National Network for Equitable Library Service

Enter the world of Crescent City, an alternate history 1930s "Chinese Los Angeles" and home turf of private investigator, Lola Starke... A double murder. A tangle of deceit. A woman committed to the truth. A chance reunion with her schoolgirl crush, Stuey Lim, has Lola Starke dreaming of new possibilities, but her nascent hopes are brutally crushed as she witnesses Stuey and his best friend, Tommy, a world-famous comedian, gunned down in front of Crescent City’s most exclusive club. Shocked and grieving, Lola is nonetheless duty-bound to investigate the deaths at the request of her mentor, Nicky Lo. Puzzling out the intricate history of Tommy’s tight-knit show business family, intent on guarding their status as closely as their secrets, is dangerous enough. But Lola must also protect Stuey’s parents from a gangster with suspect claims to Stuey’s cherished missing pocket watch—all while navigating a new phase in her contentious relationship with her Ghost, Aubrey. This is the ’30s and this is Crescent City, where hauntings are a normal part of life and magic-fuelled funeral rites determine the dead’s journey in the sacred cycle of reincarnation. Where traditions and family can nurture a comedic genius—or destroy him. And where, no matter how old the secret, blood will out.