Showing Mean Woman Blues by Julie Smith

Mean Woman Blues is the NINTH book in Edgar-winner Julie Smith’s Skip Langdon mystery series.

"Mean Woman Blues is Julie Smith at her most fun and lethal." -The Clarion-Ledger

“One of the best police procedurals of the year." –Midwest Book Review

THE MOST DANGEROUS MAN IN THE WORLD IS TRYING TO KILL HER…

That would be the Rev. Errol Jacomine, crazy as a fox that just ate a loon, and more dangerous than a cell full of serial killers. She’s Detective Skip Langdon, the New Orleans cop who’s twice smashed his criminal endeavors, yet each time he’s managed to slip away. Now he’s mad. In both senses of the word. And he has the connections to have her killed—or worse, those she loves.

After one near-miss and several nasty threats, Skip is driven by fear that she’ll lose the people dearest to her. Despite finding herself disgraced in her own home town (seems Jacomine knows how to frame as well as kill), she goes on the hunt for the kind of maniac with a gift for conning people and the extreme makeover to make it work.

THREE ANGRY WOMEN, EACH ONE DISSED, SCORNED, AND HELL-BENT...

But by now Jacomine’s madness has escalated to the point that he’s finally gone too far with too many people. Before it's over, more than one person’s stalking him, and some are women feeling as mean as their quarry. If Langdon doesn't get there first, there’ll be a bloodbath. If she does, only one person will walk away—and Jacomine’s as lucky as he’s ruthless.

"Smith combines a powerful heroine, creepily believable villain, and rich New Orleans setting." -Booklist

Fans of Nevada Barr, Ace Atkins, Laura Lippman, and Karin Slaughter will love Detective Skip Langdon’s pluck and charm in this action-packed psychological thriller.

AUTHOR'S WARNING: To my chagrin, I see that one reader was offended by a particular very short and, honestly, not particularly graphic scene in this book and has (rather rightly, I think) talked a number of others out of buying it. Many people who don't flinch at terrible violence against humans are extremely sensitive at the thought of something bad happening to an animal. Even if the meaner-than-Satan animal-murderer gets much worse treatment than the animal! (Well, so am I, but this is fiction.) If you are one of those people, DON'T download this book--instead write me at julieorleans@cox.net for a different free book. I want you to be happy! Julie smith

Excerpt:
Nearly two years ago, Errol Jacomine had disappeared, but he would not stay gone. She knew this; she had destroyed two of his careers, twice thwarted his attempts to win control over his fellow human beings, to gain a following, and to dominate. He would be back, and he would try to kill her. To forget it for a day in the woods, for an evening in her courtyard, for a moment, for a millisecond, was dangerous and possibly deadly.

Jacomine's son, Daniel, had been arrested, charged with half a dozen crimes, and eventually convicted of murder as the result of one of Jacomine's schemes. He was due to be sentenced in a couple of days.

How that would affect his father Skip couldn't know, but it had probably precipitated the dream. Jacomine might not even notice, perhaps having written Daniel off.

She left for work feeling hunted and resentful of her psyche for rubbing her nose in it. She knew all that, and what could she do about it? Exactly what? she asked herself angrily. Later, the dream seemed more a premonition than a warning.

* * *

That morning, as always, she walked the few blocks to the garage where she kept her car, pointed the remote at the automatic door (a process that never failed to give her childlike pleasure), and waited for the door to raise itself high enough to allow her ingress. Instead of the familiar rumble, an explosion ripped through the quiet morning, followed by a loud ping, like a beer can hitting a metal drum