The 1950s are on the horizon, and Archer is in dire need of a fresh start after a nearly fatal detour in Poca City. So Archer hops on a bus and begins the long journey out west to California, where rumor has it there is money to be made if you’re hard-working, lucky, criminal—or all three. Along the way, Archer stops in Reno, where a stroke of fortune delivers him a wad of cash and an eye-popping blood-red 1939 Delahaye convertible—plus a companion...

Detective Quentin Archer is investigating the murder of a New Orleans judge and encounters a voodoo queen who reveals that a secret organization, the Krewe Charbonerrie, may be behind the murder and may be responsible for several others as well.

Beneath the carefree atmosphere of Mardi Gras, something very sinister is going on in the intriguing new Quentin Archer mystery. Three murders so far. No apparent motive; no link between the victims; none of them have been robbed. One item ties them together: a can of spray gas known as Chill has been left at the scene of each crime. Is someone killing for kicks? With no leads to pursue and no witnesses coming forward, all the cops can do is wait...

Has Tom Hillman run away from his exclusive reform school, or has he been kidnapped? Are his wealthy parents protecting him or their own guilty secrets? And why does every clue lead Lew Archer to an abandoned Hollywood hotel, where starlets and sailors once rubbed shoulders with tycoons and hustlers? The once-popular palace is now boarded up, but for Archer, it may hold the key to a missing teenager and a hot murder.

Archer knows

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