A Streetcar Named Murder: A New Orleans Mystery

Valerie Cooper, the narrator of the pseudonymous Herren’s lively debut and series launch, is surprised to inherit a majority share in Rare Things Antiques and Estate Sales Company in New Orleans from an uncle of her late husband she didn’t know existed—and just as surprised to discover how much she enjoys the work repairing antiques and researching their provinces. She’s also relieved that she’ll no longer have to consider selling her house—an antebellum double-style in the now desirable Irish Channel neighborhood—to make ends meet. Only her interactions with the venomous-tongued real estate agent Collette Monaghan mar her days. Collette, as the Boudicca Krewe Members membership chair, oversees admissions to the social club Valerie’s good friend and neighbor, bestselling author Lorna Walmsley, is anxious to join. When Collette is murdered at the Boudicca Costume Ball, Valerie sets out to learn why Collette despised her and how the killer came to possess the murder weapon, an antique jeweled dagger from Rare Things. Lorna lends her support along the way to the satisfying denouement. Big Easy culture and traditions provide a colorful backdrop. Fans of Katherine Hall Page’s Faith Fairchild mysteries will want to check this out. (Dec.)