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Danny Chaisson #3
Down in the Flood: A Novel
All the top crime writers agree that Kenneth Abel is a spectacular "A gripper all the way," says Elmore Leonard. "A stunning achievement," declares James Lee Burke. "Brilliant," says Robert B. Parker. And now with Down in the Flood, former New Orleans prosecutor Danny Chaisson is back in a third electrifying thriller.Danny Chaisson's latest case is bid-rigging. But as his investigation proceeds, a gathering storm named Katrina blasts his world apart.Surrounded by death and the destruction of the city he loves, Danny searches for one man who'd trusted Chaisson to guard his identity when he agreed to testify before a federal grand jury investigating corruption in the city's construction industry. But someone has leaked the identity of this crucial witness, and as the city begins to empty before the approaching storm, Danny learns that a pair of corrupt policemen hired by the wealthy defendants in the case have begun stalking his client.Cut off from escape, and unsure whom he can trust, Chaisson's client has gone into hiding in the city's Ninth Ward, where he grew up. Now Danny must race against time, a pair of relentless professional killers, and the rising flood waters to save the man who'd counted on him.But can Danny save one man as a whole city dies?
353 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2009
5 people are currently reading
53 people want to read
About the author
Kenneth Abel
14 books19 followersPseudonym of Sergei Lobanov-Rostovsky.
Sergei Lobanov-Rostovsky has taught at Kenyon since 1993. He teaches courses on Shakespeare, Renaissance poetry, film, and fiction writing. His research centers on the politics of spectacle in early modern drama, and he has also published a series of crime novels under the pseudonym Kenneth Abel. In 2001, he received the Junior Trustee Award for Teaching Excellence.
He lives in Columbus, Ohio.
Series:
* Danny Chaisson
Sergei Lobanov-Rostovsky has taught at Kenyon since 1993. He teaches courses on Shakespeare, Renaissance poetry, film, and fiction writing. His research centers on the politics of spectacle in early modern drama, and he has also published a series of crime novels under the pseudonym Kenneth Abel. In 2001, he received the Junior Trustee Award for Teaching Excellence.
He lives in Columbus, Ohio.
Series:
* Danny Chaisson
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
September 27, 2009
Down In the Flood- 5 Stars
Kenneth Abel
Minotaur Books, 2009, 352 Pages
ISBN No. 978-0312377199
Danny Chaisson, New Orleans attorney, befriends Louis Sams who is asked to testify before a grand jury against his employer, a concrete manufacturer. Danny has experienced testifying before the grand jury and his receptionist asks him to advise Sams. Louis Sams is hesitant to agree but his son has legal problems and Sams is told his son’s problems will disappear if he testifies.
Sams’ employer is rumored to have mob ties and is suspected of using defective materials. Just before the hurricane hits, Sams disappears. Danny is sure that he has been captured by the mob. Mickie Vega, Danny’s wife and ATF Agent, can’t evacuate because of her duties. Mickie and Danny send their daughter to safety and Mickie expects Danny to follow but he cannot bring himself to leave without an attempt to save Sams.
Take a trip with Danny as he travels through the devastation brought on by Hurricane Katrina in an attempt to save a man in danger. The story is thrilling and the descriptions make the reader feel the real horrors of the tragedy named Katrina.
This is the third Danny Chaisson novel and I intend to read the first two.
Kenneth Abel
Minotaur Books, 2009, 352 Pages
ISBN No. 978-0312377199
Danny Chaisson, New Orleans attorney, befriends Louis Sams who is asked to testify before a grand jury against his employer, a concrete manufacturer. Danny has experienced testifying before the grand jury and his receptionist asks him to advise Sams. Louis Sams is hesitant to agree but his son has legal problems and Sams is told his son’s problems will disappear if he testifies.
Sams’ employer is rumored to have mob ties and is suspected of using defective materials. Just before the hurricane hits, Sams disappears. Danny is sure that he has been captured by the mob. Mickie Vega, Danny’s wife and ATF Agent, can’t evacuate because of her duties. Mickie and Danny send their daughter to safety and Mickie expects Danny to follow but he cannot bring himself to leave without an attempt to save Sams.
