Where New Orleans’ past refuses to stay buried
Forensic surgeon Hannah Baker is pulled into New Orleans’ darkest corners when a routine exhumation reveals mob ties, attempted hits, and secrets that refuse to stay buried. Dead Spaces delivers precise medical sleuthing, gritty Southern atmosphere, and a crackling will-they-won’t-they tension with Detective Logan Ferris—perfect for readers who crave smart, character-driven mysteries.
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Secrets Unearthed
in the Big Easy
Hannah Baker thought she’d seen everything a coroner’s table could teach her—until her brother asks her to help exhume a pair of ancient coffins. What should be a technical favor drags her into a whirlpool of the city’s darkest history: old mob rivalries, shadowy figures resurfacing, attempted assassinations, and family secrets that complicate every incision.
Pauline Baird Jones blends forensic authenticity with the vivid, sultry atmosphere of New Orleans, pairing procedural tension with warm, witty narration and a stubbornly charming detective. Fans of Kay Scarpetta and Temperance Brennan will love the mix of medical detail, family loyalty, and the slow-burn romantic friction that keeps the pages turning.
How far will Hannah go to protect her family—and will digging up the past destroy more than it reveals?
Step inside the world
Forensic surgeon Hannah Baker returns to the New Orleans Coroner’s Office to exhume the past — and find danger waiting beneath the mud.
In Dead Spaces: The Big Uneasy 2, Pauline Baird Jones serves up a pulse-quickening sequel that blends forensic detail, Southern atmosphere, and laugh-out-loud moments. When Hannah Baker is roped into exhuming a pair of ancient coffins at her brother’s request, she’s quickly swept into a tangled web of mob ties, long-buried grudges, and new threats that blur the line between past and present.
This book is perfect for readers who love character-driven mysteries with a strong sense of place. Fans of forensic thrillers, Southern noir, and cozy-but-quirky detective stories will find themselves swept into the humid streets of New Orleans, savoring the spice of the setting as much as the twists of the plot. With a charmingly irreverent heroine and a detective who seems to ignore the phrase “off limits,” Dead Spaces offers suspense, humor, and surprises on every page.
Buy now and dive into a twisting, atmospheric mystery only the Big Easy could produce.
Pauline Baird Jones is the author of The Big Easy series, known for its vivid New Orleans settings, sharp plotting, and offbeat humor. She blends forensic knowledge with local color to create mysteries that are both suspenseful and warmly human.