Bruns, Don 1947-

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BRUNS, Don 1947-

PERSONAL: Born April 17, 1947, in Lima, OH. Education: Bowling Green State University, B.A., 1969.

ADDRESSES: Home—768 North Mail, Lima, OH 45801. Agent—Jane Chelius, Jane Chelius Agency, 548 Second St., Brooklyn, NY 11215. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Musician, songwriter, advertising executive, and author. Produced music CD Last Flight Out, Whitesand Records, 2002.

MEMBER: Mystery Writers of America.

WRITINGS:

Jamaica Blue, St. Martin's Minotaur (New York, NY), 2002.

Barbados Heat, St. Martin's Minotaur (New York, NY), 2003.

SIDELIGHTS: Don Bruns's first mystery, Jamaica Blue, was called "a solid debut" by Library Journal's Rex E. Klett. Bruns, who divides his time between his Ohio home, Florida, and the Caribbean, has set the story in the Florida Keys, Miami, and Jamaica. The protagonist, Mick Sever, is a music critic and the author of a successful crime novel about the murder of a rock star. Mick writes a review of the Laments, a reggae band whose vocalist, Rastafarian Derrick Lyman, sings rap lyrics that promote violence against women, the same sort of violence that leads to the murders of a series of young women following their concerts.

Mick sees a story and perhaps another lucrative book deal if he solves the crimes, but the band's manager, Bobby Vane, is bent on discouraging him. With almost no evidence, Detective Harry Kohls is quick to pin the murder of a third women, who was stabbed to death on the yacht of publisher Frankie Romano, on a security guard, but Sever continues to dig for the truth, aided by his former wife, Ginny.

Sue Grafton, best-selling mystery author, mentored Bruns in his quest for a publisher for his first book. Bruns bought her services at a charity auction, and she wrote a stinging evaluation of his first manuscript. Then she called him and gave him the advice he needed to refine his mystery. Grafton also provided a blurb for the cover of Jamaica Blue.

A Kirkus Reviews contributor wrote of the novel that "the Jamaican background and peeks inside the publicity machine behind up-and-coming music stars are so tangy that you may forget just who did what to whom." Booklist's Frank Sennett called the characters in Jamaica Blue "believable," adding that, "In this compelling, fast-paced story, Bruns nails the world of celebrity journalism."