A Diamond Before You Die

A "likable, savvy New Orleans private eye" deals with marriage, murder, and Mardi Gras in this mystery by the author of The Last Madam ( Publishers Weekly).   Richard Cotton, aspiring to become district attorney, has hired private detective Neal Rafferty to keep tabs on his wife—who, in turn, has hired someone else to keep tabs on him.   It's almost Mardi Gras in 1980s New Orleans, and when the masks go on they hide a multitude of sins—like bribery, corruption, and drug-running, not to mention Richard Cotton's own particular secret. And once bodies start showing up, Rafferty realizes that adultery is far from the only scandal. In this town, all things eventually settle into the Mississippi River mud. It's just a question of what stays buried . . .   "Wiltz bring a refreshing individual outlook to the formula of hard-boiled detective fiction." — The Washington Post Book World