Gran requires the reader to surrender to the unhurried pace of the novel. The brutal aftermath of Katrina does provide an atmospheric background to the story however and the city is almost a character in itself. New Orleans residents may not take kindly to Gran’s view of their city. It’s stark themes can be uncomfortable as they include gang violence, drug taking and sexual abuse. Convinced Andray is an opportunist thief who murdered Willing, Claire’s attempts to prove her theory uncovers corruption, exploitation and despair.

Andray and Terrell are two teenagers who survive by embracing the city’s underbelly of crime and lawlessness. It’s not always easy to follow where Claire leads, she is a challenging character because of her idiosyncratic behaviour and unique viewpoint.Ĭlaire’s investigation involves her with the disenfranchised youth on the streets of New Orleans.

She is an unconventional protagonist, her spiritual connection to the book ‘Détection’ is unusual and her method of inquiry and analysis is eccentric. The decay on the streets of New Orleans, 18 months post ‘The Storm’, is reflected in Gran’s characters who are mostly broken and drowning.Ĭlaire’s investigative skills are legendary but she teeters on the edge of sanity. Guided by the philosophical tenants of Jacques Silette’s ‘Détection’, I Ching and narcotic induced insight, Claire seeks answers to her questions amongst the decaying streets and society of New Orleans.Ĭlaire DeWitt and the City of the Dead is not just a mystery, but an unorthodox investigation into the murky debris of lives. Status: Read from May 29 to 30, 2011 - I own a copyĬlair DeWitt is in crisis, still mourning the death of her mentor and recovering from a breakdown, she accepts the task of investigating the disappearance of Vic Willing during Hurricane Katrina. Has an angry criminal enacted revenge on Vic? Or did he use the storm as a means to disappear? Claire follows the clues, finding old friends and making new enemies - foremost among them Andray Fairview, a young gang member who just might hold the key to the mystery. Claire is investigating the disappearance of Vic Willing, a prosecutor known for winning convictions in a homicide- plagued city. The tattooed, pot-smoking Claire has just arrived in post-Katrina New Orleans, the city she’s avoided since her mentor, Silette’s student Constance Darling, was murdered there. But Claire also uses her dreams, omens, and mind-expanding herbs to help her solve mysteries, and relies on Détection - the only book published by the late, great, and mysterious French detective Jacques Silette. She has brilliant deductive skills and is an ace at discovering evidence.

Synopsis: Claire DeWitt is not your average private investigator. Published: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt June 2011 Title: Claire De Witt and the City of the Dead

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