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Maureen Coughlin #5
The Devil's Muse
New Orleans’s toughest female cop tackles her very first Mardi Gras
Now that she’s back on the force and her work with the FBI is over, Maureen Coughlin should have a quieter life. Until Mardi Gras rolls around, that is. New Orleans’s biggest and most infamous party, Mardi Gras may be fun for the revelers but it’s hell for the NOPD, who try to keep the peace on streets jam-packed with drunken paradegoers and the thousands of tourists pouring into the city to join the action. With all that chaos, the city becomes a breeding ground for crimes of all shapes and sizes.
Maureen’s Mardi Gras night starts with a bang when a man in pink zebra-print tights—and nothing else—runs past and throws himself onto the hood of a moving car. It only gets worse when she hears gunshots over the noise of the crowd. In the midst of the revelry, Maureen and her fellow cops must stabilize the shooting victims and hunt down the shooter, all while grappling with massive crowds, a camera crew intent on capturing the investigation for their YouTube channel, an incompetent on-duty detective, and race relations in a city more likely to mistrust cops than ever. It’s going to be one very long night for Maureen.
With Can the Devil Catch Fire?, Bill Loehfelm returns with another gripping installment in his “edgy, dangerous, but pulsing with life” (Booklist) Maureen Coughlin series.
Now that she’s back on the force and her work with the FBI is over, Maureen Coughlin should have a quieter life. Until Mardi Gras rolls around, that is. New Orleans’s biggest and most infamous party, Mardi Gras may be fun for the revelers but it’s hell for the NOPD, who try to keep the peace on streets jam-packed with drunken paradegoers and the thousands of tourists pouring into the city to join the action. With all that chaos, the city becomes a breeding ground for crimes of all shapes and sizes.
Maureen’s Mardi Gras night starts with a bang when a man in pink zebra-print tights—and nothing else—runs past and throws himself onto the hood of a moving car. It only gets worse when she hears gunshots over the noise of the crowd. In the midst of the revelry, Maureen and her fellow cops must stabilize the shooting victims and hunt down the shooter, all while grappling with massive crowds, a camera crew intent on capturing the investigation for their YouTube channel, an incompetent on-duty detective, and race relations in a city more likely to mistrust cops than ever. It’s going to be one very long night for Maureen.
With Can the Devil Catch Fire?, Bill Loehfelm returns with another gripping installment in his “edgy, dangerous, but pulsing with life” (Booklist) Maureen Coughlin series.
272 pages, Hardcover
First published July 11, 2017
12 people are currently reading
360 people want to read
About the author
Bill Loehfelm
18 books101 followersPraise for the Maureen Coughlin series:
“Not only has Loehfelm created the most compelling, complex patrol cop in the genre—part take-no-prisoners badass, part too-sensitive-for-the street rookie—he has also re-energized New Orleans as a setting for the best in crime fiction, going well beyond the clichés … —edgy, dangerous, but pulsing with life. Maureen Coughlin is as good as it gets.” - BOOKLIST
“After being warned about falling in love with the power of the job, [Maureen Coughlin] finds herself wrestling with ethical issues that fictional cops, especially fictional female ones, rarely talk about, leaving that stuff to real-life cops--and smart guys like Bill Loehfelm.” —The New York Times.
"Our heroine has both a strong will and a finely tuned moral compass… Loehfelm has created a wonderfully flawed heroine in Coughlin… [Loehfelm’s] love for New Orleans is evident in his descriptions, from the greasy spoon the cops favor for gumbo to the rollicking frat bars of the French Quarter. Dialogue doesn't get much snappier, and the complicated plot ... is deftly handled. This series just keeps getting better." —Kirkus
Bill is the author of seven novels, most recently, THE DEVIL'S MUSE, the new Maureen Coughlin novel, from Sarah Crichton Books/FSG.
Bill's other novels are the stand-alone thrillers, FRESH KILLS (2008), and BLOODROOT (2009).
Loehfelm lives in New Orleans with his wife, the writer AC Lambeth, where in addition to writing he plays drums in a band and practices yoga, both with mixed results.
“Not only has Loehfelm created the most compelling, complex patrol cop in the genre—part take-no-prisoners badass, part too-sensitive-for-the street rookie—he has also re-energized New Orleans as a setting for the best in crime fiction, going well beyond the clichés … —edgy, dangerous, but pulsing with life. Maureen Coughlin is as good as it gets.” - BOOKLIST
“After being warned about falling in love with the power of the job, [Maureen Coughlin] finds herself wrestling with ethical issues that fictional cops, especially fictional female ones, rarely talk about, leaving that stuff to real-life cops--and smart guys like Bill Loehfelm.” —The New York Times.
