Didn't like the hero. Stopped reading once they introduced the only black person in the book. A 60 year old black woman wearing cornrows and hoop earrings? Also speaking with dropped pronunciation. Ugh. "...an immense, angry African American woman barged in, her hair in gray cornrows and massive silver hoop earrings dangling from her lobes." So she's angry before she opens her mouth? Saying things like "He gone and done it now. Judge gonna have his butt on a plate." I don't think I'll be reading any more Katherine Sutcliffe. ( )

Holly Jones gets a call from her friend, Melissa declaring that "the monster is back." Holly knows that Melissa is referring to the French Quarter Killer who had murdered and mutilated call girls in New Orleans four years before. Holly returns to talk her friend into leaving New Orleans and her life as a prostitute for good, but when she arrives, she discovers that Melissa is missing.
J.D. Damascus has become a shell of the man he once was. His grief over the death of his wife and two children at the hands of the French Quarter Killer four years before has caused his life to spin out of control. He is certain that the wrong man was convicted of the crime and has spent the last four years trying to prove it at the expense of his job in the District Attorney's office. Holly's search for Melissa leads her to J.D. and together they begin looking for her, but the mounting evidence points to Melissa being the French Quarter Killer's next victim.
The tone and flavor of New Orleans are captured in this book, which uses language that flows almost like poetry. The serial killer mystery starts out very strong until it becomes mired in the problems of the characters. Many of the leads that the characters explore are left unexplained, however, the important clues are well-paced throughout the book. The romance is a little far fetched as the two main characters do not really address the major obstacles that their relationship must overcome, but overall, this is a decent mystery that occasionally shines. ( )

Kept you thinking. Made a story about the characters and not just about the murders ( )

1. Our heroine calms herself after a nightmare with a Virginia Slim and a Fuzzy Navel Cooler. Um, no.
2. Our hero has beaten up a judge.
3. A sixteen year old boy listens to Creedence Clearwater Revival on his "walkman." In 2003. Um, no.
There are several other anachronisms and examples of reasons I, personally, do not connect with these characters, but these three are the most egregious. About halfway through the book, I completely stopped caring who was murdering the hookers. I admit I skimmed the rest just to find out, and I was not surprised. Horrified, and grossed out, but not surprised.
Oddly, the author does the best job when she is narrating from the killer's point of view. That's a little disturbing as well.
It seems to me that I've liked books by Sutcliffe before, but this one really misses the mark. Skip it. ( )