It will be an early Mardi Gras tomorrow in New Orleans, the unforgettable city of mystery and intrigue.
Even if you can’t make it to the party this year you can bring a taste of it home.
Julie Smith’s protagonist is Skip Langdon, a former debutante and carnival queen who has traded in her crown for a badge.
The first book in her series is New Orleans Mourning takes place during Mardi Gras. When the King of Carnival is gunned down by a party-goer dressed as Dolly Parton, Langdon scours the French Quarter and beyond for clues, interviewing revelers and street people with names like Jo Jo, Hinky and Cookie, and using her contacts from her white glove days.
New Orleans Mourning won the 1991 Edgar Award for best mystery novel.
Smith is the editor of New Orleans Noir, a recently released collection of eighteen short stories. The book is divided into pre-Katrina (pre-K, as the locals say) and post-Katrina sections, and many of the more powerful tales describe the disaster's hellish aftermath. A portion of the profits from this book are being donated to the New Orleans Public Library.
New Orleans is also home base for private-eye and former go-go dancer Scotty Bradley, star of Greg Herren’s gay noir series. Mardi Gras Mambo, the third book in the series, was delayed due to the author's forced temporary relocation from that city, although the author does not mention the hurricane in the book, since it is very much about the ultimate party city that was pre-K New Orleans.
If these sound just a little too dark for you, celebrate the day with Lou Jane Temple’s lively Red Beans and Vice. Temple’s detective Heaven Lee, a perky Kansas City restaurateur, travels to New Orleans for a food fest benefit for an ancient order of nuns in the city. Several catastrophes ensue, and ultimately a coffee importer turns up dead.
Booklist says “The attraction in this overstuffed story is the Big Easy: landmarks, well-known chefs and restaurants, and local color abound. You'll be longing for beignets by mid-murder.”
Ah, for a cup of Café du Monde coffee and a plate of hot beignets!
