La Salle’s Ghost

Arceneaux (the pseudonym of three Texas-based writers: Brent Douglass, John Davis, and James R. Dennis) tries too hard to deliver a rousing thriller loosely based on French explorer Robert de la Salle’s 1687 failed colony on the Texas Gulf Coast. One steamy Gulf night in September 1995, shrimper Charlie Sweetwater hauls an exhausted swimmer onto his private Chinese junk. The man Charlie rescues, eccentric Frenchman Julien Dufay, has plans for building a history museum on the site of de la Salle’s lost colony for the greater glory of France. Meanwhile, Julien’s brother, Jean-Marc, who’s sponsoring the project, wants to exploit the site’s natural gas resources. Stereotypical characters and a plethora of story lines make for an awkward mix, though the frequent references to savory Gulf food and even hotter interplay between Charlie and Julien’s wife add some spice. Possibly too many cooks spoiled this Texas-style bouillabaisse. (Sept.)