This book has a fantastic beginning! For me, there is nothing than a good novel from the American south, and this book starts out just that way! The characters are astounding! Juliet has it all! The things that drive us and the characters in the book to her and the same things that drive us away. What a powerful start! About midway, the book takes a turn towards a mundane murder mystery. As a police mystery, the book was not nearly as interesting as it was as a Southern novel. The ending was even weaker. I enjoyed it, but wished that Bradley had continued his write to his strengths to the end.

Normally, I am not really a fan of mysteries. I am however, a New Orleanean who loves to read books pertaining to the area and in that regard, this is one of the best I have ever come across. The story itself is more than decent, but the rich descriptions of the city are what more than held me captive. You want to feel sorry for the main character, Sonny due to his undying love for a crazed woman who keeps breaking his heart over and over again, but mid-way through the novel you want to scream at him "WAKE UP!!!" This is book I would highly recommend to other readers.

i read this one because i haven't been down south in three years and lately i've been reading southern books, just out of sentimentality....this story is ruthless. it's a bout a man's obsession with a woman who has him pegged; he knows she is bad for him, but he loves her anyway. every man has had at least one woman in his life who was that way( and probably yearns for another ) sonny is one of those artists who probably knows he bad, but he does it because he doesn't know how to do any thing else...he makes for an interesting psychological profile.

but the book is all about juliet....

man, this woman is the epitome of the psychowoman from hell...the things she says and does freaked me out totally...if the story was just about the realtionship between sonny and juliet, i would have given it five stars...but mr bradley, had to do a james m. cain, and give us a crime story... i wasn't that impressed...

still the book was cool, just to " see " new orleans again...sometimes, i do miss it......