Cities of the Dead

By Linda Barnes

Book Overview

"Barnes builds her plot like a fine pastry, layer by layer." Chicago Sun-Times A Michael Spraggue mystery. When the great chefs of New Orleans stage an elegant banquet, tempers burn hotter than cayenne pepper. Up-and-coming Cajun chef Joseph Fontenot is found with a slender French cooking knife through his heart, and all the evidence points to Dora Levoyer, sublime cook to Boston's wealthhy and eccentric Mary Spraggue Hillman. A guest at the banquet, Mary summons her nephew Michael Spraggue, actor-cum-private detective, to the scene. And soon Spraggue is investigating a murder case that will leave his mouth burning and his mind spinning. One thing is certain: the solution to the murder will make for a spicy mystery indeed!

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312139403
• ISBN13: 9780312139407
• Release Date: January 1986
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press
• Length: 184 Pages
• Weight: 0.05 lbs.

Customer Reviews

An Enjoyable Book

This is the fourth of the Michael Sprague mysteries, and unlike the others which are set in Boston, this one takes place in New Orleans. The book suffers because of this since the author seems to be more familiar with Boston.The grave yards and skeletons give it a spooky but light quality. The fierce jealousies portrayed among New Orleans chefs add to the story.I found it an enjoyable book although it is not the best of Linda Barnes' work.