Review: Exploration’s End: A New Orleans Mystery by George Sanchez

Southern charm and an old-fashioned mystery make for a great duo in Exploration’s End by George Sanchez.

After returning home to New Orleans, actor Jeff Chaussier has put his mediocre acting career on hold in order to find out what’s going on with his cousin, Cal. Rumor has it that his cousin is in the theater and is even dating an actress.

After some roundabout digging, Jeff suspects that drugs or sex may be involved but he also has other problems he has to deal with that involve facing the beautiful Bryna – who family and friends call his girl – after he’d run away from New Orleans without so much as a goodbye to her, thanks to their very complicated history.

Although their reunion is exquisite, Jeff soon finds out that Bryna has secrets she doesn’t want to share with him. Add old friends and drugs into the mix, and suddenly Jeff has more on his plate than he can handle.

New Orleans is a vibrant, eclectic city that serves as the perfect backdrop in this second book in the Jeff Chaussier New Orleans Mystery series. Sanchez serves up plenty of southern charm and quirky mannerisms that ooze from each page, which is a prerequisite for any New Orleans cozy mystery, but Sanchez takes the colorful character of this city even further. His humor-infused narrative flows easily and he has a real knack for using descriptions to effectively convey the slightest changes in mood and atmosphere.

All of these elements set the stage admirably for his denture-wearing main protagonist who forgets to ask the necessary questions but whose skills as an actor have made him good at looking, listening, and “shaking the tree.” One has to wonder whether his brand of sleuthing would work as effectively outside of New Orleans.

Sanchez doesn’t stop the colorful detail with his main protagonist, as the secondary characters are just as lively and entertaining. There’s Jeff’s mother, with her selective deafness and her predisposition to know everything about everyone, Jeff’s brother, Space, who can wield his crutches with the finesse of a weapon when necessary, Skinny, the local pool shark who is anything but skinny, and Red John, the local bar clown with a penchant for listening and retaining vital information as needed. All of these characters add vibrant flavor to a story that’s brimming with charm and character.

Where Exploration’s End falls short is on dialogue, both in volume and in execution. Sanchez doesn’t use quotation marks in the passages of dialogue, nor is there an indication of which person is saying what, resulting in speech that can come across as stilted, and doesn’t always effectively move the plot forward, build tension, or reveal character. Without dialogue tags (e.g. he said/she said) for guidance, the dialogue is unnecessarily confusing, which does take something away from the story, but does not overly detract from this otherwise entertaining tale.

With healthy dollops of charm and wit, Exploration’s End serves up a satisfying mystery that is sure to please fans of the genre.