As a frequent visitor to the Crescent City, Graves did an adequate job describing contemporary New Orleans. The figures he places in that landscape, however, seem to more like first generation Califorians than the 4th generation persons d'heritage I've encountered in the Big Easy. His written dialog is often annoying--broken up by simplistic reflections. His characters also seem to dwell in morally black and white worlds. While not my favorite novel, Graves could learn a lot from "Midnight in the garden of good and evil" when attacking this type of subject matter.