JAM: February/March 2003 Issue: Storyville

DEATH AND DEVOTION,
A Palmer Morel Mystery
by Larry Rochelle
Zumaya Publications, 243 pp.

A murder mystery is a form of literature that is meant to be entertaining. Casual and incidental, yet deliberate and planned, the story line is intended to surprise and intrigue. And much like a good jazz solo it takes time to develop. People, events and places are set against a mood, creating a tension that later releases a catharsis of emotions and imagination.

Attention and interest can be intensified when the plot centers around that which is familiar. The closer we are to what is already known, the more enjoyment can be found in the twists and turns of changing events. Death and Devotion is one of these kinds of stories. The backdrop is Kansas City, Missouri and the setting is the present day.

Think of summertime in this fair city on the 4th of July. An infant's body is found at the base of the Liberty Memorial. A tragedy of this magnitude strikes at the very heart of the city yet is only the beginning of a series of unfolding events. Days later, the story becomes even more complicated when other deaths occur within a short period of time. A transient is beaten, murdered and tossed into Brush Creek; a prominent construction owner appears to have committed suicide in Overland Park; a gang of rapists escape from the 63rd Street police station; an altercation between a wealthy lawyer and a citizen-proponent of the light rail system leaves one with a severe compound wrist fracture. And it all swirls around Palmer Morel, a good looking tennis pro who is drawn into this mess by his own illicit sexual actions, a friend on the police force, his devotion for his wheelchair-bound former lover, and by his relationships with his former lover's nurse, his tennis students and a reformed teen prostitute.

The events of the story come to a vivid and dramatic conclusion at the (now defunct) Blues and Jazz Festival at the Liberty Memorial. Pulsating blues and contemporary jazz play on into the night while a fight breaks out with the would-be rapists, the tennis students and Palmer Morel. When things finally settle down and security has arrived, even the well known Grand Emporium owner Roger Naber gets into the act and hauls the bad guys off in a golf cart. Bloodied and bruised from the fight, Palmer Morel still has the energy to scale the Liberty Memorial in a specialized climbing harness to once again save the day. Who he is after, of course, is part of the mystery.

Death and Devotion is part of a series of mystery novels already published dealing with the foibles and fancies of tennis pro Palmer Morel. As the protagonist in the story he actually plays an average kind of guy instead of the stereotypical hero.

Author, Larry Rochelle's writing can best be described as having the wit, irony and healthy sarcasm needed in this town. Even though at times it is a bit far-reaching and melodramatic, Death and Devotion is a fun read. And Rochelle successfully gets you hooked on the story and the character that is Palmer Morel.

-- J.P. Makus






	Search our site:		DEATH AND DEVOTION, A Palmer Morel Mystery by Larry Rochelle Zumaya Publications, 243 pp. A murder mystery is a form of literature that is meant to be entertaining. Casual and incidental, yet deliberate and planned, the story line is intended to surprise and intrigue. And much like a good jazz solo it takes time to develop. People, events and places are set against a mood, creating a tension that later releases a catharsis of emotions and imagination. Attention and interest can be intensified when the plot centers around that which is familiar. The closer we are to what is already known, the more enjoyment can be found in the twists and turns of changing events. Death and Devotion is one of these kinds of stories. The backdrop is Kansas City, Missouri and the setting is the present day. Think of summertime in this fair city on the 4th of July. An infant's body is found at the base of the Liberty Memorial. A tragedy of this magnitude strikes at the very heart of the city yet is only the beginning of a series of unfolding events. Days later, the story becomes even more complicated when other deaths occur within a short period of time. A transient is beaten, murdered and tossed into Brush Creek; a prominent construction owner appears to have committed suicide in Overland Park; a gang of rapists escape from the 63rd Street police station; an altercation between a wealthy lawyer and a citizen-proponent of the light rail system leaves one with a severe compound wrist fracture. And it all swirls around Palmer Morel, a good looking tennis pro who is drawn into this mess by his own illicit sexual actions, a friend on the police force, his devotion for his wheelchair-bound former lover, and by his relationships with his former lover's nurse, his tennis students and a reformed teen prostitute. The events of the story come to a vivid and dramatic conclusion at the (now defunct) Blues and Jazz Festival at the Liberty Memorial. Pulsating blues and contemporary jazz play on into the night while a fight breaks out with the would-be rapists, the tennis students and Palmer Morel. When things finally settle down and security has arrived, even the well known Grand Emporium owner Roger Naber gets into the act and hauls the bad guys off in a golf cart. Bloodied and bruised from the fight, Palmer Morel still has the energy to scale the Liberty Memorial in a specialized climbing harness to once again save the day. Who he is after, of course, is part of the mystery. Death and Devotion is part of a series of mystery novels already published dealing with the foibles and fancies of tennis pro Palmer Morel. As the protagonist in the story he actually plays an average kind of guy instead of the stereotypical hero. Author, Larry Rochelle's writing can best be described as having the wit, irony and healthy sarcasm needed in this town. Even though at times it is a bit far-reaching and melodramatic, Death and Devotion is a fun read. And Rochelle successfully gets you hooked on the story and the character that is Palmer Morel. -- J.P. Makus RETURN TO FEBRUARY/MARCH 2003 MAIN INDEX © Kansas City Jazz Ambassadors 1996-2003. All rights reserved.