New police novel authored by De Noux
Wednesday, January 7, 2015
by: Rene Abadie
HAMMOND – Southeastern Louisiana University police investigator O'Neil De Noux has written a new historical mystery based in New Orleans at the turn of the 20th century.
"The French Detective" tells the story of the kidnapping of a four-year-old boy in the French Quarter, which in 1900 was an enclave of Sicilian immigrants. With a reluctance of the Sicilian residents to call the police -- most of whom were of Irish descent – a citizen search was initiated.
The lead character, Detective Jacques Dugas, comes across the crowd searching for the boy and takes command of the situation, pitting him against a variety of characters including the local crime boss and a well-known henchman.
De Noux explains that New Orleans at the time was a racially divided city. Amid the passage of Jim Crow laws by the state legislature, the killing of a white policeman by an African American man led to riots with 28 people being killed.
"This was not a good time for race relations of any type," explains De Noux. "The influx of Sicilian and Irish immigrants into the city also led to conflicts. Only 10 years earlier, New Orleans had the largest mass lynching in the nation following the shooting of the police chief when 11 Italian men, who had been acquitted of the crime, were dragged from prison and hanged."
De Noux, a resident of Covington, is the author of 28 previously published books. Among awards he has received is the Shamus Award presented by the Private Eye Writes of America. The book was published by Big Kiss Productions.
An investigator with Southeastern's police department since 2006, De Noux has served with the sheriff's offices in Jefferson and St. Bernard parishes. He has also worked as a private investigator, criminal intelligence analyst and creative writing instructor.
