Connecticut Yankee in New York

Heck takes a colorful city (New Orleans) and a colorful character (Mark Twain), adds a murder, a duel, some voodoo and period detail and conjures up an entertaining sequel to his debut, Death on the Mississippi. As told by Wentworth Cabot, Twain's secretary and the Connecticut Yankee of the title who plays Watson to Twain's Holmes, this second Twain adventure finds the irascible writer in New Orleans on a lecture tour that's an attempt to recover financial health. Author George Washington Cable, one of several historical characters making an appearance, enlists Twain's detective skills to prove innocent a black cook imprisoned for the fatal poisoning of his employer. To Twain, this task means proving someone else guilty, since there is a large presumption of guilt operating against the cook, Leonard Galloway. The dead man's wealthy friends and relatives comprise a likely list of suspects. With the aid of Cabot and Cable, jazz trumpet legend Buddy Bolden (before he won fame) and the voodoo woman, Eulalie Echo, Twain puzzles out the solution. But not before giving the reader an enjoyable tour of 1890s New Orleans restaurants, bars, Jackson Square and Garden District homes, along with a look at the infamous Parish Prison. Twain can take a bow for his performance here, with readers assured that Heck will give him a chance for an encore. (Dec.)