New Orleans, 1863 -- occupied and impoverished, yet defiant. The "embarrassed" corpse of a Yankee heiress washes up on a levee. Citizens disappear in the night from the alleys of the French Quarter. Tales of ritual murder taunt the authorities. And the uneasy truce between the city's fiery inhabitants -- newly freed slaves and their bankrupt former masters, voodoo priestesses, smugglers, and unwelcome Union troops -- stretches to the breaking point.

Hailed by the Denver Post as a "memorable, magnificent character," Civil War detective Abel Jones arrives to investigate the death of a young crusader and finds himself facing fantastic rumors of the resurrected dead as the city approaches hysteria and riot.

Rebels of Babylon is the dark and rich sixth adventure in the Abel Jones mystery series -- winner of the prestigious Hammett and Herodotus awards. From the tour de force mayhem of its opening scene to its stunning climax, Owen Parry's latest novel pays tribute to the great literary traditions of New Orleans, a city that knows how to keep its secrets.

Praised as "a writer dropped from heaven" by Kirkus Reviews and famed for his uncanny ability to bring the past to life, Owen Parry leads us from the intrigue-haunted alleys of the French Quarter to the mysteries of nearby plantations and bayous as the prim Methodist hero so beloved by fans of the series encounters the startling power of superstition -- and the deadly force of greed.