Tony Fennelly: 1-900-DEAD (USA 1997)

From the Publisher:
HERE ARE MORE UNUSUAL MEANS by which to murder someone, but the sword used to skewer the New Orleans psychic known as the "Mystic Delphine" ranks right up there. Adding to the confusion of the murder scene is the strange glyph found written in blood near her body. Together, the murder method and the glyph mean one thing to the police: They've got a strange one on their hands.

Enter Margo Fortier, former topless dancer, now cream of New Orleans society (due to an advantageous marriage to the gay scion of an old and powerful family), as well as the local society gossip columnist. Desperate to finally break into hard news at her paper, she parlays her acquaintanceship with the victim into an inside track into the police investigation -- something she may not live to regret.

With all of Tony Fennelly's trademark wit and offbeat characters, 1-900-DEAD is sure to delight her many fans.

Tony Fennelly: 1-900-DEAD. St. Martin's Press, ISBN: 0312142676 (January, 1997), 214 p., $21.95.