The Ruins — Malcolm Shuman

Three years after Hurricane Katrina destroyed his home and drowned his girlfriend, ex-New Orleans assistant District Attorney Ken Marchand ekes out a living on the North Shore helping flood victims reclaim their lives. But one hot August evening, on a visit to his old New Orleans Lakeview neighborhood, Marchand sees police standing over a body. What ensues is a cat-and-mouse game between Detective Konrad Treacher, a savvy black detective sure Marchand knows more than he's telling, and the lawyer, who begins to wonder if his girlfriend is really dead. The climax occurs almost three years to the day after Katrina, when another hurricane, Gustav, strikes the area.