From the Publisher

In the rowdy red-light district of Storyville, four players of the new music they call "jass" have turned up dead. When Creole detective Valentin St. Cyr begins to investigate, he discovers that every one of the victims once played in the same band, and the only one left alive has gone into hiding.

As he digs deeper, Valentin becomes convinced that a shadowy woman is the key to the mystery. His efforts to find her touch nerves, and soon Tom Anderson, known as the "King of Storyville," police lieutenant J. Picot, and even the mayor of New Orleans want him off the case. It's all the proof Valentin needs that there is something even larger and darker at the heart of this sordid business.

Seductively told, expertly plotted, and terrifically concluded, Jass is the perfect encore to Fulmer's first novel in the Valentin St. Cyr series.

The Washington Post - Patrick Anderson

Fulmer is a graceful, evocative writer, and if you love New Orleans and its music, his novel summons up sweet memories that have nothing to do with serial killers. I have no idea where Fulmer is going with his series, but it is worth noting that Louis Armstrong, age 7 or so, makes a cameo appearance as one of the waifs who run errands for St. Cyr. If Fulmer wants to move forward 10 or 15 years, a portrait of that particular artist as a young man, with his genius starting to blossom, might be the greatest of all New Orleans stories.

The New York Times - Marilyn Stasio

Fulmer's dialogue adds its lyric voice to the gutbucket sounds and ragtime rhythms pouring out of the bars and up from the streets.

Publishers Weekly

Set in early 20th-century Storyville, the New Orleans red-light district, Shamus-winner Fulmer's moody follow-up to Chasing the Devil's Tail (2001) uses spare but evocative prose to create an atmosphere steeped in ragtime, bourbon and the institutional corruption for which the Big Easy is notorious. The author skillfully builds on the emotional aftermath of the first novel, providing his multiracial Creole detective, Valentin St. Cyr, with plenty of demons to wrestle while giving new readers the all-important backstory. St. Cyr must set aside his troubles in order to solve the mystery of four brutally murdered jazz musicians. His investigation pits him against both Lieutenant Picot, his former boss in the New Orleans police department, and his current employer, Tom Anderson, the "King of Storyville," while further jeopardizing his already shaky relationship with girlfriend Justine, a former prostitute (or, in the local vernacular, "sporting girl"). Jelly Roll Morton and legendary madam Miss Lulu also figure prominently in this meaty, dark page-turner, which should appeal particularly to fans of Caleb Carr's The Alienist. Agent, Laura Langlie. (Jan. 17) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Cleveland Plain Dealer

"Evocative, absorbing and vivid."

Library Journal

Valentin St. Cyr descends into the seedy netherworld of New Orlean's red-light Storyville district in this follow-up to Fulmer's award-winning debut, Chasing the Devil's Tail. Fulmer lives in Atlanta, GA. Author tour planned. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

A brooding Creole shamus in turn-of-the-century New Orleans risks everything in his pursuit of a multiple murderer with protection in high places. In Storyville, New Orleans' red-light district, three black musicians are attacked in different ways but with the same fatal results. Private eye Valentin St. Cyr (Chasing the Devil's Tail, 2000) begins by investigating the poisoning of the third, handsome young trombonist Jeff Mumford, who leaves behind voluptuous Caribbean mistress Dominique. Aided by local musical sensation Jelly Roll Morton and by Beansoup, a raggedy street denizen, Valentin learns that all three victims were members of the famous Union Hall Band, players of the hot new "jass" music. Although there's plenty for Valentin to do, his lover Justine, a former high-priced prostitute, suffers from ennui. She's wooed away by notorious madam Lulu White and into the arms of a wealthy businessman. But Dominique readily fills the empty place Justine's defection leaves in Valentin's bed. After Jeff's landlady and another Union Hall musician are added to the death toll, the experienced Valentin thinks his probe should be welcomed by both police lieutenant J. Picot and political boss Tom Anderson, "The King of Storyville." But both order Valentin off the case, and Anderson raises the stakes by threatening to reveal a destructive secret from Justine's past. What should the ethical Valentin do?In his series' sophomore installment, Fulmer deepens his depiction of Storyville and provides a few satisfying surprises. Agent: Laura Langlie/Laura Langlie Literary Agency

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Product Details

• ISBN: 0156031914
  
• ISBN-13: 9780156031912
• Format: Paperback, 372pp
• Publisher: Harcourt
• Pub. Date: January 2006
• Edition Description: Reprint
• Sales Rank: 125,265
• Series: Valentin St. Cyr Mysteries Ser.

• Table of Contents
• Read an Excerpt

Table of Contents

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Jass

Harcourt

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Excerpted from Jass by David Fulmer Copyright © 2005 by David Fulmer. Excerpted by permission.
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