Publisher's Synopsis
An early morning phone call from a former client summons New Orleans Private Eye Lucien Caye to the mansion of wealthy New Orleanian Edwin Jouvet whose daughter has been kidnapped. Jouvet has called the police and FBI who reminds him of The Three Stooges. He knows Caye, trusts Caye and wants him by his side through this ordeal. As cops and feds stumble over one another, Caye follows a slim lead and locates and saves the missing daughter.
Meanwhile, the other investigator of the Caye Detective is his wife Alizée, who accepts a new case - a 28-year old murder case. There's a new clue. This long cold case takes time as Lucien works other cases, including bodyguarding Bela Lugosi, an art forgery case, and solving the mystery of the hollow nickel. Alizée juggles private eye work with her songwriting career, writing a novel and modeling - she models stockings and underwear in ads for catalogs of top-line department stores. Modeling draws out her lustful, erotic nature, which she uses in her PI work. All this while raising a bright and precocious 9-year old daughter, keep Lucien and Alizée on their toes because there's more to life than catching kidnappers and solving murders. Lucien Caye became a private eye in 1947, after his second stint as a New Orleans Police Officer. He returned from WWII with a purple heart medal and silver star medal for gallantry, set up his office at the corner of Barracks and Dauphine Streets in the old French Quarter - office on the first floor with his apartment on the second floor of a two-story blond brick building with a black wrought-iron balcony wrapping around the second floor overlooking Barracks Street with Cabrini Park (neighbors called it Cabrini Playground) across the street. Lucien built his PI resume catching Public Enemy #1 Lou Jacoby and the elusive marriage swindler, solving intricate cases - the Magnolia Murders, the mystery of the Red Witch, tragic cases like the Gungirl case, the Peeschwet, the Love Pirate, the tragic Tenderless Night case, the Erotophobia mystery, a Dreamboat Gambol case, a Kissable Cleavage case and a case known as A Jelly of Intrigue, tracking down killers in a Hard Rain case and covering a Little Iréne Escapade. He caught a killer who was Guilty of Dust and Sin. A lone wolf, Lucien romanced pretty women along the way, some who thought him a Cary Grant lookalike, while others claimed he favored Gregory Peck. A working relationship with NOPD helped Lucien, who in turn assisted his buddy Lieutenant Frenchy Capdeville solve a number of murder cases. In 1950, Lucien's life changed when a seven-year-old girl was dropped off at his building with a small suitcase which included her birth certificate in the name of Jeannie Marie Caye. Not long after, a young woman entered Lucien's life, a doe-eyed, auburn haired beauty named Alizée and by 1951, Lucien was married with a young daughter. Mr. De Noux is a retired police officer, a former homicide detective. His writing has garnered a number of awards including the SHAMUS AWARD twice, the DERRINGER AWARD and POLICE BOOK of the YEAR (awarded by PoliceWriters.com). Two of his stories have been featured in the BEST AMERICAN MYSTERY STORIES annual anthology (2003 and 2013). He is a past Vice-President of the Private Eye Writers of America. For additional O'Neil De Noux material, go to: www.oneildenoux.com.
