The Crime Czar

Gumbo of Murder

It's a city as friendly as a glad-handing attorney, where the bending Mississippi carves a channel six-hundred-feet deep, the air smells of chicory, and shell casings litter sidewalks beneath the live oak trees. And somewhere between the levee and Lake Pontchartrain are the secrets that litter Tubby Dubonnet's life--secrets of corruption and murder.

A lawyer who'd rather eat, drink, and swap stories than get caught in court, Tubby can't forget the last words that escaped an old friend's lips, and he can't get out of the way of a political campaign that's turning rough. Obsessed with the idea that one man--a shadowy crime boss--may be pulling the strings that have cost good people their lives, Tubby is entering into a test of courage with the most violent men in New Orleans. And if that weren't dangerous enough, Tubby has just picked up the worst ally he could ever find: a beautiful prostitute who is gunning for revenge.