"Our heroine has both a strong will and a finely tuned moral compass… Loehfelm has created a wonderfully flawed heroine in Coughlin… [Loehfelm’s] love for New Orleans is evident in his descriptions, from the greasy spoon the cops favor for gumbo to the rollicking frat bars of the French Quarter. Dialogue doesn't get much snappier, and the complicated plot ... is deftly handled. This series just keeps getting better." —Kirkus
Bill is the author of seven novels, most recently, THE DEVIL'S MUSE, the new Maureen Coughlin novel, from Sarah Crichton Books/FSG.
Bill's other novels are the stand-alone thrillers, FRESH KILLS (2008), and BLOODROOT (2009).
Loehfelm lives in New Orleans with his wife, the writer AC Lambeth, where in addition to writing he plays drums in a band and practices yoga, both with mixed results.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
November 17, 2022
None of the Maureen Coughlin books recovered the magic of the second book in Loehfelm's series. I fell in love with her in that book, but each subsequent one I've read in the series has had lower stakes, and less mystery.
I liked the new-police-officer-in-a-strage-place motif when Maureen first got to New Orleans, but Loehfelm never moved past there in a distinct way. Three books later, and she's still the "newbie", but the reader wants her to be an old hand by at least book 5.
THE DEVIL'S MUSE never seemed to lift off for me. The opening action is fun and engaging, but the murderer is captured and there's little mystery or suspense from then on. Now, I'm a big fan of character development, but this book tried to be 93% character building and 7% love letter to Mardis Gras. Kinda bummed.
I liked the new-police-officer-in-a-strage-place motif when Maureen first got to New Orleans, but Loehfelm never moved past there in a distinct way. Three books later, and she's still the "newbie", but the reader wants her to be an old hand by at least book 5.
THE DEVIL'S MUSE never seemed to lift off for me. The opening action is fun and engaging, but the murderer is captured and there's little mystery or suspense from then on. Now, I'm a big fan of character development, but this book tried to be 93% character building and 7% love letter to Mardis Gras. Kinda bummed.
July 14, 2017
Wow, I really felt like I was actually a part of Mardi Gras reading this book. The author did a great job putting me there. I actually felt the rush, the tensions and just a little claustrophobic. I'm sure that it helped that I had been to Mardi Gras in Galveston. However, this book put me right back there.
The characters in this book were very well developed and I grew to like them immediately (well, except for one) and to feel for the pressures of their jobs. Dealing with multiple gunshots in the middle of Mardi Gras and the pressures and issues of having to do their jobs? I felt for these characters.
A wonderful story that I just ripped right through, enjoyed the feelings it brought and meeting these characters.
Thanks to Farar, Straus & Giroux and Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.
The characters in this book were very well developed and I grew to like them immediately (well, except for one) and to feel for the pressures of their jobs. Dealing with multiple gunshots in the middle of Mardi Gras and the pressures and issues of having to do their jobs? I felt for these characters.
A wonderful story that I just ripped right through, enjoyed the feelings it brought and meeting these characters.
Thanks to Farar, Straus & Giroux and Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.
September 4, 2017
I can't believe I've missed reading 3 other books in this series of Maureen Coughlin stories.
I will usually pick up any book from the library with a female protagonist in a southern setting and yet here I've missed all but # 2 in this series! I've got to keep better track of myself (or a better notebook).
Maureen is tough on the outside. Helps cover up her compassion I guess. Also helps cover up some of her smarts, too.
This was a fast and compelling read for me with well developed characters and enough sub-plots to get me a little twisted up. I've gotta go now...the dog just brought me her "stringy ball" and I really need to update my notebook.
I will usually pick up any book from the library with a female protagonist in a southern setting and yet here I've missed all but # 2 in this series! I've got to keep better track of myself (or a better notebook).
Maureen is tough on the outside. Helps cover up her compassion I guess. Also helps cover up some of her smarts, too.
This was a fast and compelling read for me with well developed characters and enough sub-plots to get me a little twisted up. I've gotta go now...the dog just brought me her "stringy ball" and I really need to update my notebook.
October 31, 2017
This is book #5 of his Maureen Coughlin novels set in New Orleans. It's a fairly normal police procedural except that it's in New Orleans, at Mardi Gras. Two things happen that turn out to be connected -- a character zoned out on drugs who passes out on the streets, and a shooting. Maureen has to solve the mystery of the shooting while the chaos of Mardi Gras happens all around.
While some characters from the previous books make an appearance and one of them is important to the plot, you don't need to read previous books in the series to understand what's going on, the backstory is mentioned in passing where needed so it's not inscrutable. In the end Coughlin solves the crime, but one mystery is left dangling for the next book. It's self-contained even so though -- you won't be feeling cheated at the end.
