This Edgar Award-winning work offers a revealing glimpse into the hidden world of New Orleans high society and an intricately plotted murder mystery. The novel introduces rookie cop Skip Langdon, as she investigates a seamy Mardi Gras murder. Everyone in town is shocked when Chauncey St. Amant, a prominent citizen and this year's King of Carnival, is killed on his parade float by a shooter in a Dolly Parton get-up. Skip Langdon is assigned the case because of her own upper-crust background. Skip's investigation takes her deep into the Garden District to dig up the St. Amant family skeletons and a dangerous ancient secret. Julie Smith, who was a reporter at the New Orleans Times-Picayune, writes with authority about the Big Easy, and Cristine McMurdo-Wallis' performance puts you on the streets of the French Quarter at Skip Langdon's side. Wallis' dramatic delivery breathes life into the novel's menagerie of exotic characters, enhancing the intense psychological drama.