A Streetcar Named Murder by T.G. Herren

Series Name: New Orleans Mystery #1
Genre: Cozy
Release: December 6, 2022

Blackmail in the Big Easy turns to cold-blooded murder in this debut cozy mystery perfect for fans of Jane K. Cleland.

When the mysterious letter arrives by courier, Valerie Cooper doesn’t know what to make of it. She’s become the beneficiary of her late husband’s estranged uncle’s will—a man she never knew—and inherited a majority partnership in the family’s company, New Orleans Fine Antiques. Valerie knows nothing about antiques, but she decides to learn the business and become an active partner. She’s also got her hands full fending off Collette, a woman who wants to sell the huge old house in the Irish Channel neighborhood Valerie and her husband painstakingly renovated.

Valerie isn’t interested in selling—but when her best friend Lauren, drags her to a costume party for the women’s Mardi Gras club, the Krewe of Athena, she stumbles over Collette’s body, a jeweled dagger sticking out of her chest. In a rush of panic, Valerie recognizes the dagger from her shop—and before she knows it, she’s become murder suspect number one.

Egged on by Lauren, she starts digging into Collette’s business dealings, and the deeper she digs, the dirtier it gets. Now all fingers are pointing at Valerie. In a desperate bid to clear her name, Valerie frantically tries to find who could have gotten hold of the dagger. But among a cadre of guests in full costume, it could be impossible to find the thief—and unmask the real killer.

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Dru’s Short Musing:
We are introduced to Valerie Cooper who is in a quandary about where her life should be, until she receives the letter.

This was a nicely done whodunit that I could not put down, as I had to know how this was going to end. Questions abound about where the uncle fit into the life of her late husband and what it means to her. Trying to figure things out takes backstage when Valerie’s nemesis is found murdered. The suspect pool was generous, and a few red herrings were tossed in to keep me in the game and what a game it was, filled with intrigue and suspense. The author did a great job in staging this drama with visually descriptive narrative and engaging dialogue that had me immersed in what was going on with the character’s history and the motive that led up to the murder. New Orleans as the setting is a perfect accompaniment to the delight of this tale. Overall, this is a good start and I look forward to more adventures with Valerie and her friends.

FTC Full Disclosure – I received a digital ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley.