In his third novel, Rich, author of Odds Against Tomorrow and The Mayor’s Tongue, deftly interweaves a historical novel with a crime thriller by way of the stories of three very different protagonists. The story unfolds in New Orleans, 1918. Jazz is everywhere, but so is the Spanish flu and a serial ax-murderer. Detective Bill Bastrop, struggling with a failed marriage and haunted by an act of cowardice from the war, is determined to redeem himself by finding the killer. Beatrice Vizzini, matriarch of a crime family and head of a construction company, is looking to strike it rich as the city embarks on a major canal-building project. And Izzy Zeno, a talented black cornetist and petty thief, is hatching a plan to capitalize on local events to make his name. Rich will be in conversation with Lisa Page, director of creative writing at George Washington University.