City of the Dead

Daniel Blake

July 2012 · Sold by Simon and Schuster

About this eBook

Fans of Ian Rankin and Lee Child will relish this thriller from the author of Thou Shalt Kill—the second novel in the heart-pounding series featuring hardened homicide detective Franco Patrese.

Daniel Blake more than delivers on the promise of his acclaimed thriller Thou Shalt Kill, bringing back detective Franco Patrese in City of the Dead, “a blood-soaked, full-throttle descent into hell and one of the best thrillers you will read this or any other year” (Lorenzo Carcaterra).

“You’re not tainted. You’re not one of them. I need you alone...”

The woman who contacted Franco Patrese was the ultimate New Orleans society belle: beautiful, seductive, cunning, and, in this case, desperate. The personal assistant to the city’s most powerful man, she had to meet Patrese in secret. Fearful whispers of “sacrifices” were all Patrese could glean; she didn’t live long enough to tell him any more.

Patrese had come to New Orleans, buffeted by the winds of fate, bearing a pain that cops know too well. His native Pittsburgh was still in his bones, while a disaster on a tropical island had shaken his soul. In the thick, hot, exotic world of the Crescent City he began to come alive again. But now he cannot afford to be the new guy, the guy on the outside looking in. A second body has been found, just like the first: Dismembered. A snake, an axe head, a mirror. And blood. A whole lot of blood.

Patrese’s partner is a devout New Orleans native with a past she keeps private. By Selma Fawcett’s side, Patrese races in the footsteps of a serial killer who seems steeped in voodoo and linked to a priestess who practices her dark arts in the clear light of day—and the glare of the media. The more he learns about the victims and their connections, the more bizarre the case becomes. Then a veteran-turned-drug dealer takes him one step further, deep into a realm in which murder is only one kind of perversion.

Patrese and Selma, traveling from the French Quarter to Natchez and the bayou, don’t realize they are out of time. A tide of corruption and secrecy is rising all around them. They are the tainted ones: two good cops, targeted by a force more malevolent than any one before.

Ratings and reviews

When this book begins, Franco Patrese, a police detective from Pittsburgh is taking a well-deserved rest in Khao Lak, Thailand and enjoying himself at long last. He is on the beach walking when he notices the odd way the surf is acting and pulling the water way out to sea. Patrese has seen this before and knows that a Tsunami is coming and tries to warn the beachcombers. He helps as much as he can but there are many casualties including a young woman that Patrese had spent some time with. When he arrives back in Pittsburgh, he doesn't get a very warm reception. He becomes the scapegoat in a crime that goes bad; a crime that kills his partner. Franco decides that he will look elsewhere for work and calls a friend in the FBI. He gets hired by the Agent in Charge in New Orleans, Louisiana. When Patrese arrives at his new job, he learns that New Orleans is being inundated with some horrible crimes that look like they are inspired by Voodoo rituals of some kind. He comes in contact with a very wealthy man, St. John Varden in the city and the man’s son, St. John Varden, Jr., who is the present Governor of Louisiana. When Franco starts work he is partnered with detective Selma Fawcett who is not fond of the FBI and tries to get rid of Franco at every turn. The first case that they partner on is the murder of Cindy Rojciewicz, who is the elder Varden’s Personal Assistant. She was killed in a horrific fashion that included dismemberment and a very large snake. There are more killings in the future and as these two try and figure them out sometimes the murder scenes get caught up in Voodoo, politics, drugs and some very interesting characters, including a lady who takes care of BIG snakes. But the snakes that crawl are not as bad as the snakes that walk on two legs. There are a few surprises but they are mostly things that crop up in schemes to change the city as Hurricane Katrina comes down on New Orleans full force. There is the usual political corruption and horror for the people who believe in the occult. Quill Says: This is a good story but a bit convoluted in some parts. For readers who are familiar with New Orleans and the culture there, it will make sense. Sometimes it’s hard to read through some of the difficult scenes of crime and corruption. The book starts with a tsunami and ends with a hurricane and there's a lot of murder and mayhem in between. (Reviewed by Mary Lignor for Feathered Quill Book Reviews)

About the author

Daniel Blake is the pseudonym of the bestselling, acclaimed author Boris Starling, best known for New York Times bestsellers Storm and Messiah. Blake has worked for a corporation that specializes in kidnapping negotiations and confidential investigations, and he was also a reporter for England’s The Sun and The Daily Telegraph. He lives in London.