New Orleans Mourning

Skip Langdon mystery: 2

ISBN: 0-7887-3480-6 Order from: Recorded Books

Reviewed by David on April 17, 2003

Genre: Mystery (New Orleans, Police Procedural)

Synopsis: This is an unabridged recording of New Orleans Mourning. Skip Langdon is a rookie cop in New Orleans, using her profession as a way to rebel against the upper-class environment of her family. When a prominent local politician and businessman is spectacularly murdered during Mardi Gras, the best detectives in the department are assigned to the case. Normally, nobody would even consider assigning inexperienced, uniformed Skip to the case, but Skip's knowledge of the insular and powerful high society of New Orleans, and her friendship with several suspects and witnesses earn her a job on the team.

Resented by her police colleagues, suspected by her social friends, Skip makes mistakes and discoveries in the case.

Full Review: The novel paints a detailed and colorful picture of the upper-class society surrounding the crime. The history, politics and mores are described in enough detail to immerse the reader in this vivid environment.

Unfortunately, the plot is more successful in this than in actually describing the investigation. The characters are described in detail, with frequent switching of view-point and lengthy monologues about their problems. Nearly everyone in the novel appears to be disfunctional, and compain about it at length. The view-hopping combined with the large amounts of sometimes repetetive angst make it difficult to follow the main thread.

The resolution at the end is noir-ishly bleak, and the mistakes made by Skip and her colleagues on the way are irritating. At the conclusion of the book, the satisfaction of reaching the end seems to outweigh the pleasure of reading it.

Overall: 4; Plot: 4; Characters: 4.5; Style: 4.5; World-building: 6.5; Originality: 5;

ISBN: 0-7887-3480-6 Order from: Recorded Books