that rocked late-19th-century Louisiana. Smith’s skill with dialogue lends a

real vividness to this account, and his evocation of the city is captivating. An engaging account that may well strike a chord with those who now think of

New Orleans as a city torn apart.”

—Kirkus Reviews

“In telling the story of Chief Hennessy’s murder, Smith reveals the history that paved the way for Huey Long, Carlos Marcello, Edwin Edwards, and associates in Louisiana’s piquant political culture. A rich, insightful slice of Americana.”

—Booklist

From The Crescent City Lynchings:

Hennessy could see a figure across the street, a block distant, but paid him little mind. It looked like J. C. Roe, the Boylan security officer detailed to watch his house. Hennessy didn’t care much about the added protection. He didn’t need one of his men or friends to walk home with him every night. Sure he had enemies—any chief of police had more than a human share—but he was safe enough here. He knew most of his neighbors, at least by sight, and after all, remembering faces was part of his business.

He felt the bullets before he heard them. Cuts in his face and arm stung, as a deeper pain tossed him off balance and crackled along his ribs. Hennessy grabbed his Colt from his waistcoat. The walls of the buildings around him shuddered as he turned toward the flashes. Losing his breath, he hurried to the corner, firing back at the dark figures coming for him….

O’Connor looked down the dilapidated Basin Street sidewalk toward the center of the city. Hennessy sat alone on a doorstep, bleeding from his face, hands, and legs. The left side of his coat was ripped into a dark red tangle and his Colt hung from his hand, the pearl grips smeared with blood. “They gave it to me, but I gave ’em back the best I could.”