The SECOND book in the Edgar Award-winning Skip Langdon mystery series

"A multilayered masterpiece " -Andrew Vachss
“Gritty, witty, & mesmerizing! Langdon is a splendid female heroine.” –People Magazine

WHAT’S THE PERFECT KILLING FIELD FOR A MURDERER?

A place where he (or maybe she) can learn your secrets from your own mouth and then make friends over coffee. A supposedly "safe" place where anonymity is the norm. The horror who calls himself The Axeman has figured it out and claimed his territory—he's cherry-picking his murder victims in the 12-Step programs of New Orleans.

And he's had the gall to name himself after a historical serial killer. He just needs to go down, and fast, because this is New Aw'lins, dawlin'—half the town is either alcoholic or co-dependent!

Who better to take him out than tall, funny, social-misfit Skip Langdon, now a homicide detective on the Axeman team, a gig that takes her into the 12-Step groups to meet the suspects (giving the author a chance for gentle satire). As Skip threads her fascinated way from one self-help group to another, she finds she has more in common with the twelve-steppers than just the murder—her mother, for one thing, whom she encounters at Overeaters Anonymous! And she knows what they do not: that among their anonymous numbers is a murderous, and dangerously attractive psychopath…

"Smashing . . . New Orleans Mourning was a tough act to follow. The Axeman’s Jazz is a wonderful, completely satisfying encore." -The Denver Post

"Julie Smith not only firmly establishes her claim to the New Orleans crime scene, but she explores an intriguing new franchise for the serial killer." –Sue Grafton

"Marvelous!" –Chicago Tribune