Take a trip with Danny as he travels through the devastation brought on by Hurricane Katrina in an attempt to save a man in danger. The story is thrilling and the descriptions make the reader feel the real horrors of the tragedy named Katrina.
This is the third Danny Chaisson novel and I intend to read the first two.
November 6, 2009
I've been waiting 8 years for Abel's next book to come out. And it was worth the wait. There are. like it or not, recurring formulas in mystery/thrillers. For some, it's the same formula over and over. Many of those are perpetually on the NY Times best-seller lists. Others vary and the more they do, the more I like them. Kenneth Abel is one of the best of these and he pretty much broke out of the mold completely.
It features Danny Chaisson, a low-end lawyer, who, in the previous book was a voluntary confidential informant in an FBI's investigation of corruption in Louisiana. In this book, he's representing a man who has agreed to the same thing. Before he's to testify at a grand jury a mobster learns his identity and has him kidnapped.
Danny feels partially responsible and sets out to find him. Unfortunately, this happens two days before Katrina's landfall. Much of the story is about Katrina but he maintains interest with his seamless, spare prose.
Abel, whose real name is Sergei 'Lobanov-Rostkovsy, reminds me of a laid-back James Lee Burke, minus the over-the-top similies and description (which I love in Burke's writing). Indeed, the plot parallels Tin Roof Blow, but Abel makes it his own story.
It features Danny Chaisson, a low-end lawyer, who, in the previous book was a voluntary confidential informant in an FBI's investigation of corruption in Louisiana. In this book, he's representing a man who has agreed to the same thing. Before he's to testify at a grand jury a mobster learns his identity and has him kidnapped.
Danny feels partially responsible and sets out to find him. Unfortunately, this happens two days before Katrina's landfall. Much of the story is about Katrina but he maintains interest with his seamless, spare prose.
Abel, whose real name is Sergei 'Lobanov-Rostkovsy, reminds me of a laid-back James Lee Burke, minus the over-the-top similies and description (which I love in Burke's writing). Indeed, the plot parallels Tin Roof Blow, but Abel makes it his own story.
Read
July 23, 2010Down in the Flood by Kenneth Abel is a real page turner. Danny Chaisson is a New Orleans attorney helping his receptionist’s relative, an engineer working for a concrete company, who the feds are pressuring to give evidence of cut corners and sub-par work against his boss. The boss in turn is getting pressure from a mobster to whom he owes a large gambling debt. These are the players when a little storm named Katrina comes to town. The engineer has disappeared on the eve of grand jury testimony and Danny refuses to evacuate as he races the storm to save his client.
Danny is an appealing character. He is a former informant still remembered by many as a traitor. His moral code does not allow him to abandon a client even though his wife, an ATF agent, is assigned to remain in the City, begs him to take their daughter and leave town. He grew up in the Ninth Ward and as the waters rise he sees the best and worst his City has to offer. I’m going back to the beginning and intend the read the earlier two titles in this series. --Susan
From ICPL Staff Picks Blog
Danny is an appealing character. He is a former informant still remembered by many as a traitor. His moral code does not allow him to abandon a client even though his wife, an ATF agent, is assigned to remain in the City, begs him to take their daughter and leave town. He grew up in the Ninth Ward and as the waters rise he sees the best and worst his City has to offer. I’m going back to the beginning and intend the read the earlier two titles in this series. --Susan
From ICPL Staff Picks Blog
April 27, 2015
Danny is a seasoned attorney who lived in New Orleans, Louisiana all his life. He knows the underbelly, the crime, the bribes and corruption that make this city legendary.
When a friend comes to him asking help to represent his son who is headed for a very nasty prison, Danny agrees to help Sam.
Sam is an engineer at a large cement company and is well aware of the fact that the cement manufactured is not up to standard. The owner of the company can get away with this because he gives bribes to politicians and any where it will be advantageous to him.
In order to reduce the sentence for his son, Sam is told he must testify about the low quality product, and what he knows about his employer.
