First off, anytime a cover says BOOK ONE- beware! You probably are gonna HAVE to buy Book Two! Now the GOOD news is that Leo just let us know (thanks Facebook!) that Book Two (A Life Without Fear) is finished and off to the publisher (whew). The BAD news, is we have to WAIT for it- argghhhhhhh! Why do I say this?

Because this book is hands down, one of my favorite reads of the entire YEAR, AND Leo ends it with a proverbial cliff hanger, that leaves the reader screaming "Noooooooooo", and wanting the next chapter immediately! Yup this is one riveting book, that I finished only in 2 sittings, not 1, because I was too tired to read! If i'd been able, I would have tore through it as quickly as possible! Leo gives us a rip-roaring (pun intended) look at the true New Orleans (good, bad and ugly), a tight mystery that leaves you guessing and gasping for breath, and a satisfying police procedural that leaves room for more books and a continuing series.

All three of those elements work to weave a web of a tale truly takes what IS New Orleans and shakes it up like a traditional holiday snow ball, and the fall out will leave locals guessing and wondering what is based on local fact, and what isn't. There is a New Orleans that tourists never see, that is 'private and not for foreign eyes', or as Leo says "most of the people in New Orleans, to some degree, wore masks, that disguised and guarded the real person. It's like the people of New Orleans live within their own perpetual Mardi Gras masquerade, never showing their real selves". It is that type of analysis that rivets the book with character background and personalization, that makes the lead characters not only likable, but invests the reader in their welfare. Locals will be hooked on Sam when she says "Yeah, I'm a tough Nawlins girl..I grew up on red wine, White Russians, and a street named Bourbon". Anyone who spent their high school years in New Orleans will laugh and raise a toast to that one!

Leo gives us a plot that goes back and forth from past to present, interweaving them so well that the reader doesn't mind, as new information is gleaned every time, as chapters change from different characters' perspectives, and Leo keeps you changing your mind who the killer is, as more characters leave the story. Which is why when you THINK you've got it figured out, he ENDS the book on the proverbial cliff hanger, leaving the reader screaming! Course as there is a Book two, that means the reader's guess may NOT be right, as obviously he will keep us his technique and lead the reader down more paths before exposing the truth!

All in all, I am totally hooked and will be salivating for Book Two! And I hope Leo brings the characters back for more books (meaning I hope they LIVE through book two and aren't the killer!)! Raise a toast to the new author for New Orleans books!