The Levee: A Novel of Baton Rouge

by Malcolm Shuman

A true-crime writer returns home to solve the mystery that haunted his boyhoodAfter witnessing an execution, true-crime writer Colin Douglas starts having nightmares of himself as a boy, alone by the levee, trapped in the mud of the Mississippi River. Each night, the dreams grow worse, becoming horrid recreations of the day his childhood died.In 1959, Colin and three friends went camping on the levee, across from the tumbledown old Windsong plantation. When one of the boys disappeared, Colin went searching for him, and was approaching the old estate when he saw what appeared to be a ghost. The next day, he learned a woman had been murdered in the area—an unsolved crime that has haunted him ever since. Decades later, he attempts to solve this forgotten cold case, raking up something even dirtier than the muddy bottom of the Mississippi.

Genres: Mystery

230 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2008

About the author

AKA M.S. Karl and M.K. Shuman

Born in Jackson, Mississippi in 1941, Malcolm Shuman grew up in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and was educated at Louisiana State University, which awarded him a B.A. in 1962 in the fields of geography & anthropology. Shuman then had the privilege of serving in the U.S. Army from 1963 to 1966 where, as a member of the military police, he was assigned to Sandia Base New Mexico, with a Top Secret security clearance.

Series:
* Alan Graham Mysteries

Reviews

[george burns · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unengaging

The protagonist returns to the city of his youth, because he still has nightmares about events that occurred almost fifty years earlier. He is not really sure what happened when he was fifteen. Most of the book involves the attempted recall of those distant days. There is no real detection and the "resolution" is in the of information provided by a contemporary. None of this is particularly interesting or believable.

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an intense story which unfolds in unexpected ways. Also, since I am somewhat acquainted with Baton Rouge, I was able to visualize some of the scenes.

[Nikki in Niagara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reason for Reading: The publisher's plot synopsis grabbed me right away and being a mystery fan I just had to read this one.

Summary: Colin, now in his sixties, is haunted by dreams of a past event that happened when he was 15 and he can't remember which of his dreams/memories are really accurate or just from a vivid imagination. He has become the author of True Crime books and just finished a particularly harrowing one where the murderer invited him to interview him on condition he watch his execution. This sends Colin back to his hometown of Baton Rouge to unravel the truth about the night that the Spanish teacher was killed in the cemetery while they were camping near by and Colin and the other boys each knew a little more than they ever told the police, or each other.

Comments: This rather unimposing book, just over 200 pages with a fairly dull cover is hiding a terrific mystery within its pages. Likened on the back to Stephen King's The Body (Stand By Me) it does capture the same nostalgia of a man looking back at a pivotal moment from his 1950s childhood, a day that changed the boys' lives forever and the day the innocence of a child left them all.

The book wanders back and forth, often within the same chapter, from the adult Colin's quest and seeking into his past as he finds only one friend left still living in the hometown to young Collin's re-telling of the days surrounding the murder. The whole book is told in the first person, there are little breaks between time shifts and I found it flowed nicely. The majority of the book is spent in the past with little forays into Colin's present until the story nears the end and the final reveal is given.

The quality of the mystery is superb. I didn't find myself trying to guess the culprit as everyone in the book was doing that, seemingly leaving no person beyond suspicion. When the reveal comes, it is totally out of the blue and unexpected but I wasn't shocked. It fit so naturally. It was an "Ahaaa" moment. Shuman pulls this off very cleverly and there is nothing I love more than a clever mystery writer. The back of my book tells my Mr. Shuman has written 14 mysteries to date, but a quick look at amazon shows that they mostly seem to be out-of-print. I must track down another of his books through the library system to see if his other work is as clever as this one.

[Laura Cushing · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book about boys in Baton Rouge who witnessed a murder as teens, and their adult lives after. The protag, Colin, becomes a writer of crime fiction - and it's years later, as a middle-aged man, that he returns to the place he grew up to try and unravel the events he foggily remembers.

When he gets together with his friend from childhood Blaize, the pieces start to fall into place. The conclusion of the book is shocking, and not a 'whodunit' I expected. But when you look back, it is foreshadowed in some of the flashbacks from their teens.

I like that you get the perspective of both the teenagers and the men that they become, and the story is very suspenseful.

[Cyn (RaeWhit) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the sort of book that makes a writer say to themselves, "I could've written a book like this." It's another coming-of-age novel that finds its resolution only when the protagonist is in his 60s and thinks it's high time he finished this chapter of his life. The great this about this book is the narrative style that just carries you effortlessly from page, leaving the reader with the suspicion that this is largely biographical. I caught myself 'solving' the crime a few times, but in the end, found I hadn't been even close. Very enjoyable.

[Frances Meyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating story.

You really ought to pick this one up. I almost never give a five-star rating. This one deserves it. The flashback take place in 1959 when I was eleven. It's a bit like reading the Stand by Me story southern style. Highly recommended.

[Jodi G. · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick read, with a fairly unpredictable ending.

[Tamia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. It kept me wanting to read what happened next as the chapters are written from present to past.

[Emilie Haydel · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love books that are based in the state I live in; and love them even more when they are based in the exact town I live in and exact neighborhood I live in in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Although this was based on a true story this one fell really flat for me. The writing was a bit wonky and the characters were bland with no depth to them. I was disappointed and turned off by the many grammatical errors, usage of such profanity with hopes that it would get somewhat better; but absolutely did not unfortunately. I would not recommend this one at all.

