Now Let's Talk of Graves

Shankman's witty mystery is the second to feature ace investigative reporter Samantha (Sam) Adams, last encountered in Then Hang All the Liars , which appeared under the pseudonym Alice Storey. Sam is visiting from Atlanta when she witnesses a car with a masked driver run down a member of an aristocratic New Orleans family during Mardi Gras. The victim's relatives, motivated by a lucrative insurance policy, hire Sam to determine whether there was foul play. She discovers that the victim, an alcoholic ophthalmologist, had blinded one patient and botched numerous operations. When the family has second thoughts about Sam's sleuthing, she enlists the help of a sexy insurance investigator and a voodoo priestess in locating enemies of the deceased. The trio make some enemies themselves as they uncover sordid details about the victim's life. Sam finds that the Big Easy is neither, and that Mardi Gras is not the only time its citizens conceal themselves behind masks. Shankman's engaging characters speak in authentic Southern dialogue and engage in swift repartee, and if her heroine is endowed with a few too many perfect attributes, readers will be charmed by her spunky style. (Oct.)