"[A] riveting and provocative debut mystery of sex, alcohol, drugs, insanity and murder.Fulmer's use of historical figuresauthenticate an already believable and spellbinding story, which will echo in the reader's mind like the mournful notes of good blues."Publishers Weekly

"Brimming with backstories and historical tidbits."Kirkus Reviews

"[Fulmer's] first fiction, which features a fascinating plot line and pervasive New Orleans atmosphere, is an outstanding historical."Library Journal

"A fine beginning to what looks like a first-rate historical series."Booklist

In the raucous, bloody, red-light district of Storyville, New Orleans, in 1907, where two thousand scarlet women ply their trade, where cocaine and opium are sold over the counter, and where rye whiskey flows like an amber river, there's a killer loose. Someone is murdering Storyville prostitutes and marking each killing with a black rose. As Creole detective Valentin St. Cyr begins to investigate, he encounters a cast of characters drawn from history: Tom Anderson, the political boss who runs Storyville like a private kingdom; Lulu White, the district's most notorious madam; a young piano player who would come to be known as Jelly Roll Morton; and Buddy Bolden, the man who all but invented jazz. No ordinary mystery, Chasing the Devil's Tail is a chilling portrait of musical genius and self-destruction, set at the moment when jazz was born.