Before the grand jury meeting, Sam is discovered as a key witness and kidnapped by two thugs hired by his boss to shut him up.
Taking his job seriously, Danny knows that a big hurricane is about to hit New Orleans, yet he decides to stay and find his client.
I've read many books about Hurricane Katrina and this book portrays a very accurate description of what happened when the poor quality leeves broke.
A good read with a lot of action.
When a friend comes to him asking help to represent his son who is headed for a very nasty prison, Danny agrees to help Sam.
Sam is an engineer at a large cement company and is well aware of the fact that the cement manufactured is not up to standard. The owner of the company can get away with this because he gives bribes to politicians and any where it will be advantageous to him.
In order to reduce the sentence for his son, Sam is told he must testify about the low quality product, and what he knows about his employer.
Before the grand jury meeting, Sam is discovered as a key witness and kidnapped by two thugs hired by his boss to shut him up.
Taking his job seriously, Danny knows that a big hurricane is about to hit New Orleans, yet he decides to stay and find his client.
I've read many books about Hurricane Katrina and this book portrays a very accurate description of what happened when the poor quality leeves broke.
A good read with a lot of action.
September 16, 2009
The language in this book is wonderful. A completely vicarious way to see what happened in New Orleans before, during and after Katrina. It was truly effective in engaging your senses and sensibilities about the horror that was Katrina. The plot of the book revolves around Danny Chaisson, a lawyer who used to be a fixer for a New Orleans politician. Danny is married now and a father. His partner approaches him to help her brother who wants to testify before a Federal grand jury about the bribes and pay-offs his boss in the concrete business has been making and taking for years. But the story is really about Katrina.
August 14, 2016
First time with this author, and I will definitely be reading more of Abel's books.
His descriptions of the south were captivating, and his description of the waiting days before Katrina had me spell bound. I felt as though I was there in the city while reading about the rising water and the destruction of the city.
His descriptions of the south were captivating, and his description of the waiting days before Katrina had me spell bound. I felt as though I was there in the city while reading about the rising water and the destruction of the city.
October 4, 2009
A gripping mystery set in New Orleans shortly before and during Katrina.
May 1, 2011
A pretty good thriller with a great feel for what it must have been like for people living in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina.
September 20, 2011
This was one of my 100-pages challenge books, but I didn't need 100 pages to get hooked on it--I don't think I needed 100 words. This is definitely an author that I will be checking out again.
July 3, 2020
I've read it twice and enjoyed it as much the 2nd time as I did the first. It takes place in New Orleans before and during Katrina. A prosecutor searches for a man who has been kidnapped by thugs because he was getting ready to testify against a cement maker who had cut corners, causing the breaks in the levees.
March 10, 2018
Sooooo slow. Soooo much unneeded backstory and inner monologue. And worst of all, every black character, including the central one who's a highly educated engineer, all talk like maids and porters from 1930's movies. Bad.
Read
July 20, 2019simple mystery with compelling description of the Federal flood of 2005 as backdrop
April 23, 2011
Read this for a crime book discussion group. Third in a series, but it reads fine as a stand-alone. Liked it enough I'd read the earlier titles in the series. If someone wants to read a book set in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina and get a feeling of what that must have been like, I'd strongly recommend this book.
March 5, 2010
I probably would've liked it more if I hadn't read 9 Lives first. Truth is sometimes more interesting than fiction.
April 26, 2011
Pretty well done drama about a lawyer trying to find a witness to fraud in the NOLA building business while THE Hurricane floods the city. A few too many coincidences, but enjoyable.
February 24, 2012
Really enjoyed this one, for a thriller. Loved it being set post-Katrina.
November 29, 2013
Set in New Orleans during the Katrina flood. Okay read, too much philosophizing, and a little too wordy!
July 15, 2015
I like the main character and I'd be interested to read the other books about him, but they would have to have better plot pace to make me a regular reader. This one dragged.
March 23, 2010
Crime thriller which melds human greed and the tragedy of Katrina.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews