Iron Angel (The Valentin St. Cyr Mysteries)

No one cares much when a couple of street
whores working the lowest rung on the
prostitution ladder in 1914 New Orleans are
murdered in the same fashion. But when a third
sporting woman turns up dead in a crib, a small
panic ensues, and Tom Anderson, now beginning
his third decade as the King of Storyville, sends
word from his hospital bed to Creole detective
Valentin St. Cyr.
The detective steps grudgingly into the
investigation that propels The Iron Angel,the
fifth novel in the acclaimed Storyville series.
There's a second tale brewing within these pages.
In a convent in Terrabonne Parish, a mysterious
woman who is alone and adrift draws the interest
of the local sheriff. Valentin works the serial
murders as the killer taunts the police, using the
moniker Gregory. The detective's old nemesis
Captain Picot is furious when he's ordered to let
him have the run of the streets; until, that is, he
notices something oddly familiar in a message
from Terrabonne Parish that mentions a
mysterious woman named Evangeline

Gregory at first keeps one step ahead of Valentin, but the detective is soon checking him
and his bloody campaign at every turn. With the detective closing in on him, he devises
a plan to offer the captain a deal with the devil. But instead of keeping his end of the
bargain, Gregory decides to betray Picot and goes after the mystery woman on his own.
As Valentin races to save Evangeline - whoever she might be - a storm sweeps across
the bayou, heading for New Orleans and drives the tale to a wild climax.
With The Iron Angel, David Fulmer revives an extraordinary time and place with the
same deeply evocative skill that earned the four previous novels such critical acclaim