New Orleans Mourning

Re reading this Edgar Award winner made me nostalgic for the 1990 s As part of the cultural ascendency of my own grumpy, surly, suspicious Gen X along with grunge and Riot Grrls there was a boom in mysteries with strong, independent, not particularly feminine female protagonists Nowadays every new series written by a woman seems to feature a young, beautiful vampire but 20 years ago, it was all about the lone female protagonist who worried about whether having any kind of human relationship othe [...]

New Orleans Mourning is one of the relatively rare Edgar Best Novel winners that I had already read, shortly after its publication I ve gone on to read all Smith s New Orleans books for some reason, I didn t get into her earlier San Francisco based series.Rereading the first book in a long running series is a bit like reconnecting with an old friend, but it s also a bit like time travel In this first book, Skip Langdon, Smith s protagonist, is still feeling her way as a police officer and as an [...]

This book was full of miserable, unlikeable characters I don t think I ll be reading the next in the series too many good books to read

It may not be fair for me to rate this book, because I didn t get very far into it before I gave it up By a few chapters in, I didn t care about any of the characters and actively disliked most of them I didn t care at all who killed the guy The roving first person POV was not done well, so instead of being interested enough to sort out whose head I was in, I was just confused PERHAPS if one was from NOLA or really a cultural insider, one might enjoy being part of the in group and understanding [...]

Okay, I like the pun in the title, and I love the setting I have been lucky enough to have to go to NOLA on business twice in the last year, and I had wonderful times there as I always inevitably do so I was excited to revisit the French Quarter in particular in this novel, and was pleased to get an insider s insights into the class system there and the rules and traditions of Mardi Gras.However, I just couldn t come to care for the main character, Skip Langdon She is presented to us as the gang [...]

Well written and an interesting story but not exactly the cozy mystery I thought I was getting I really didn t like Skip as a character Come to think of it, none of the characters in this, with the exception of Steve, had any redeeming value at all I wasn t sad or upset over the deaths of any of the people and the ones who were left didn t give me anything to grieve over either Just a bunch of sad, social climbers with nothing better to do than perpetuate old social s And the ending Don t get me [...]

I m not rating this one because it wouldn t be fair I made it less than 10% into the book.Perhaps I don t have enough interest about New Orleans, or care enough about the Mardi Gras history or events, but not even the characters introduced captured my attention enough to continue.Sorry

I like the author I like the lead character Skip Langdon And, of course, I love NOLA So I m a happy camper This was 1 in the series, so I went back to the beginning I m now reading book 2.

I read this when it first came out and loved it Miss this series.

After reading a later book in this series I decided I wanted to start at the beginning, and I m so happy that I did This book is written in a lush style that beautifully captures the essence of New Orleans The psychological makeup of all the principal characters is portrayed in great detail while adding to the progress of the story Even a person who has never experienced New Orleans will appreciate the atmosphere developed as the story progresses Having experienced the New Orleans of the 80s, I [...]

The first of the Skip Langdon series set in New Orleans has Skip as a regular new cop assigned to the Homicide squad because of her connections to the murdered King of the Carnival The plot is rife with the lives and machinations of some of the most prominent citizens and Skip as the daughter of the doctor of many of these people has somewhat of a friendship with some and is at least known to others Twists abound as she works the clues and is barley accepted by the two detectives she is working [...]

I was expecting from this book because I knew it had won the Edgar Award I gave it 4 stars just in case the 3 I wanted to give it was misguided by over expectations It a good mystery, but I was hoping for Great and didn t get it But don t let my judgment prevent you from trying it, I also don t agree with 8 out of 10 Pulitzer Prise winning selections.

This was an enjoyable book Matter of fact, this was one I read twice It wasn t until I was halfway in that I remembered that I had read it before i knew I liked the character of Skip Langdon but had forgotten the title.

I think this is the beginning of an excellent series, and I am surprised I never discovered until coming across a copy in used books for sale for a dime at a college library The series began around 89 90, is apparently out of print, and beautifully captures the late 20th century South, with nods to the great Southern writers including John Kennedy Toole.I have found that I usually don t like mystery novels in the cozy section, as they tend to be puerile and shallow, the literary equivalent of a [...]

Found the book very confusing at the start as there were so many characters I kind of got lost.Very descriptive of New Orleans and the characters were ok but I felt that Skip could have been developed a little stronger maybe this happens as the books go on.I listened to the end and by then half way through I was pretty much hooked.I wouldn t necessarily tell others to buy this book but as a get something cheap to read at the moment it is not too bad.Will read from the author just to see if the [...]

I really cannot recall this book, but what I wrote back in 2008 good mystery, featuring New Orleans police officer Skip Langdon, as well as the city of New Orleans The King of Mardi Gras is murdered in plain sight, and Skip is called on to help, as she is from a family in the same social class as the victim Lots of possibles, a cast of many The wife, the son, the old family friend, the bastard daughter Interesting local color.

New Orleans is a starring characterSo many twists and turns in this story Just when I thought AhHa another piece would fall into place, proving my theory wrong again Great mystery, but getting to know some pre Katrina details of this city was just as satisfying Can t wait to visit Skip again.

Murder on Fat Tuesday.Skip was on parade detail when king Rex was shot on his float right in front of her She saw someone in a Dolly parton costume on the balcony holding pistols.

very convoluted understanding new Orleans is tough but well written.

Fun little read as the skip Langdon books always are New Orleans provides a natural setting for drama even if it does sometimes get a bit cliche But a great read for beach or pool.

great bookaracters developed to point you think they are their best friend can t wait to read next book you can smell the carnival season from King Cake to Cup to go

weird family

A good read good characters and an interesting look at the society people in New Orleans.

Read about sixty pages and could not get into this I love books about New Orleans, but this one is too much like a cheesy daytime soap for me.

I tried twice to get into and enjoy this book I couldn t like anyone in it, I don t know why this won an Edgar

Too much bad language Good story but unsavory language for me.

Slow going but an okay read.The story moved very slow and I was ready to put it down at times However, I kept reading and was rewarded with a good finish I will read of Smith s books.

The author began the book with a prologue about the history of Carnival, which I thought was quite interesting Having been raised just outside of the city, and living in Southern Louisiana my entire life, I have to confess to never having studied or researched the beginning of a tradition so large, that the entire Southern half of the state declares it a holiday Some even think Carnival known as Mardi Gras to be bigger than Christmas I have included some of the history on my blog where you can r [...]

Great StoryExcellent story with twist and turns with an ending very unexpected Couldn t put the story down A great read for anyone

was a fun read, but wouldnt read it again or the other parts.