A beautiful city with ugly traditions of corruption and racism. A black man set to hang for a murder he didn't commit. A world-famous author -- and detective -- who isn't about to let it happen... "An enjoyable tour of 1890s New Orleans... Twain can take a bow for his perfomance. Heck takes a colorful city (New Orleans) an a colorful character (Mark Twain), adds a murder, a duel, some voodoo and period detail and conjures up an entertaining sequel to Death on the Mississippi." -- Publishers Weekly "A period charmer..." -- Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine "This Crescent City mystery simmers." -- Booklist "The second of Heck's Mark Twain detective novels is a charming winner." -- Ed's Internet Book Review "Exciting." -- Book Alert

A trip to sunny Florence provides a welcome change in the weather for Mark Twain and his family after a lecture tour of England. And Twain's assistant, Wentworth Cabot, gets some much needed rest and relaxation while the Twains set up house. Falling in with a charming group of Americans abroad, Dabot whiles away the hours touring museums and discussing art in a local cafe. But when a recently discovered Raphael masterpiece is stolen during a dinner party they are attending, Cabot and the irascible Twain set out to find the painting-and the lovely young woman who disappeared along with it...

There was a ghastly murder in New York City, and Mark Twain's address was in the dead man's pocket. But even more alarming was that Twain had just received a message sent by anold friend from his riverboat days -- and the handwriting matched the note found on the corpse. So with his new secretary, Wentworth Cabot, Twain caught a steamboat bound for New Orleans. On board were all matter of people -- wealthy tourists and old river rats, literary amateurs and high-stakes gamblers . . . and a determined killer whose only goal was to bring Mark Twain's celebrated career to a stop!

Working with the great Mark Twain is a job Wentworth Cabot relishes -- especially when it includes a first-class boat trip, a visit to Europe, and a steady paycheck. But Cabot hopes his third adventure with the renowned author won't involve any murders... The genial company of Twain's friend Rudyard Kipling seems to guarantee smooth sailing. A German prince, a pretentious Italian art critic, and a rich young lout from Philadelphia are nuisances to Cabot -- but for Twain they only figure as ready targets for his wit. Then the wealthy young man disappears. His father, a prominent prosecutor, insists he was murdered...and accuses the German prince. But Twain suspects otherwise -- and with the help of Cabot and Kipling, must race against time to ensure justice...

Mark Twain is in merry old England to see his family. Wentworth Cabot, Twain's assistant, is looking forward to seeing the sights, and hopefully finding some peace and quiet — when not helping his boss with a new lecture series. But peace is the last thing they find when they bump into Slippery Ed, a con man from New Orleans and an acquainatnce of Twain's. Ed convinces Twain and his family to attend a seance. The famed author is skeptical of "spooks." But when another attendee is murdered, Twain must discover whether the killer is one of the flesh-and-blood members of the audience — or a specter from the beyond!