Claire DeWitt and the City of the Dead

Starred review from April 11, 2011
In this captivating first in a projected series from Gran (Dope), PI Claire DeWitt comes to New Orleans to help a client, Leon Salvatore, find his ADA uncle, Vic Willing, who went missing at the time of Hurricane Katrina. Claire relies often on the "maddening... notoriously difficult" Détection by legendary French detective Jacques Silette ("No one is innocent. The only question is How will you bear your portion of guilt?") as well as her dreams for guidance. In one dream, Vic tells her, in language that echoes Silette's handbook, to: "Follow the clues.... Believe nothing. Question everything." Suspicion falls on an 18-year-old career-criminal-in-the-making, Andray Fairview, who once worked for Vic and broke into his house. Claire is soon sucked into the underbelly of a city gasping for air. The haunting atmosphere of post-Katrina New Orleans lingers long after the revelation of Vic's fate.

August 29, 2011
Claire DeWitt can hack into police files, discover hidden evidence, and sort the innocent from the guilty because she’s the best detective in the world. And the mix of drugs she samples helps boost her confidence as she scours New Orleans in search of Vic Willing, a district attorney gone missing during Hurricane Katrina. But mostly, this procedural is about Claire shooting off her mouth and her gun in rapid succession. Carol Monda perfectly renders Claire’s sarcastic repartee and keeps this tightly paced narrative moving quickly. However, Monda struggles with accents, particularly the distinctive Cajun and Creole dialects of New Orleans. Nonetheless, she does produce a host of voices—some more distinct than others—for the book’s many characters and provides narration that is both engaging and entertaining. A Houghton Mifflin Harcourt hardcover.

It's hard to come up with a fresh take on the plucky girl detective, but Claire DeWitt proves it can be done. She's a tough, squirrelly tattooed mystic punk who, by the time we meet her, is the self-proclaimed greatest detective in the world. She's in New Orleans 18 months after Katrina to find out what happened to a lawyer with (it turns out) some disagreeable appetites who hasn't been seen since the storm. The city is a corrupt, crime-and-disaster-ravaged snarl, but Claire doesn't work with anything as mundane as clues or evidence, so she's unfazed. Carol Monda's alto voice is perfect for Claire's fierce implacability, and Monda's remarkable acting range does justice to a city and a plot full of mystery and mess. B.G. (c) AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine

Starred review from September 15, 2011

Part mystic, part noir PI, Claire DeWitt returns to post-Katrina New Orleans to investigate the disappearance of a wealthy district attorney. She probes, observes, and consults her beloved manual, Detection. Full of wonderful, dark, evocative descriptions of characters and places, this tale may disappoint listeners just looking for a classic puzzle mystery. Reader Carol Monda does an excellent job of evoking a difficult world. Recommended for individuals interested in the nuances of human nature, human interactions, and the new New Orleans. ["This is not to be missed--Gran builds an addictive sense of anticipation with a fantastical frame. Highly recommended," read the review of the Houghton Harcourt hc, LJ 5/1/11.--Ed.]--I. Pour-El, Des Moines Area Community Coll., Boone, IA

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