Copy kindly received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This one is not for me, so I'm going to put it down. The sentences are too run on, and the main character seems to be repeating things we've already heard. And I'm only part way through the first chapter. The story itself sounds like it will be a good one, based on the synopsis, but it's not my kind of writing style.

I will never get tired of reading books by Greg Herren and I will never be tired of Scotty Bradley!

This 7th book of the Scotty series finds Scotty, Frank and Colin trying to solve a 25 year old murder. Who killed Delilah Metoyer, the young daughter of one of New Orleans leading families?

Now twenty five years later a socialite from outside New Orleans has moved to the city and she decides to throw a housewarming party. Scotty is thrilled because the socialite has bought the Metoyer house. At last he gets to visit the scene of a notorious New Orleans murder and he will also eat excellent food and drink as much as he wants to all at the same time. Plus it will be a nice evening out with Frank and his nephew Taylor.

Scotty is surprised at the party when he bumps into his old classmate and bully outside the Metoyer home but this is no coincidence. Jesse Metoyer asks Scotty to help find his stepmother Arlene Metoyer and to find out what actually happened to his mother Melanie Metoyer. He also asks Scotty to see if he can throw some light into what actually happened to Delilah all those years ago.

A tall order but one which intrigues Scotty.

Scotty takes the case and this is where the mystery begins. Our trio of crime busters go about solving the murder in their usual way which involves some close shaves with the media, lots of dead ends, twists and turns all steeped in the mysterious and superficial lives of the upper echelons of New Orleans high society.

If you are a fan of Scotty then you will enjoy this story. Scotty is now on the cusp of forty and has become an uncle to Frank's teenage nephew. All of this makes him think about his own life and how he has changed. He is no longer the young go go dancer who had no cares about anything except paying his rent, hot guys and good spliffs. He now has partners, a business, ageing hippy parents, a nephew and a cat which he acquires during the course of the investigation. But he is the same Scotty we know and love and although life in New Orleans and his own life has changed over the years he still can't resist a mystery and dead bodies still pop up unexpectedly. Scotty also misses his relationship with the goddess and wonders if that part of his life is over. So in this story we see a more reflective side of Scotty but it doesn't slow him down.

And so we have another excellent episode and we also get to see some of our favourite secondary characters, our usual detective duo Venus and Blaine and a favourite character from a different series.

Reading this felt so good because Scotty, his men and his family are comfortably familiar and the mystery here is just as good as the earlier stories. This time there is a haunting feel to the story as it focuses on the murder of a child and the rippling effect this has on the lives that were touched by the murder. There is a kind of darkness here. A dead child, secrets and lives that look good on the outside but which are full of pain on the inside, and those with great wealth who watch those lives from palatial houses.

This is definitely a must for fans of the series. I do hope there will be more.

Copy provided by Bold Stroke Books (many thanks) via Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.