When this author offered me a free copy of her new mystery set in New Orleans, I couldn’t say, “Yes please!” fast enough!  I’ve always been fascinated with this beautifully haunted city filled with smokey blues joints and creepy above-ground cemeteries shrouded in Spanish moss.  I could do without the half naked, bead-throwing party revelers, but supposedly it’s all a part of the city’s grimy charm. Either way, NOLA is the perfect setting for vampires, shape-shifters and things that go bump in the night. You won’t find anything paranormal in this book, but there are definitely some monsters of the human variety.

It all begins at a swanky restaurant opening in the midst of Mardi Gras week. Everything is champagne and roses until the guests leave and all hell breaks loose. Theo, the sexy restaurateur with a haunted past, disappears and his teenage daughter, Olivia,  is forced to go on the run. Meanwhile, Theo’s girlfriend is caught in the middle of some serious family drama involving Olivia’s highfalutin control freak grandmother. They all have secrets that slowly unravel as the chapters progress.

So many sketchy characters, so much drama, so much deception and manipulation! This seriously needs to made into a Lifetime movie—asap!

I’ve been following Lauren Clark’s writing career since her very first romance novel, which was quite impressive for a rookie author. This book, however, is her best work yet! Not all writers can capture the eccentric charm and mystique of New Orleans, but this author managed to transport me to the land of bustling streetcars, historic mansions and smoky blues joints.

While traveling alongside Olivia on her misadventures across the city, I could practically smell the creole spices wafting from the French Quarter restaurants and taste the powdered sugar fat bombs at the iconic Cafe Du Monde. To that I raise my obnoxiously tall hurricane sippy cup to you, Miss Clark, for transporting me to my favorite tourist trap on earth! Although…it’s kind of your fault that I made some unnecessary trips to the local bakery to get my King Cake fix!

So grab yourself some chicory coffee or a hurricane (I’m not one to judge!), crank up some zydeco classics and sink into this book. If you, like me, enjoy atmospheric mysteries with a touch of Danielle Steele-esque drama, you won’t’ be disappointed.