A hugely enjoyable and entertaining cat and mouse crime story set in the flooded New Orleans in 2005. Following the flooding caused by Hurricane Katrina, a group of New Orleans police officers are patrolling using a rowing boat. Their reaction to a man stranded on a rooftop indicates that it may not be a search and rescue mission. A flashback introduces a undercover FBI agent who is working in New Orleans and is presently trapped by the flooding. Who is the cat and who is the mouse shifts nicely as the story unfolds and it nicely sidesteps reader expectations.
For a cat and mouse story to be effective there has to be a compelling context that effectively traps the cat and the mouse and can shelter or expose one or the other at any point. J.D.Olivia uses the flooded New Orleans to great effect in this role. The flood limits everyone’s room for maneuver and severely increases the pressure on all the cast as matters spiral out of control. The cast are engaging and economically introduced via action to the reader, they are as shifty and dangerous as the flood waters and everyone is struggling to maintain control.
Richard P. Clark’s art is friendly and engaging, capturing the action and reaction as the cast respond to each other. The context is wonderfully evoked, the rooftops that are the small island in the the flood make you fiercely exposed as well as dry, the flood interiors can be a sanctuary or a trap. The cast are individual and expressive, the action has physical force and impact, the conversations ripple with tension. The colouring brings definition and weight to the context and cast.
This is a bare bones story that stands or falls on the way that the action and cast are managed, the creators wring every drop of tension and engagement from the story, giving the reader a great deal of pleasure in the process.