If you're just starting out on this series, Maureen Coughlin has a quite interesting backstory that's gone into some depth in the earlier novels. I personally would start with book #2, The Devil In Her Way -- Book #1 has a lot of typical first novel flaws and is basically preamble anyhow, it happens in Brooklyn, not in New Orleans, and it's the New Orleans that makes these novels. New Orleans is almost as much a character in them as Coughlin... something that is true of many, many books set in the city.
There's some mild cursing and depictions of bullet wounds but no explicit violence and no sex. This novel is about character and solving a crime, not about gore and violence.
While some characters from the previous books make an appearance and one of them is important to the plot, you don't need to read previous books in the series to understand what's going on, the backstory is mentioned in passing where needed so it's not inscrutable. In the end Coughlin solves the crime, but one mystery is left dangling for the next book. It's self-contained even so though -- you won't be feeling cheated at the end.
If you're just starting out on this series, Maureen Coughlin has a quite interesting backstory that's gone into some depth in the earlier novels. I personally would start with book #2, The Devil In Her Way -- Book #1 has a lot of typical first novel flaws and is basically preamble anyhow, it happens in Brooklyn, not in New Orleans, and it's the New Orleans that makes these novels. New Orleans is almost as much a character in them as Coughlin... something that is true of many, many books set in the city.
There's some mild cursing and depictions of bullet wounds but no explicit violence and no sex. This novel is about character and solving a crime, not about gore and violence.
February 11, 2024
Surprisingly a great book! Terrific plot!! Love the MC, Maureen Cobbs. The premise was interesting and different.
Tw: violence, and language.
I have never been to Marti Gras, but I’ve heard it is wild, crazy, and just a mass of people breaking rules and acting against their better judgement in the streets. This book does not disappoint! Maureen is new to the city and still finding her place among her coworkers at the police station. They are not perfect but most of them are good men. As the parade starts, things get out of control quickly. Now there’s 3 victims, a shooter on the loose, and a camera crew holding everyone accountable. The race is on to figure out the crime before it becomes a gang rivalry.
Tw: violence, and language.
I have never been to Marti Gras, but I’ve heard it is wild, crazy, and just a mass of people breaking rules and acting against their better judgement in the streets. This book does not disappoint! Maureen is new to the city and still finding her place among her coworkers at the police station. They are not perfect but most of them are good men. As the parade starts, things get out of control quickly. Now there’s 3 victims, a shooter on the loose, and a camera crew holding everyone accountable. The race is on to figure out the crime before it becomes a gang rivalry.
August 4, 2017
Hero rookie New Orleans Police Officer Maureen Coughlin returns for a fifth book in the series by Bill Loehflem.
As with the last Coughlin book, it's a great story with strong , diverse, dynamic characters. And, like at least the last two books in the series, it is disappointing how inaccurately and unrealistically police work is portrayed. Paying just a bit better attention to making the police experience more authentic would not harm the story and would take the book from three to five stars.
As with the last Coughlin book, it's a great story with strong , diverse, dynamic characters. And, like at least the last two books in the series, it is disappointing how inaccurately and unrealistically police work is portrayed. Paying just a bit better attention to making the police experience more authentic would not harm the story and would take the book from three to five stars.
November 8, 2017
Rookie police officer, Maureen Coughlin, is working her first Mardi Gras as a member of the NOPD. All though it is a freezing cold night, the crowd is enjoying the parade and everything is moving smoothly until a naked man covered in cotton candy runs down the street flinging himself onto the hood of a passing vehicle. Before Maureen can resolve this drama gunshots ring out in the crowd. Can her and her partners work a bloody crime scene and solve the case in the midst of thousands of party goers? She's not sure but she is going to try.
November 25, 2017
Maureen is back and in a 24 hour period during Mardi Gras shows she’s come a long way as a cop. But she is still my Maureen!
September 6, 2019
One of the most empathetic and sympathetic police procedural, especially street cop, of recent offerings. Great picture of Mardi Gras as well. Finally Maureen is showing some sign of maturing?!!
October 8, 2022
3.5
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 21, 2018
This a new character for me. Interesting timing that the story was set during Mardi Gras! Just happened for real!
March 20, 2024
Bill Loehfelm scores a grand-slam with The Devil's Muse. If you've ever ridden with a Krewe on a float, everything seems smooth and organized. Happy faces abound. Loehfelm delivers a compelling picture of what NOPD does to keep the peace and make Carnival successful. You won't be disappointed with the non-stop action and detailed descriptions. Maureen Coughlin's saga continues. The Devil's Muse is a great read.
August 25, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews