Midnight on the Mississippi by Mary Ellis

When stockbroker Hunter Galen arrives at his office planning to calm his partner and best friend down, the last thing he expects to find is the man dead. As the lead suspect in the homicide case, Hunter turns to his older brother’s PI friend, Nate Price, for help clearing his name.

Nicki Price has come to New Orleans with dreams of working for his cousin at his PI firm. When he turns her offer of help down and tells her to go home, she takes matters into her own hands and Hunter agrees to hire her. As the two of them delve into the case, they find evidence of that Hunter’s friend and partner was hiding a lot more than Hunter ever suspected. Proof of blackmail, indiscretions, and more paint a dark picture of his friend.

While Nicki is determined to prove herself as a good investigator, the one thing she doesn’t count on is her attraction to Hunter, a man who is not only engaged but way out of her league. But she is convinced of his innocence and is dead set on proving it to the world.

Midnight on the Mississippi is the first book in a new Secrets of the South series which I sincerely hope includes more of Nicolette Price, PI. She has a knack for stumbling into things but she’s also down-to-earth, kind, and says what’s on her mind. As she explores the city of New Orleans, the reader can feel her awe and excitement (and while I love to travel, I’ve never been tempted to visit there until experiencing some of the sights through Nicki’s eyes). I did have some of the suspense elements figured out before they were revealed but not all of them. The one thing I wished for more of in this book was a little more insight into what was going on with Ashley (Hunter’s fiancé). Why did she live the way she did? What drove her (the reason in the book wasn’t quite compelling enough for her actions for me). But, that little fact won’t deter me from picking up the next book in the series when it’s available.

****Harvest House Publishers provided me with a complimentary copy of this book via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are my own.