MYSTERY FICTION’S MOST DYNAMIC DETECTIVE DUO–IN A BOXED SET!Now you can get the entire 4-book Talba Wallis series by Edgar-Award winning author Julie Smith (plus bonus short story) at an irresistible price. Talba, aka poetess Baroness de Pontalba, has the beauty, the brains, the computer savvy, the poetic soul, the youth, the right demographic, and the sass. Eddie Valentino’s got the detective … Valentino’s got the detective agency. Also a short fuse and yes, wisdom. Not only do they make it work, they’ve got chemistry.
“The quirky pleasure of watching the Baroness strut her stuff is worth the price of admission.” —Houston Chronicle
Vol. 1: LOUISIANA HOTSHOT
In Louisiana Hotshot, their job is to hunt down a sociopath and pedophile who’s molested the fourteen-year-old daughter of their client, hangs out on the ragged edges of the rap and recording industries, and has more powerful allies than a Cabinet member.
But both detectives have unfinished business from the past—in Eddie’s case, something he deeply regrets; in Talba’s, a personal mystery, one so frightening no one will help her investigate. But she knows she won’t sleep till she solves it—and the truth will change her forever.
Vol. 2: LOUISIANA BIGSHOT
The hottest detective duo in New Orleans is going to need every skill and ounce of courage they can summon in this intricate tale of a decades-old conspiracy only now coming home to roost, with the murder of Talba’s friend Babalu Maya. Babalu is actually Clayton Robineau, daughter of the local banker in a small Louisiana town that bears her name, a town buried under the weight of its own malevolent past.
As Talba and Eddie investigate, they find that something terrible happened to Clayton as a child, an injury—both pscyhic and physical–so bizarre, so shameful and damning that almost anyone in town would kill to cover it up.
Vol. 3: LOUISIANA LAMENT
One stormy day Talba gets an emergency call from Janessa, the sister she barely knows, and arrives to find a body floating in a swimming pool—the mortal husk of Allyson Brown, known in New Orleans literary circles as the Girl Gatsby. Like Gatsby, Allyson was one of those mysterious rich people who move to town, give amazing parties, and seem made of moonbeams.
Investigating, Talba finds the reality behind the Gatsby glamour. Allyson was a con artist who neglected her children, ignored her bills, and lied like a Ponzi schemer. But she wasn’t the only bad actor on the local literary scene. Fellow poet Rashad leads Talba a merry chase, leaving a trail of clues in the form of poetry, while novelists engage in fisticuffs, unseemly preening, and unforgivable arrogance.
The Baroness discovers just how seamy, petty, and downright murderous her fellow literati can be.
Vol. 4: P.I. ON A HOT TIN ROOF
YOUR LAWYER NEEDS YOU TO BAIL HER OUT? ISN’T THAT KIND OF BACKWARDS?
So thinks PI Talba Wallis, on her way to Parish Prison—and indeed something’s badly amiss.
New Orleans’ most dynamic detective duo have a personal interest in this one—Eddie’s lawyer daughter Angie’s been set up for a drug bust.
Talba embeds herself in the house of prominent Judge Buddy Champagne as a spy, and uncovers plenty of evidence the judge is dirty—but she doesn’t count on how involved she was going to get—especially with Buddy’s 14-year-old daughter Lucy.
There are plenty of mysterious twists and turns on the way to an ending guaranteed to surprise—but the real joy here is in the relationships.
BONUS Talba Wallis Mystery Short Story– KID TROMBONE!
The Big Easy’s premier jazz singer, Queenie Feran, thinks there’s more to her ex-husband’s death than an accidental overdose, and she hires PI and poet Talba Wallis–AKA the Baroness de Pontalba–to uncover the truth.more
I didn’t really get into the first book in the series, but I found I enjoyed the poet private investigator more with each ensuing book and short story. The author paints a colorful character with her words.
First in trilogy was entertaining but there was a rapid drop off. Perhaps the author tried to do too much with the character?
The main character is very entertaining and surprising!
Loved the characters! Talba is a young Black PI who doubles as a gifted poet by night, performing her works as the Baroness Pontalba. She works with Eddie, a retired cop, in much the same style as Columbo, but with a distinctive Louisiana accent. Together they solve a number of unpredictable cases.
A interesting view of a city where I lived for 8 years. If you’re interested read “A Confederacy of Dunces.”
I liked it a lot. My only criticism is there are so many characters in the fourth book that it is difficult to remember all the relationships.
Love the characters!
This Series has some wonderful character-from the main character to her mother, they’re all great. A good strong female lead character, too. A good read for this winter
I read all 4 books on one snowy day, really entertaining, finished one and just started on the next one!
Entertaining
Absolutely loved this series. Wish it would continue
Strong, well-defined characters and interesting, twisted plots make the Talba Wallis series a page-turner. If you like action and drama, this series is one you don’t want to miss.
Enjoyed looked forward to each. A good read I didn’t want to put down
I wish Julie had written more books in this series… Maybe like ten times more. Loved the characters, atmosphere, stories, style, and tempo. I wish that I could live next door to Talba.
Julie Smith is now one of my favorite authors
A spin-off of the Skip Langdon series. Oh, my gosh, these are my new favorite characters!
Talba Wallis is a gorgeous Black woman in New Orleans who lives with her Mom and works as a PI. She is a PI by day and a Baroness by night. Startlingly good poetry throughout.
Just adore her!
Well-plotted, well-writen, delightful characters make this series a pleasant read.
A fun and engaging read
I had the first in the series from prime reading and before I could read it, the set of 4 was offered at a price I couldn’t refuse!! I’m glad. It was nice to be able to spend time through the 4 books without having to wait for the next one. The characters are fun: Talba, the Baroness, poet, PI, and computer geek, is so over the top in places, but still down to earth in other situations. EdDEE, her boss, is a likeable person and supports Talba in most of her outlandish ideas (or his wife and daughter would have something to say about that 🙂 ). Darryl, Talba’s boyfriend is a perfect gentleman and one that would be every girl’s dream. Other characters in the book will steal your heart and maybe see a little of yourself in them.
Set in New Orleans gives this flavor. Background about the city and events that take place there peppered the pages. Not enough to bore, but enough to keep the ball rolling. Not a lot of foul language either, which is nice.
If you want an easy read and exciting mysteries, pick up this series. Waiting for more of Ms. Wallis and her antics. I’ll be looking at more of Ms. Smith’s books. She has a series with a homicide detective Skip Langdon.
I loved this series, and have read one of these books before. It was nice to read them in order. What a fun bunch of characters! So out of the normal that it made it seem more realistic. Anyway I enjoyed reading them and must admit some nights I stayed up waaay too late reading when I wanted to find out who did it before heading to bed.