become dangerously more so, decides he can take care of his own problems, including a nosy journalist. Full of one-dimensional characters and implausible situations, this slight novel offers no insight into the world of rock from either the point-of-view of a journalist or a producer.

For his latest assignment, music journalist Mick Sever opts to interview a controversial producer whose recording highs have been plagued by personal lows over the years. Ensconced on a Carribean island, his mansion adorned with platinum records, Danny Murtz becomes increasingly paranoid, convinced that the world is out to get him. Strung out on drugs, booze, and rock 'n' roll, Murtz begins to suspect Sever of trying to sabotage him. Capturing Murtz's rising anxiety with a ravaged voice, narrator Paul Garcia duels with himself as he pulls things back with a more well-balanced portrayal of Sever. The result is a thrilling mind game in which each player lays it all on the line while Garcia shows listeners his colorful palette of vocal abilities. L.B. (c) AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine