Black Silk

April 1, 2006
Detective Charlotte Le Blanc joined the New Orleans police department after her sister, Emily, was brutally murdered. Six years later, Emily's killer is still on the loose. Wealthy J. P. Stratton's young fiancee, Francesca, has been found strangled mere hours before her wedding, artfully posed in death with a single black-silk stocking. Many people had a motive to kill the evil Francesca, but judging from the evidence, the man who strangled her is the same one who killed Emily. Charlotte goes through the list of suspects one by one, and the most likely offender is J. P.'s son, Cole, which is unfortunate since Charlotte is starting to fall for him. Even worse: she is the murderer's next target. Readers who relish romantic thrillers about serial killers, such as Nora Roberts' " Carolina Moon" (2000), will get goose bumps from this one, too. And New Orleanian Hingle will donate part of the book's proceeds to Habitat for Humanity's work on behalf of the victims of Hurricane Katrina.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)