Crescent City Connection

Praise for CRESCENT CITY CONNECTION (formerly Crescent City Kill), the seventh book in the Skip Langdon series by EDGAR AWARD winning author Julie Smith.
    “If it’s gritty realism you’re craving, gently simmered with spicy suspense and marvelously memorable characters, Smith is the perfect New Orleans tour guide … [A] powerful tale of justice gone awry. Crescent City Kill’s finale is Smith’s strongest finish yet, wired to blow at the slightest shudder …. The inevitable showdown rakes in more than just good vs. evil…. Julie Smith never fails to turn up the New Orleans heat.” —The Clarion-Ledger (Jackson, MS)
    “A superbly written piece of drama even by Smith’s high standards. There are plenty of subplots to keep things moving … [and] a wonderful description of the city’s bizarre Easter parades.” —The State (Columbia, SC)
    “SERIOUS SUSPENSE … The style of the novel is characteristically Smith, full of surprises. The author presents seemingly unrelated plots, from divergent viewpoints, then tantalizingly reveals the grand connection.” —Santa Barbara News-Press
    “Sizzle[s] with action, making this the most memorable of the Langdon novels. In the Rev. Errol Jacomine, Smith has created an adversary equal to the deadly Professor Moriarty who battled Sherlock Holmes nearly a century ago.” —Monterey Herald
    “If you like your mysteries Cajun style, you may enjoy Julie Smith’s Skip Langdon series … Smith knows the territory—and it has paid off handsomely.” —Rocky Mountain News
    “Fans of Kindness of Strangers and House of Blues will enjoy Crescent City Kill … Smith invokes a number of major issues, including cults and vigilante justice.” —New Orleans Times-Picayune
    “Surprising … Smith’s colorful characterizations and the showdown with Jacomine make this an excellent addition to the series.” —Publishers Weekly
    “Intriguing … Smith’s fans will no doubt relish the return of Jacomine, the psychopathic (yet charismatic) preacher.” —Booklist

The Skip Langdon Series
 (in order of publication) 
    NEW ORLEANS MOURNING
    THE AXEMAN’S JAZZ
    JAZZ FUNERAL
    DEATH BEFORE FACEBOOK (formerly NEW ORLEANS BEAT)
    HOUSE OF BLUES
    THE KINDNESS OF STRANGERS
    CRESCENT CITY CONNECTION (formerly CRESCENT CITY KILL)
    82 DESIRE
    MEAN WOMAN BLUES

Also by Julie Smith
    The Rebecca Schwartz Series
    DEATH TURNS A TRICK
    THE SOURDOUGH WARS
    TOURIST TRAP
    DEAD IN THE WATER
    OTHER PEOPLE’S SKELETONS
    The Paul Macdonald Series
    TRUE-LIFE ADVENTURE
    HUCKLEBERRY FIEND
    The Talba Wallis Series :
    LOUISIANA HOTSHOT
    LOUISIANA BIGSHOT
    LOUISIANA LAMENT
    P.I. ON A HOT TIN ROOF
    As Well As:
    WRITING YOUR WAY: THE GREAT AMERICAN NOVEL TRACK
    NEW ORLEANS NOIR (ed.)

 
CRESCENT CITY CONNECTION
    Formerly CRESCENT CITY KILL
    A Skip Langdon Mystery
    BY
    JULIE SMITH

 
    booksBnimble Publishing
New Orleans, La.
    Crescent City Connection
    Copyright 1997 by Julie Smith
    Cover by Nevada Barr
    ISBN: 9781617507618
    Originally published by Ballantine Books, a division of Random House, Inc., New York, and simultaneously in Canada by Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto.
    www.booksbnimble.com
    All rights are reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
    First booksBnimble Publishing electronic publication: March 2012
    eBook editions by eBooks by Barb for booknook.biz

Dedication
    For Lee Pryor, my adored husband.

One
    THEORETICALLY, THE POINT of Mardi Gras is that it precedes Lent, though it often seems no one remembers but the odd priest or nun. In New Orleans, no sooner do the Mardi Gras parades end than new revelry, in honor of Saints Joseph and Patrick, begins, with massive food altars and the throwing of cabbages from floats. Some people do go on diets during Lent, or at least give up sweets, though there is little talk of forswearing alcohol or cigarettes.
    In general, if truth be told, Lent is a fitful time. Some days are balmy, some humid and sticky, some below freezing. It can seem as if the city is just marking time until JazzFest.
    But officially, it’s over at Easter and sure enough, the mood seems to change overnight. Good Friday is often gray and chilly, yet Easter Sunday generally dawns bright as a sequin.
    It’s a big holiday for most families, even those who aren’t Catholic. To out-of-towners, used to nonobservance,