A second shot at The Devil

The Devil in Her Way is Bill Loehfelm’s fourth book and his first set in New Orleans, where the Staten Island native has lived since 1997. His previous books are set in Staten Island, including his third, The Devil She Knows, which introduced readers to Maureen Coughlin, a character who author Laura Lippman says “jumps off the page and demands the reader’s full attention.”

Loehfelm won critical praise for The Devil She Knows, and readers were taken with Maureen, a small and scrappy waitress fighting for her life in a world of more powerful men seeking to manipulate or destroy her. At the end of The Devil She Knows, Maureen has come through her battles determined to become a cop like her mentor, Detective Nat Waters.

The opening of The Devil in Her Way finds Maureen now a rookie cop in New Orleans, already in trouble again on page one. Alone in her new city, she struggles between hope in a second chance—both for herself and for New Orleans—and the embittered knowledge of human nature she’s gained over a lifetime. Trusting her instincts proves to be harder than ever, as is trusting her training officer Preacher and her fellow officers.

One of the most interesting aspects of The Devil in Her Way is seeing a police force renowned for corruption from the point of view of a character with an inside position, but outsider eyes. Because she has suffered and been neglected by opportunity, Maureen is a champion for those without protection in a department whose slogan is cover your ass. As she learns her lessons and finishes her probation, Maureen seeks and finds a new mentor in a homicide detective named Christine Atkinson, who brings Maureen in to assist on her case.

Maureen shines as a character precisely because she is complex: fighting to be strong and independent, yet inescapably vulnerable. She is not a damsel in distress, but neither is she a superheroine. She reads like a real woman, a tough feat for any writer to accomplish.

As he does with Maureen, Loehfelm presents New Orleans in rich, honest detail. When Maureen makes forays into the French Quarter, it is to show off her new city to her visiting mother and Waters, and to interact with the 8th District police there. The 6th District, which includes Central City and the Garden District, is where Maureen lives and patrols, and this almost triangular swath of the city starting at the river is a part of New Orleans not usually seen in film or fiction. This area, like much of New Orleans, encompasses sharp contrasts: affluence and poverty, private neighborhood patrols and frequent violent crime.

Once you finish The Devil in Her Way, you’ll be glad to know that Loehfelm is already writing a third book about Maureen, giving readers another chance to delve into this fascinating character. billoehfelm.com