Mortal Sins - Softcover

Williamson, Penelope

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0446609501 ISBN 13: 9780446609500

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing, 2003

Synopsis

New Orleans, Louisiana. 1927. Creole aristocrat Charles St. Claire is found murdered, his throat slashed with a cane knife. Police discover his wife, Hollywood sex goddess Remy Lelourie, next to the body, drenched in blood. Chief investigator Daman Rourke, who loved and lost Remy years before, wants to believe she is innocent, even though he has seen her kill before. As the evidence against Remy mounts, three more murders rock the city, and Rourke is torn between old loyalties and his pursuit of the truth. As he follows the trail of death and betrayal through the back alleys and jazz haunts of the French Quarter, he finds himself deeper into the secrets and sins of none other than New Orleans' oldest and most respected family.

About this title

Review:

A stunning thriller with a rich cast of characters and one of the most complex, intriguing protagonists since James Lee Burke introduced Dave Robicheaux, Mortal Sins stakes out a piece of the same territory. New Orleans is the setting, and the atmosphere in the city that care forgot is sexy, rich and sultry--not unlike movie goddess Remy Lelourie. Lelourie once loved and left a young man who grew up to be homicide cop Daman Rourke, a brooding hero who's never forgotten Remy or forgiven her for betraying him. Rourke hasn't seen Remy since she married Charles St. Claire, present owner of the Lelourie ancestral mansion, which is haunted by a century-old crime as shocking as the brutal stabbing of Charles St. Claire. A crime with which his wife, Remy, is charged. Only Daman Rourke knows she's capable of murder; after all, he's seen her do it before. What's more he kept silent when she arranged the death to look like a suicide. Tortured by the memory of their affair, her betrayal and his abiding passion for her, he sets out to prove Remy's innocence. In so doing, he is drawn into a web of family secrets, tangled ancestry and southern (in)justice.

With a backdrop of bootleggers, blues, absinthe and cocaine, Williamson seasons a thick Louisiana gumbo with all of the right ingredients. Set in the Roaring Twenties, this standout debut has a decidedly contemporary attitude and enough sex, sin and mystery to keep the reader enthralled long after the last page has been turned. --Jane Adams

Review:

‘Sexy, dangerous, beautifully written – a powerful story.’
James Patterson

‘An evocative, moody, sensuous tale of lust, murder, mayhem and betrayal. Mortal Sins is as smooth as a mint julep, as rhythmic as the blues. You will soak it all in, despite the heat.’
USA Today

About this edition

• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0446609501
• ISBN 13: 9780446609500
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 496