A failed New York actress, Rachel Porter figured that any new career would be an improvement--until she became a wildlife agent and found herself stuck in the steamy Louisiana bayous, chasing poachers and fending off mosquitoes the size of Central Park pigeons.

Rachel's first major assignment for the New Orleans Fish and Wildlife Service has brought her to the infamous French Quarter, to deal with a dead alligator chained to a bathtub--not far from an equally dead stripper. But when Rachel discovers that an o. d. of ingested heroin-stuffed condoms--and not the five bullet holes in the gator's head--was the true cause of its demise, the inquisitive agent finds herself perilously caught up in both murder investigations. And with killers, cops, neo-Nazis, drag queens and crooked politicos on her case, it's take more than Big Apple sass to get Rachel out of the Big Easy. . .alive.

A failed New York actress, Rachel Porter figured that any new career would be an improvement--until she became a wildlife agent and found herself stuck in the steamy Louisiana bayous, chasing poachers and fending off mosquitoes the size of Central Park pigeons.

Rachel's first major assignment for the New Orleans Fish and Wildlife Service has brought her to the infamous French Quarter, to deal with a dead alligator chained to a bathtub--not far from an equally dead stripper. But when Rachel discovers that an o. d. of ingested heroin-stuffed condoms--and not the five bullet holes in the gator's head--was the true cause of its demise, the inquisitive agent finds herself perilously caught up in both murder investigations. And with killers, cops, neo-Nazis, drag queens and crooked politicos on her case, it's take more than Big Apple sass to get Rachel out of the Big Easy. . .alive.

Amazon.com Review
In this energetic and engaging debut mystery, a dead alligator leads novice U.S. Fish and Wildlife agent Rachel Porter to the body of the woman who owned it. A large part of the fun is watching Porter--a disillusioned New York actress--learn her job as she stumbles through the swamps of Louisiana and the even more dangerous streets of New Orleans in search of poachers, drug dealers, and other local wildlife. Fans of Nevada Barr and her forest ranger character, Anna Pigeon, should enjoy the start of this fascinating series.