Confirmed grump Eddie Valentino placed the ad. Hotshot 20-something Talba Wallis knew exactly how to answer it.
And thus was born the dynamic duo of New Orleans private detectives, one cynical, 65-year-old Luddite white dude with street smarts, and one young, bright-eyed, 21st century African-American female poet, performance artist, mistress of disguise, and computer jock extraordinaire. Think Queen Latifah and Danny DeVito.
In Louisiana Hotshot, their job is to hunt down a sociopath and pedophile who’s molested the 14-year-old daughter of their client, hangs out on the ragged edges of the rap and recording industries, and has more powerful allies than a Cabinet member.
But both detectives have unfinished business from the past – in Eddie’s case, something he deeply regrets; in Talba’s, a personal mystery, one so frightening no one will help her investigate. But she knows she won’t sleep till she solves it – and the truth will change her forever.
Julie Smith’s Triumphant Return Long time fans of Julie Smith’s witty mysteries will not be disappointed by this new title.Â
Good plot, decent writing, not sold on Talba Wallis… I selected Louisiana Hotshot by Julie Smith at a used book sale, thinking it was a book from her Skip Langdon series. It turns out that this wasn’t the case, although Langdon does make a cameo appearance. I found the plot good, the writing decent, but I’m not sure that I’m on board with protagonist, Talba Wallis.Â
First Class Read…..Spellbinding!! This is my first of Julie Smith’s books and I’m hopelessly hooked! I ran to the library as soon as I finished reading this one to check out the Skip Langdon series…..Â