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Review

"Graham does a great job of blending just a bit of paranormal with real, human evil."

-Miami Herald

"Graham wields a deftly sexy and convincing pen."

-Publishers Weekly

"An incredible storyteller."

-Los Angeles Daily News

"There are good reasons for Graham's steady standing as a bestselling author. Here her perfect pacing keeps readers riveted as they learn fascinating tidbits of New Orleans history. The paranormal elements are integral to the unrelentingly suspenseful plot, the characters are likable, the romance convincing and, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Graham's atmospheric depiction of a lost city is especially poignant."

-Booklist on Ghost Walk

Product Description

A terror born of Jack the Ripper

The details of the crime scene are no coincidence. The body—a promising starlet—has been battered, bloodied and then discarded between two of Manhattan[HTML_REMOVED]s oldest graveyards.

One look and Detective Jude Crosby recognizes the tableau:

A re–creation of Jack the Ripper[HTML_REMOVED]s gruesome work. But he also sees something beyond the actions of a mere copycat. Something more dangerous…and unexplainable.

As the city seethes with suspicion, Jude calls on Whitney Tremont, a member of the country[HTML_REMOVED]s preeminent paranormal investigating team, to put the speculation to rest. Yet when Whitney and Jude delve deeper, what they discover is more shocking than either could have predicted, and twice as sinister…

### Amazon.com Review

Veteran mystery writer, editor, and anthologist Ed Gorman plays all the right notes in his latest book--hopefully the first of a promising period series. It's 1959 (the book says 1958, but that must be a mistake, because everyone knows Buddy Holly died in a plane crash on February 3, 1959), and Sam McCain--"a young lawyer in a town that already had too many lawyers"--is working as an investigator in Black River Falls, Iowa, for Judge Esme Anne Whitney, a wealthy and eccentric old woman who smokes Gauloises in Chesterfield country and takes pleasure in shooting McCain with rubberbands while they confer.

The day after a long drive to and from what turns out to be Buddy Holly's last concert before his fatal plane crash, McCain finds the murdered wife of Judge Whitney's rotten nephew, Kenny, and then is unable to stop Kenny from killing himself. Everybody, including the town's loutish police chief, is sure that Kenny killed his wife--only McCain has his doubts.

Complicating things are the troubles of a local black former football star now crippled by booze, and those of McCain's teenage sister who is trying to abort her baby. The period details about race and sex seem dead right; the people of Black River Falls, especially McCain's family and various girlfriends, are all sharply-sketched; and even the very late appearance of a possible villain can't spoil the considerable fun.

Previous examples of Gorman's craft, or sullen art, include *Daughter of Darkness*, *Black River Falls*, *Dark Trail*, *The First Lady*, *Hawk Moon*, *The Marilyn Tapes*, *Senatorial Privilege*, *Trouble Man*, and *Cage of Night*. *--Dick Adler*

### From Publishers Weekly

There's a dead-on sense of time and place?February 1958 in small-town Iowa?in Gorman's latest, which, despite minor problems with plot resolution, makes an enjoyable start to a new series. Narrator Sam McCain, "a young lawyer in a town that already had too many lawyers," earns most of his income by working as an investigator in Black River Falls for the wealthy and eccentric Judge Esme Anne Whitney, who smokes Gauloises in Chesterfield country and takes pleasure in shooting McCain with rubber bands. The day after a long drive to what turns out to be Buddy Holly's last concert before his fatal plane crash, McCain discovers the body of the wife of Whitney's rotten nephew, Kenny, and then is unable to stop Kenny from killing himself. Everybody, including the loutish local police chief, is sure that Kenny murdered his wife, but McCain has his doubts. Complicating matters are the troubles of a local former football star now crippled by booze and of McCain's teenage sister, who is trying to get an abortion. Gorman sketches the people of Black River Falls, especially McCain's family and various girlfriends, with a sharp eye, and even the very late appearance of a possible villain doesn't spoil the fun: despite the title, Gorman, as usual, rocks.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

### From Publishers Weekly

In 1957 perhaps the only thing worse than a new Ford Edsel is a new Ford Edsel with a dead body in the trunk. Veteran crime writer Gorman painstakingly evokes small-town America in the late '50s for this nostalgic prequel to The Day the Music Died. Sam McCain is a young lawyer and PI in quiet Black River Falls, Iowa. Susan Squires is the body discovered in the ill-fated new car while the whole town is engaged in a parade sponsored by the Ford Motor Company. Though the police are called to the crime scene, the bumbling efforts of the ruthless sheriff lead the local judge to assign Sam to the case on the q.t. Sam's prime suspect is Susan's abusive husband, David, a politically ambitious DA. Then David dies, and suspicion shifts to his ex-wife and to Susan's ex-lover. Gorman spends more time polishing up the period details, delving into the town's social intrigues and recounting Sam's love life than he does advancing the murder investigation. But his subplots converge when Mary Travers, a young woman who loves Sam and who was Susan Squire's best friend, vanishes. Gorman's assured prose fits his subject like a tailored suit. He mentions every song playing on the car radio as young couples neck in back seats, and the overall effect is a lot like a Bob Greene newspaper column set inside a mystery. Though the investigation moves slowly, Gorman's depiction of the town's rivalries keeps the tension strong. (Jan.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

### From Library Journal

Iowa lawyer/private investigator Sam McCain has plenty of clues and suspects in the murder of an ambitious county attorney's wife but can't quite put them together. An evocative return to the 1950s and sequel to The Day the Music Died (LJ 1/99).
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

