Book excerpt: In this “utterly compelling” mystery, a triple homicide draws detective Quentin Archer and a voodoo queen into the steamy underbelly of New Orleans (Jeffery Deaver). “With charismatic characters, superb locations, and a great hard-edged story,” Don Bruns introduces his Quentin Archer Mysteries (Lee Child). When a prominent New Orleans judge is brutally murdered, former Detroit cop Quentin Archer is handed the case. His enquiries will lead him into a world of darkness and mysticism which underpins the carefree atmosphere of the Big Easy. Interrogating crooked police officers, a pickpocket, a bartender with underground contacts, and a swamp dweller, Archer uncovers some troubling facts about the late judge’s past. But it’s only when he encounters a beautiful young voodoo practitioner that he starts to make headway in the investigation . . . Solange Cordray volunteers at the dementia center where her mother lives. When she starts reading the mind of one of her patients, she learns that a secretive organization known as Krewe Charbonerrie may be behind the murder of the judge. And when a second judge is murdered—and then a third—Solange and Quentin’s investigation takes them deep into the darkest parts of the Big Easy . . . “This thriller immediately casts a spell on you and doesn’t let go until the very last page!” —Jeffery Deaver