Murdered man is found in a locker; murderer covered his tracks well & left the detectives some Scrabble letters taped together.

NOLA coroner andy Broussard is helping as much as he can while also hosting the annual forensics meeting in New Orleans. Kit Franklin, forensic psychologist follows her instincts in tracking down leads too.

Overall, a good police/ CSI procedural.

i've lost touch what order these are in, but based on reviews will probably go for Louisiana Fever next.

Note: this one was written on 1994 ( )

This is an intricately plotted murder mystery, with some interesting and nicely-drawn characters. However, the resolution to New Orleans Requiem, by D.J. Donaldson, just made me say "Huh?" rather than being satisfied with the end.

These are harsh words, I know. But -- and I will try to avoid spoilers -- once All Becomes Clear ... well, it just didn't seem to make any sense to me. Yes, it covered all the clues, so that's fair -- but HUH? The motive did not, in my opinion, explain pretty much any of the intricacies of plot, which once the motive and murderer were revealed, made NO sense and were basically a waste of time.

I was disappointed in the setting, too. Although billed as a New Orleans novel, there was nothing in the setting that made it vital that it happen in NOLA, rather than, say, Minneapolis. Any local atmosphere was cursory at best.

But the worst part was the plot. There was just no reason at all for the murderer to go to all that trouble, when he could have made his point much more efficiently. I'm willing to suspend disbelief -- but not infinitely.

Not recommended. No particular sense of place (if you want a Big Easy, I recommend Poppy Brite's NOLA novels, such as Liquor) and a really implausible plot.

I got this book from Rambles.net in exchange for an honest review. ( )

New Orleans Requiem is the fourth book in Don J. Donaldon's mystery series featuring chief medical examiner Andy Broussard and Kit Franklyn, a consultant psychologist for both the ME's office and the NOPD.

The story opens with Andy and Kit being called to a crime scene in the New Orleans French Quarter. The body of a man has been discovered in a locker in Jackson Square, stabbed through the heart, with an eyelid removed and a newspaper propped on his chest with four scrabble letters taped to it. When a second body is found two days later with identical wounds, a newspaper and three scrabble letters, Andy and Kit fear a serial killer is stalking the town. Broussard and Kit are taken aback when what little evidence they have points to the killer being a colleague with a grudge, but with hundreds of forensic specialists in town attending the Annual American Academy of Forensic Science conference, narrowing the field of suspects isn't going to be easy.

An interesting blend of police procedural and medical thriller, New Orleans Requiem is an enjoyable novel. The case at the heart of this mystery is well plotted and believable and the identity of the murderer came as a surprise. The pacing is good, with the duration of the conference providing a natural time frame in which to solve the mystery.

Broussard and Franklyn are well developed characters. An affable man with a large appetite, Broussard is an experienced and well regarded ME. Kit considers Andy both a colleague and a mentor. She has good instincts and is both resourceful and intelligent. Their professional skills complement each other and they make a good team.

First published in the early 1990's the absence of 'Google' and cell phones are evident in some aspects of the novel but the story doesn't feel dated. I'd recommend New Orleans Requiem to readers who enjoy procedural mysteries, especially those with a forensic focus (think Quincy, ME or CSI). ( )