Reviewed by Susan Helene Gottfried

Can someone please explain to me why novelist Don Bruns hasn't attracted a bigger audience? St. Barts Breakdown is his fourth novel featuring journalist Mick Sever.Yet it's the first to cross my radar, and I'm always on the lookout for books set in the world of rock and roll.

As I said, Bruns' lead character, Mick Sever, is a journalist. He's got street cred. He's got a background that could make many of the real-life journalists I know jealous. And in St. Barts Breakdown, he's got an expense-account-paid trip to the lovely island of St. Barts, where everything is always perfect, to interview famed music producer Danny Murtz, whose life is far from perfect.

Perfect is not a word best applied to Danny Murtz. Better words would be shady, fraud, junkie, trainwreck. He admits to the readers, although not to Sever, that his entire career is based on stolen material and fabrications. And he confesses to having killed a few women along the way. Oh, yeah, and there was that one time…

Thus, the structure of this novel isn't your traditional whodunnit. Sever's not out to discover who the murderer is. Rather, the mystery centers on something a bit more esoteric and yet even yummier: whether or not Sever will get Murtz to spill his secrets -- but it's not quite so straightforward. After all, accidents are following Sever. Will our journalist live long enough to get the answers to his inverview questions? Any answers, not merely the ones he seeks, although coherent answers would be a bonus.

Even if Sever gets to conduct his interviews, there's doubt as to what will come out of Murtz's mouth. Amped up on cocaine, pot, and booze, Murtz is one of the best train wrecks I've ever met. We readers are allowed into the mind of a man driven insane by his addictions, and it's great fun to be in there. Murtz is complex, paranoid, and able to make us feel sympathy for him even as we recoil from many of his actions. He's out of control, pure and simple, and it's impossible to not be sucked in by someone like that, especially since Murtz doesn't live on the front pages of supermarket tabloids. Having the novel in our hands is pure indulgence. Maybe we even begin to understand Britney Spears a bit better.

Or maybe not.  

One complaint -- or observation, depending on Bruns' intent -- with the character of Murtz. With his violent background and the dead women around him, not to mention the descriptions of his legendary sound that can be found on all albums he produces, Murtz comes off as a fictional Phil Spector. Is he supposed to be? In a sense, I hope not. I'd hate to know this is what is going on in the mind of one of rock's greatest producers. Yet on the other hand, it's entirely possible that this is a fantastic roman a clef, brilliantly executed so that images of Spector fade from our minds and all we're left with is this fictional guy, Danny Murtz, and the hopes that Bruns has created him entirely from his imagination.

Of course, as with all books that I find I really like, this one has a great cast of supporting characters. Although we never see much of Little Jean, folk such as Michelle -- who isn't all she seems. Or is she? -- and Nancy, Murtz's personal assistant, as well as Mr. B the bartender flesh out the story and bring it to life. Jordan, however, never seemed to find his stride and at times seemed like he was there merely to be a sidekick for Sever during the action sequences. Yet given all the other characters floating around, does this really matter? Yes and no; he might have earned his place more completely if he'd entered the story earlier.

Unlike Jordan, Michelle has a point, and it's more than it seems at first. Michelle goes from being a strong, in-control woman to being a victim; it's a good reminder to us women who often feel invincible that, quite bluntly, we're not. Even the best of us can fall victim to someone out of control like Murtz. Yet this point is made at the expense of having Michelle play the role we are set up to expect. I'd have rather had her in the action scenes than Jordan.

My favorite character, by far, had to be Harvey, the lawyer who's good at cleaning up for Murtz -- but at a price. Harvey knows how to play Murtz and how to squeeze him for more cash. I spent a large chunk of the book wondering if he was or wasn't trustworthy. Harvey's a slippery dude, and not just in his dealings with Sever. This, among many other questions we have, is never answered completely. Yet it works, because after all, Harvey's a snake. Right?

I've read seemingly flat main characters like this before. Daniel Silva's spy, Gabriel Allon, comes to mind. When I encountered him the first time -- also in mid-series -- Allon seemed thin and not as fully-rounded as you think the main character who supports a series ought to be. Yet as you read more of the books -- because you're sucked in by other things: with Silva, it's plot. With Burns, it's these great characters -- you realize that the main character is more fully-rounded than you'd assumed at first. You just needed the time to get to know him, and that the author is taking full advantage of writing a series to let his character unfold.

At least, I hope this is the case with Bruns' works. Trust me when I say I'll soon be finding out for myself.

All in all, St. Barts Breakdown is a fun read. As with the works of James Patterson, the short chapters keep the reader engaged and make the book all but impossible to put down. The characters each have surprises of their own -- as does the ending. We readers are left with the feeling that Sever's not quite as savvy as he claims to be (although I do question whether or not Murtz really did destroy the computer's hard drive, but then, I'm married to a computer geek and I'd think of things like that). I can't wait to read more of the series to get a better handle on this Sever guy; I've been deprived of him for way too long as it is.