Iron Angel (The Valentin St. Cyr Mysteries)

No one cares much when a couple of street whores working the lowest rung on the prostitution ladder in 1914 New Orleans are murdered in the same fashion. But when a third sporting woman turns up dead in a crib, a small panic ensues, and Tom Anderson, now beginning his third decade as the King of Storyville, sends word from his hospital bed to Creole detective Valentin St. Cyr.The detective steps grudgingly into the investigation that propels The Iron Angel, the fifth novel in the acclaimed Storyville series. There's a second tale brewing within these pages. In a convent in Terrabonne Parish, a mysterious woman who is alone and adrift draws the interest of the local sheriff. Valentin works the serial murders as the killer taunts the police, using the moniker Gregory. The detective's old nemesis Captain Picot is furious when he's ordered to let him have the run of the streets; until, that is, he notices something oddly familiar in a message from Terrabonne Parish that mentions a mysterious woman named EvangelineGregory at first keeps one step ahead of Valentin, but the detective is soon checking him and his bloody campaign at every turn. With the detective closing in on him, he devises a plan to offer the captain a deal with the devil. But instead of keeping his end of the bargain, Gregory decides to betray Picot and goes after the mystery woman on his own. As Valentin races to save Evangeline - whoever she might be - a storm sweeps across the bayou, heading for New Orleans and drives the tale to a wild climax.With The Iron Angel, David Fulmer revives an extraordinary time and place with the same deeply evocative skill that earned the four previous novels such critical acclaim