### From Publishers Weekly

Shamus-winner Gorman's fourth nostalgia-ridden Sam McCain novel (after The Day the Music Died), set in Black River Falls, Iowa (pop. 27,300), during the summer of 1960, has to rank as one of the more good-natured mysteries in memory. His wouldn't-hurt-a-fly but much abused hero, a part-time lawyer and part-time PI, gets hired by the town judge to investigate the murder of John Muldaur, a local fundamentalist preacher who used live rattlesnakes to test the "purity" of his flock, after someone doses the preacher's bottle of Pepsi with strychnine. When he wasn't sleeping with the wife of one of his congregation, Muldaur was conducting a vigorous campaign to expose the conspiracy of Zionists and Roman Catholics to take over the world. Gorman has a lot of fun at the expense of his half-witted bigots. McCain's orders are to find Muldaur's killer before the arrival of presidential candidate Richard Nixon, who's on a campaign tour and due to deliver a speech in Black River Falls. A stupid sheriff and the fanatical hillbillies who revere Muldaur's name don't make McCain's task any easier. Gorman delivers an intelligent and plausible solution to the crime, while the killer proves to be an unexpected but logical choice good for a goose bump or two. If the book's a bit thin on substance, it's a fast read with the best cast of comical country characters this side of Dogpatch.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

### From Booklist

Richard Nixon is running for president, and one of his campaign stops will be Black River Falls, Iowa. The only reason the visit is of any concern at all to young attorney Sam McCain--whose personal politics register considerably to the left of the vice president's--is that the county's leading Republican is Judge Esme Ann Whitney, who is also Sam's boss and sole source of income in his part-time capacity as an investigator. When John Muldaur, a snake-handling preacher dies of poisoning, Judge Whitney directs Sam to investigate, determined that the case be solved by the time Nixon and the national media hit town. When another local preacher is also murdered, Sam's hopes of a quick resolution dissipate. The fourth McCain mystery is another dead-on perfect journey to the underside of the late '50s and early '60s, exposing the anti-intellectualism and anti-Semitism that lurked beneath the era's placid surface. Another strong entry in a thoroughly enjoyable series. *Wes Lukowsky*
*Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved*

### From Publishers Weekly

Shamus-winner Gorman's niftily titled new novel opens on a warm summer night in 1961 in Black River Falls, Iowa. Soon after a girl turns up dead at a class reunion party, her drag-racing boyfriend slams into a clay wall at 90 miles an hour. An obvious accident-but then the police find his brake line had been cut. Reluctantly, McCain enters the investigation, which involves jilted girlfriends, unfaithful spouses and a clever, resourceful killer. Besides being a competent, suspenseful mystery with more than a few surprises, this fifth in the series (Save the Last Dance for Me, etc.) is a fascinating time machine, recalling the arcana of a more innocent time (sick jokes, the Maverick TV series, teenagers using the phrase "Daddy-O").
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

### From Booklist

Every burg, large or small, is driven by the same human emotions of passion, jealousy, greed, and ambition. These are the hard lessons young lawyer Sam McCain has absorbed since he returned to his hometown, Black River Falls, Iowa, in 1961 to eke out a meager living as a lawyer and part-time investigator. When young Sara Griffin, troubled daughter of a prominent family, is murdered at a party, Sam is hired to defend the primary suspect, local bad boy David Egan. Corrupt Sheriff Cliffie Sykes pins the Griffin murder on Egan; then Egan dies under mysterious circumstances while drag racing. McCain feels obligated to clear Egan's name. It's apparent he's unearthed a link to the real killer when a third victim is discovered. The fifth McCain mystery builds on its predecessors as Sam's optimistic naivete is ceaselessly challenged by brutal acts perpetrated in the name of love. But love isn't the real motive; it's trumped by ego and self-preservation. Another fine entry in a wonderful series that deserves a much wider audience. *Wes Lukowsky*
*Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved*

From Publishers Weekly

With this, his 13th James Bond novel, Gardner surpasses Ian Fleming's total output by one, but he continues to lag immeasurably behind Fleming in panache. Much has changed for 007 in the aftermath of the Cold War. For starters, he has a steady lover, former Swiss Intelligence agent Flicka von Grusse, who, aside from a few lethal flashes, becomes just another damsel ready for distress when Bond's around. Bond is in command of the Double-Oh section, now called "Two Zeros," whose members have turned in their licenses to kill for the pleasure of "dealing with cases concerning breach of international law and treaties." Here the villain is Sir Maxwell Tarn, who aims to be the next Hitler. Once on the case, Bond pursues a foolhardy and dangerous course, meeting semi-disastrous results and returning to ask his overseers whether he might try, try again-a wish that, sensibly, they are reluctant to grant. At one point, the ineffable M, threatens: "If you fail, Bond, I'll see you out of the Service for good." Bond fails, of course, but nothing is heard from M, who takes to his sickbed. Judging by this pale, by-the-numbers series entry, one hopes that the old boy will recover soon and make good on his threat.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Yes, folks, James Bond is alive and well. This is Gardner's thirteenth novel starring the handsome, tough, romantic hero 007 since he took over the series after the death of Ian Fleming in 1964. In Seafire, Gardner again mixes sex and violence in exotic settings--this time a picturesque village in Germany, the Israeli desert, Puerto Rico, and the streets of London. Working with 007 is the lovely Fredericka von Grusse, formerly of Swiss intelligence, who was introduced in Never Send Flowers. The plot involves one Maxwell Tarn, a billionaire, and his wife, who are missing. Sir Maxwell, who disappeared while under surveillance, is evil--dealing in illicit arms and munitions. Bond, "Flicka," and the Double-0 section of the SIS must find out what really happened to Tarn. The outcome is never in doubt, but it's a rollicking ride all the way. George Cohen