“Clues are everywhere. But only some can see.”
I am completely in love with Claire DeWitt. She’s prickly, she’s often unpleasant and her own worst enemy. She’s razor-sharp, tenacious and funny as hell. I am preparing to jump into the second book, but with some trepidation. While I’ve read that Ms. Gran was at work on a third Claire DeWitt mystery, there is no release date. The wait could be agonizing!
Oh, well. Let’s get to this story. Claire is a well-known detective in certain circles. She has unorthodox methods, yes, but she gets results. One day she gets a call from a man who wants her to find his uncle, a prominent DA, who has been missing since the hurricane laid waste to New Orleans. So, Claire packs up and heads back to the Crescent City, where she had lived for a time and was under the tutelage of Constance. As she works her case, we get some back story of her life and unusual childhood and how she became a detective. One of the biggest forces in her life is a mysterious book written by a French detective, more philosophy than actual methodology.
“A client already knows the solution to his mystery. But he doesn’t want to know. He doesn’t hire a detective to solve his mystery. He hires a detective to prove that his mystery can’t be solved.”
As she works the case, the city and it’s people really come alive. In the aftermath of the flood, there is a new normal in some respects, but much of the rich culture of the old city and it’s denizens remains, as do the ghosts.
