Books Like The Krewe

With its rich history, unique customs, and complex social strata, New Orleans is one of the most fascinating places in the United States. Some know the "Big Easy" for its distinctive music and unique dialects, while others are drawn to its festivals like Mardi Gras. The city has cemented its place in popular culture thanks to numerous films, television shows, and novels that use New Orleans as a backdrop. For example, The Krewe by Seth Pevey is set in New Orleans and features a man investigating the truth behind his brother's death with the assistance of a garrulous old police detective. For more novels set in and around New Orleans, check out the following books like The Krewe.

Black Dust Mambo

By Adrian Phoenix

Black Dust Mambo by Adrian Phoenix uses New Orleans as a backdrop for a supernatural thriller. The protagonist, Kallie Rivière, is a fierce Cajun hood apprentice. While visiting New Orleans to attend the Hecatean Alliance's annual carnival, she ends up with an outlaw biker dead in her bed. With his clan brothers out for blood, Kallie has to use her hoodoo knowledge to clear her name and find the killer. Accompanied by her best friend, Belladonna, Kallie sets out to find answers while trying to stay ahead of a malevolent being hot on their heels.

Voodoo Dreams

By Jewell Parker Rhodes

Marie Laveau's name and legacy are part of New Orleans's history, and her tomb still draws tourists and visitors asking her to grant their wishes. Voodoo Dreams by Jewell Parker Rhodes is set in the mid-nineteenth century and centers around Marie Laveau. It follows the woman behind the legend as she ventures to New Orleans to understand the visions that haunt her dreams. In the city, she is swept into a world of voodoo ceremonies, aided by a voodoo doctor who promises to teach her everything her grandmother, who raised her, refused to.

Bound

By Kira Saito

Bound is the first book in Kira Saito's The Arelia LaRue series. It's the story of a sixteen-year-old named Arelia who lives in New Orleans. Despite the city's strangeness, Arelia only cares about helping her grandmother pay the rent while saving up money for college. Arelia's best friend, Sabrina, convinces her to take on a summer job at the infamous Darkwood plantation to help her with her goals. However, Arelia soon finds nothing as it seems at the plantation and enters a new world of spirits, strange characters, and forbidden love.

This Wicked Game

By Michelle Zink

This Wicked Game by Michelle Zink is the tale of Claire Kincaid, a young woman who would love to be normal. Unfortunately, she's a descendant of Marie Laveau, and her parents are higher-ups in the voodoo community. Since Claire has no interest in the craft, she is an outsider in her community. However, when mysterious strangers begin looking for black market items from voodoo shops in New Orleans, Claire takes it upon herself to investigate. Aided by her friends and some unlikely allies, Claire discovers a dangerous plot that could spell doom for every member of the voodoo community.

MISCUE

By Glen C. Allison

MISCUE is the first novel in the A Forte New Orleans thriller series by Glen C. Allison. Al Forte is an ex-SEAL who covered his pain with drugs in the aftermath of his wife's death due to a gang prank. However, he attempts to rebuild his life in the shadows of the Quarter in New Orleans by rescuing children in danger. Forte isn't concerned when an abortion doctor is murdered, but when the killer also kidnaps the doctor's daughter, he sets off in pursuit. 

Quarter to Midnight

By Karen Rose

Quarter to Midnight is the first book in the A New Orleans Novel series by Karen Rose. It involves the investigation of Rocky Hebert, a man who walks to his death at quarter to midnight one night in New Orleans. Although the official verdict is a suicide, his son Gabe cannot accept this and turns to the Burke Broussard Private Investigation Agency for help. Molly Sutton is a private investigator who knows what it is like to lose a father in tragic circumstances. However, the more Molly and Gabe uncover, the more it becomes clear that Rocky was investigating something himself and that the corruption in the police department he found might have led to his demise.

Memento Mori

By Rayvn Salvador

Memento Mori is a paranormal romance by Rayvn Salvador set in the mystical city of New Orleans. Hanlen Arbor is a jaded skeptic who returns to New Orleans only to find that someone is murdering people in the city and leaving the bodies in macabre scenes of blood and ritual. This hits her especially hard as she left the city ten years prior due to the murder of her best friend. She returned only because her mother convinced her to be on a television show about a ghost hunter. However, the host is the descendant of one of the most well-known people of New Orleans, and he soon finds that real evil is afoot in New Orleans. Unfortunately, he needs to convince Hanlen of things most people would dismiss as ghost stories to stop it.