In this fifth book in the Faye Longchamp series, Faye is working on a dig in New Orleans and gets involved in a murder related to Hurricane Katrina, which occurred three years before the events in the book.I didn't like this one quite as much as the others in the series. The mystery aspect didn't hang together all that well and the Katrina-related aspects seemed too strident. Also, the 19th century journal entries sounded entirely too modern in their voice and I found that jarring.I always enjoy the history aspects of the books though and this one was no different in that regard. I'm by no means put off on the series, I just don't think this is the best one of the bunch. Faye and Joe are in New Orleans doing archeology on a Civil War site when a body is found in the Lower Ninth. The setting is post-Katrina and the Lower Ninth is the area that has still not recovered from all the horrors of that hurricane. There are murders and attempted murders and several bait 'n switch on who dunnit but as usual there was a lot of good history both ancient and recent. The parts about the engineering feats that keep a city below sea level and surrounded by ocean, river and lake dry are fascinating.I was a little worried when I realized this story was set in New Orleans post-Katrina because so many people want to point fingers at what went wrong there. Evans avoids this, she has spent more time talking about the human toll and the survivor guilt than about which politician, government entity or engineering design "failed". I admire that -- it made for a good read, a feeling of understanding what happened and a rip roaring good mystery.Looking forward to more.
What do You think about Floodgates (2009)?
Yet another excellent entry in the Faye Longchamp mystery series.
—kimjessica