[Rebecca Elias · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked up this book at a hole-in-the-wall bookstore and am SO HAPPY I bought it!! Wow!! I'm very impressed. The way it's written makes it very easy to read, imagine, and breeze through in no time! Would definitely recommend to anyone who likes murder mysteries, suspense, or drama. Very well written, easy to follow, easy to get wrapped up in for hours!!

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting. I live in Baton Rouge but you don't have to in order to enjoy this book!

[Linda M Phipps · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent!

Fast paced, evocative of the time and place. I thought I had it all figured out, so the ending came as a surprise. Good reading!

[Holly Carville · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book took place in Baton Rouge and all of the places are familiar. This is a murder mystery with a surprising twist at the end.

[Anna Fleischhacker · Rating 3 out of 5]

easy read, good twist at the end.

[Whit]

I now have read all of Malcolm Shuman's books. I really did enjoy this Baton Rouge one!

[Kirsten Christensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Intriguing story

[Gary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Suspenseful, first-person storytelling in the hands of a masterful writer who knows his landscape intimately. The Baton Rouge setting is beautifully evoked. Unlike some reviewers, I found the ending both plausible and stunning — an extraordinary payoff. All that keeps this from being a 5-star read for me are the gothic mansion scenes on the outskirts of the city, which — though they didn't suspend my interest in the story — rang a bit less true than the rest of the work. Though I rate Tim Gautreaux's "The Missing" slightly higher for scope, sweep, research and technical merit, I've enjoyed only a handful of novels set in Louisiana as much as this one (Walker Percy's "The Moviegoer," Kate Chopin's "The Awakening," James Wilcox's "Modern Baptists," Ken Wells's "Meely LaBauve" and John Kennedy Toole's "A Confederacy of Dunces").

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was another tough read because on one hand it kept my interest and kept me turning pages, staying up way past my bedtime to keep reading. So that was fun. However, the language was way, way too strong for my tastes. So many parts of the story did not need to be there. I also do not like mystery books that give you no clues to the actual ending...it goes off into a whole other story and then the ending it just really out of the blue...a little bit chilling though when reading all alone late at night. Someone mentioned this was a true story...if so it really is creepy. So...I liked reading it and would give it a 3..but the crappiness of it takes it to a 2 star...haha...I am so good at giving reviews!

[Leslie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a pretty intense Hitchcock-type novel about some teenage boys who witness a crime that no one can solve. It takes place in the 60s (?) in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, so there is plenty of atmosphere, etc. There's quite a twist at the end, and once I found that out, I had to get there to see what it was! Since this book's main characters are 15 year old boys, there is a lot of "language" that I don't appreciate, but it's pretty realistic at the same time. A quick, rather spooky read!

[Carie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was crass and full of language (the narrator was a 16 year old boy. No offense to 16 year old boys.) It was short, so I waded through to get to the hyped resolution of the mystery at the end. Not worth it, for my tastes.

(You know it's bad when I was embarrassed that the person sitting next to me on the plane would read over my shoulder and think "What kind of garbage is she reading?")

[Wyma · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one went fast and I really liked it right up until the uncredible ending. The action that brought about the murder seemed to come out of the blue and was more like a young man's dreams of what might happen than what the novel had led us to expect. Everything else worked as the denouement answered questions that barely had time to form as the story moved rapidly along.

[Jobie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quick read. Maybe only 200 pages. Murder-mystery set in the late 50's with lead character coming back to figure out what's been haunting his memories all these years. Sort of "Stand By Me"-ish (as mentioned on the book jacket.) Could have had more character development. It was interesting and fast, chilling, but with a 'ho-hum' ending.

[Diane Woodruff · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a story about a murder in 1959. It is based on true events. The murder haunts one boy who was camping near the levee. The author draws you into the story. Suddenly you find you cannot put the book down! It is a page-turning until the very last page! Quick reading. The language of the 16 year old boys can be a little raw.

[Marya · Rating 1 out of 5]

Some have compared the Levee to Steve King's The Body, and that comparison holds in the sense that it is more of a coming of age story than a mystery story. Not a lot of time/space is devoted to the mystery proper or solving it, but there is a lot of detailed characterization. Unfortunately, the 15 year old boys were wholly uninteresting to me.

[Dr Penner · Rating 5 out of 5]

As cliche as it sounds, The Levee is a true page-turner. The narrative is full of cliff-hangers and had me guessing and second-guessing at everything that I was being told. Mystery stories are best when they get the reader truly involved. After reading, I still feel some strange attachment to this novel.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

The ending made the book. It's the story of 3 boys growing up in the 1960's Baton Rouge and perhaps witnessing a murder. The characterizations are good. It's a fast read. The pacing is pretty good, could use a little more umph to the book.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was okay, although I didn't like the teacher/sex twist. It could have wrapped up sooner (although it was only 200 pages).

[Shandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read

[Janeal · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn't my favorite book. The language was too strong and there was some parts I didn't think needed to be in there. It was a true story and the ending did surprise me.

[Tom V · Rating 2 out of 5]

So far, so good. Nice set up, while conventional, is satisfyingly baiting.