Assassination at Bayou Sauvage by D. J. Donaldson (Broussard/Kit #7)
The seventh book in the Andy Broussard/Kit Franklyn mystery series by D. J. Donaldson is the first one I have ever read by this author, however it will not be my last.
Assassination at Bayou Sauvage features the series two main characters: Andy Broussard, medical examiner, and Kit Franklyn, death investigator and psychologist, temporarily deputized.
The story begins with Andy Brussard sitting at a family picnic when his uncle Joe Brussard is sniped right in front of him. Since the local park rangers were at the picnic as well, they take no time in pursuing the killer, who was last seen shooting from a nearby boat.
Just as they reach him, the killer turns the gun on himself and drops dead in the water.
Now Brussard has the job of working on the bodies of both his uncle and the killer, a task which doesn’t come all the easy. During the autopsy he finds a few irregularities which make him doubt that the killer was indeed the one who seemingly killed himself.
In the meantime Kit is asked by the local police to help out in an investigation of a missing woman, Betty Bergeron, and when Kit accepts, she is promptly temporarily deputized, which pleases her greatly.
As the details of the two investigations come to light, Kit and Broussard realized that the two seemingly separate cases might not be as separate as they initially thought. In fact there is a thicker and thicker thread which connects the two, but in which way?
Being my first book by D. J. Donaldson, I didn’t know what to expect. Much to my surprise I soon found myself engrossed in a very pleasant book, with a very alive South, surrounding the Bayou. The characters were interesting, especially Broussard, a plump and not so young medical examiner who loves the finer thing life.
The book also deals with family relationships and while on one hand it made me want to reconnect with some long lost relatives, it also made me realize that happiness is right here with the family I have along with me right now.
I love books that make you thing and look deep within yourself, and while the race against the time to solve the crimes was real, Assassination at Bayou Sauvage also left me in a contemplation mood.
This is the seventh book in the series, so I have a lot of catching up to do during the summer holidays.
