
Book Description
Two days before Christmas, Jonathan Gray, M. D., Chief Deputy Coroner for Orleans Parish, receives shocking news. Robby O’Malley—Jonathan’s mentor for nearly forty years—has died under mysterious circumstances. Within hours after Robby’s death, Gray takes the oath of office as Coroner and participates in autopsies of an elderly couple murdered in their Garden District home. After mass on Christmas morning, Archbishop Phillip Fontenot asks Gray to investigate the sexual assault of one of his parishioners, as well as the disappearance of her sister—without involving the police. As Jonathan winds his way through what appear to be separate incidents, he uncovers connections and secrets that members of the city’s power elite would just as soon remain hidden.
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My Book Review
RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars
VOICES OF THE ELYSIAN FIELDS (A Jonathan Grey, M.D. Mystery) by Michael Rigg is an exciting, fast paced start to a new mystery/crime thriller series featuring the Chief Coroner of New Orleans. This book pulls you in from the first chapter with realistic characters and a total immersion into life in New Orleans.
Just two days before Christmas, Chief Deputy Coroner Dr. Jonathan Grey finds himself at the death scene of the Chief Coroner of New Orleans, his long-term mentor and friend. Just hours later after taking the oath of office to Chief Coroner, he receives a high-profile elderly couple from the Garden District in what appears to be a murder-suicide. As the detectives investigate, the autopsy results call the original assumption into question.
Not only does he have a wealthy, prominent New Orleans family to deal with, but the Archbishop of New Orleans asks for Jonathan’s discrete help after Christmas day mass in the sexual assault of a couple that has asked the church for sanctuary.
With pressure coming from all sides, Jonathan and his friends on the New Orleans detective squad must untangle a web of deceit that brings together the political elite, the rich and powerful, and a multi-country sex trafficking ring. Are all these holiday death cases related or not and can he keep his friends and loved ones safe?
This is a wonderful start to a new series that kept me reading well into the night. The characters are fully developed and realistic even with this being the first book in this series. Jonathan and his wife are a tight couple even with the tragedy in their past and I love that they are well suited to each other, but also singularly strong characters. Jonathan and the detectives followed an intricately plotted investigation with red herrings and twists that continually had me reevaluating who I believed was guilty and whether the two major cases were related or not. The city of New Orleans’ history, geography, and people are woven throughout the story and made me feel like I was right there on the streets with the characters. I am looking forward to reading many more books with these characters in the future.
I highly recommend this amazing first book in the Jonathan Grey, M.D. Mystery series!
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About the Author
Agatha and Anthony-nominated author Michael Rigg, an attorney for more than four decades, writes mysteries and thrillers set in two very different locations: Virginia Beach (where he lives) and New Orleans (which he visits as often as possible “for research,” including participation in three Mardi Gras Krewes). He is a retired Navy Judge Advocate and a retired civilian government attorney, formerly working for the Department of the Navy. He is a member of International Thriller Writers, Mystery Writers of America, and both the Sisters in Crime national organization and its Southeastern Virginia Chapter—Mystery by the Sea.
Social Media Links
Website: https://michaelrigg.com/
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